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Under the Nurses' Registration Act (No.37 1924), assented to on 17 December 1924 and proclaimed to commence on 1 January 1926 (1), the Board was responsible for the administration of registration examinations, the regulation of registration certificates, and the maintenance of registers of qualified nurses. (2)
From its first meeting on 5 March 1925 until the end of the year, the Board principally dealt with the drafting of the Regulations as prescribed in Section 19 of the Act and the formulation of the syllabus of study for the different branches. (3) The Regulations were gazetted on 16 December 1925 and on the same day a proclamation was issued bringing the Act into operation in 1 January 1926. (4)
As originally constituted, the Board consisted of seven members: the Director General of Public Health; the Inspector General of Mental Hospitals; the principal teacher of obstetrics at the University of Sydney; one legally qualified medical practitioner; and three nurses. (5) Under the Nurses Registration Act (No.10 1953), assented to 25 September 1953, (6) the membership was changed and increased to fourteen (7) Subsequent amendments to the Act in 1960, 1964 and 1985 made further adjustments to the Board's composition and provided for additional members.
The Nurses Registration (Amendment) Act (No.130,1987) provided for increased representation of nurses, (8) and replaced the position of Chairman with that of President, which along with the Vice-Presidency was to be filled by a registered nurse. (9)
The Health Professional Board Legislation (Amendment) Act (No.12, 1990) provided that the staff necessary to enable the Board to exercise its functions were to be employed under the Health Administration Act, 1982 by the Health Administration Corporation and that all monies received by the Board were to be transmitted to the Corporation.
The membership of the Nurses Registration Board was reduced from 18 to ten, (10) when it was reconstituted by the Nurses Act (No.9 1991), assented to 26 April 1991(5). The functions of the Board were expanded by this Act to include the promotion and maintenance of professional standards of nursing practice in NSW (11) and the promotion of education for nurses and educational nursing programs. (12). In addition, under the new Act, the Board was able to establish expert sub-committees (13) and grant provisional registration,(14) the provisions for the authorisation to practise as a midwife were revised, (15) a new disciplinary structure and procedures were established (16) and minor adjustments were made to the Act to conform with other health professional registration Acts. (17)
On 1 July 2010, Australia introduced the National Registration and Accreditation Scheme (the National Scheme) to regulate health practitioners for states and territories other than Western Australia, which joined the National Scheme on 18 October 2010. The National Scheme involved the creation of a single national system for 10 health professions: chiropractic, dental, medicine, nursing and midwifery, optometry, osteopathy, pharmacy, physiotherapy, podiatry and psychology. The new arrangements aimed to provide stronger safeguards for the public, facilitate health practitioners moving across the country more easily, reduce red tape and promote a more flexible, responsive, safe and sustainable health workforce". (18)
As a result, in NSW, the registration and accreditation functions of the former Nurses and Midwives Board were transferred to the New South Wales Board of the Nursing and Midwifery Council of Australia, assisted by the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Accreditation Council. AHPRA also provided administrative assistance to the Boards in the exercise of their registration functions. The health, conduct and performance functions of the former Board were transferred to the Nursing and Midwifery Council of New South Wales. (19)
Endnotes(1) New South Wales Government Gazette No.163, 24 December Vol.4, p.5821; Commencement proclamation: NSW Government Gazette No.166, 16 December 1925, p.5617
(2) Nurses' Registration Act, 1924 s.5
(3) Concise Guide. 'Nurses' Registration Board'
(4) New South Wales Government Gazette No.166, 16, December 1925, Vol.4, p.5167
(5) Parliamentary Papers vol 1, 1927 : "Nurses' Registration Board" Annual Report for 1926. p.441.
(6) New South Wales Government Gazette No.173, 2 October 1953, Vol.4, p.3176
(7) Nurses Registration Act, 1953 s.5
(8) Nurses Registration Board, 1987 Schedule 1 (2)
(9) Ibid. Schedule 1 (3)
(10) Nurses Act, 1991 s.9
(11) Ibid. s. 10(a)
(12) Ibid. s. 10 (b)
(13) Ibid. s. 12
(14) Ibid. s. 23
(15) Ibid. s. 20
(16) Ibid. Part 5 - Sections 43 - 70
(17) New South Wales Government Gazette No.77, 10 May 1991, Vol.2, Part 1, p.3159
(18) Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency and the National Boards Annual Report 2010 - 2011, reporting on the National Registration and Accreditation and Scheme, p.7.
(19) Ibid., pp.8-12, 27, 37, 53, 75-76, 88, 91, 112-114, 123-125, 138; 'Home page’ from the Nurses and Midwives Board, Nurses and Midwives Board of Australia Website, http://www.nmb.nsw.gov.au/ (accessed 4 March 2015); 'Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia' from the Nursing and Midwifery Council of New South Wales Website, http://www.hpca.nsw.gov.au/Nursing-and-Midwifery-Council/About-Us/Regulation-of-nurses-and-midwives-in-NSW/Nursing-and-Midwifery-Board-of-Australia/default.aspx (accessed 11 February 2015); 'The New South Wales Board of the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia' from the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia Website, http://www.nursingmidwiferyboard.gov.au/About/State-and-Territory-Nursing-and-Midwifery-Board-Members/The-New-South-Wales-Board-of-the-Nursing-and-Midwifery-Board-of-Australia.aspx (accessed 4 March 2015); Nursing and Midwifery Council of New South Wales Annual Report 2010-2011, p.3; Health Practitioner Regulation National Law (NSW) (Act No. 86a), ss.5, 36, 299; Health Practitioner Regulation (New South Wales) Regulation 2010 (2010;333) (as amended) cls.25; notified on NSW Legislation Website (LW), 1 July 2010.
References
(1) "Concise Guide", 2nd Edition "Ma - Pl", "Nurses' Registration Board" p.45.
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