April 20, 2026 — 11:58am
Save
You have reached your maximum number of saved items.
Remove items from your saved list to add more.
Save this article for later
Add articles to your saved list and come back to them anytime.
Got it
AAA
Up to 1500 newly qualified Victorian nurses are struggling to find work almost five months after finishing their degrees, despite an expected shortage in Australia more than 70,000 nurses by 2035.
Many of the recent graduates were lured into the profession by a state government offer to pay the course fees of more than 10,000 nursing and midwifery students – an initiative aimed at boosting staffing at the state’s strained hospitals.
Since graduating, however, some are now searching for jobs interstate or working casually in hospitality, as graduate-level nursing jobs are limited.
Penny Cowie has always dreamt of becoming a nurse, but the graduate can’t find a job.Joe Armao
“It’s absolutely devastating,” said Professor Beth Jacob, head of the Australian Catholic University’s School of Nursing, Midwifery and Paramedicine.
“They have to get a job doing something, so they are out working in cafes and petrol stations with [nursing] degrees. They just can’t get work where they need it.”
The ACU, the nation’s largest nursing school, estimates nearly a third of recent nursing graduates in Victoria failed to secure a graduate position in the state.
Then-premier Daniel Andrews and then health minister Mary-Anne Thomas announcing the free degrees for nurses and midwives in August 2022.Penny Stephens
It is a similar story at other universities, according to insiders, who say the majority of students took advantage of the state’s free nursing degrees – which were part of a $270 million initiative unveiled by then premier Daniel Andrews in 2022 – and are struggling to find work.
In Victoria, graduate nursing positions are sought by those who have just completed their tertiary education. Aspiring nurses can only apply in the year they graduate. These programs provide the clinical experience to help university graduates transition to competent, registered nurses.
An insider from the Victorian Health Department said the issue of graduate oversupply was in part due to students flocking to free nursing courses, as well as the cost-of-living crisis, which had led to some nurses delaying their retirement.
Related Article
Tougher economic conditions had also led to part-time nurses picking up additional shifts, leaving fewer positions available.
Jacob said that in previous years, almost all the university’s nursing students had secured graduate positions. Now, she is concerned that graduate nurses would be forced to change careers, and Victoria will increasingly rely on overseas nurses.
“We’re losing them right at the start [of their careers], instead of getting them through to develop the skills that we need,” she said.
Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation Victorian branch secretary Maddy Harradence said it was unacceptable that so many graduates remained jobless while existing nurses experienced excessive overtime and double shifts.
“[We] continue to hear from graduate members who have been unable to secure positions,” she said.
“It remains unacceptable … given we know of the nursing and midwifery shortages forecast over the next 10 years.”
She said the union was pushing for the state government to expand its mid-year intake to more graduates.
While the union previously estimated that 1000 graduate nurses had been unable to secure graduate positions, the Health Department insider said that figure was closer to 1500.
Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation state secretary Maddy Harradence.Chris Hopkins
“It is morally reprehensible,” said the source, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to speak publicly. “This could have been easily averted, but no one had the courage to do anything.”
But the source said Victoria would experience a shortfall of nurses in the next few years when scores of nurses retired after receiving the largest payment of their enterprise bargaining agreement. This will coincide with increased pressure on hospitals as the population grows.
“We will be in crisis again,” they said.
“We are likely to see nurses pulled from poorer countries that can ill-afford to lose their nurses. We should plan to avoid this.”
The insider said while hospitals currently employed graduates close to full-time, employing them for fewer hours would boost their capacity to take on more graduates. This would mean they could stay in the system until the state needs them the most.
Opposition health spokeswoman Georgie Crozier said the Allan government had conned nurses by promising them something they were never going to deliver.
“Victoria’s health system needs these nurses not only for today, but for the future,” said Crozier, who formerly worked as a nurse.
A state government spokesman said it was working with health services to open up more graduate positions.
”We will always back our nurses – we delivered a massive 28.4 per cent pay rise to the workforce and have strengthened nurse to patient ratios,” he said.
University student Penelope Cowie said she felt humiliated attending her graduation ceremony this week without a job to go to, despite applying for countless nursing positions.
“We’re in this horrible Hunger Games situation where we are all competing against each other for this tiny pool of jobs,” the 52-year-old mature-aged student said.
Opposition health spokeswoman Georgie Crozier.Simon Schluter
“I’ve spent years busting my heart out into my studies, only to have myself booted in the back. It’s soul-crushing and demoralising.”
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Cowie worked on the frontline as a registered undergraduate student of nursing at Monash Medical Centre.
Her shifts were spent tending to the bodies of those who had succumbed to the virus, helping disinfect the hospital, and caring for aged care patients and their families.
Having dreamt of being a nurse since she was 15, Cowie said many of the nursing jobs require at least 12 months of post-graduate experience.
She was considering picking up work in a warehouse or volunteering at a food bank to get an entry into community health. She also started applying for nursing jobs in Western Australia and Queensland.
Before the government-funded initiative, employment rates for graduate nurses fluctuated, a Department of Health source said, noting graduates were “soaked up” during the coronavirus pandemic due to staffing shortages.
However, since then, there had been both an increase in nursing graduates and a reduction in available jobs.
The nurses union warned last year that more than 2000 graduate nurses and midwives would be left without a graduate position in the public health system in 2026, compared to 350 graduates in 2025.
During COVID, and before, we would “soak” up all grads wanting work because we were in a nursing shortage crisis
The state’s initiative provided domestic students who enrolled in nursing or midwifery courses in 2023 and 2024 with a $16,500 scholarship to cover their education costs.
They received $9000 while they studied, and a further $7500 if they worked in Victorian public health services for two years.
Start the day with a summary of the day’s most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up for our Morning Edition newsletter.
Save
You have reached your maximum number of saved items.
Remove items from your saved list to add more.
Henrietta Cook is a senior reporter covering health for The Age. Henrietta joined The Age in 2012 and has previously covered state politics, education and consumer affairs.Connect via X, Facebook or email.
Melissa Cunningham is a health reporter for The Age. She has previously covered crime and justice.Connect via X or email.From our partners