Nurses Board of Victoria

Full description

Establishment

The Nurses Board of Victoria was a self-funded statutory authority, established on 1 July 1994 with the proclamation of the Nurses Act 1993. The Board assumed the responsibilities of the Victorian Nursing Council (VA 1352). Its stated purpose was to protect the public by providing for the regulation of nursing through the registration of nurses, accreditation of courses for registration purposes or qualifications in addition to those required for registration purposes and to regulate the standards of practice of nursing.

Formation and Membership of the Board

The Act provided for 12 board members, nominated by the Minister and appointed by the Governor in Council. This included nine registered nurses (including two nurses registered in Division 2 of the register), one lawyer and two persons who were not nurses.

In 2007 the Board structure changed with the passing of the Health Professions Registration Act 2005. The Act established a board with at least 9 and not more than 12 members, with half of the members to be registered nurses, 1 lawyer and 3 members who were not registered nurses.

Function and Operation

The function of the Board was to act as a statutory registration body for the nursing profession.

The Nurses Act 1993 defined the functions of the Board as follows:

* To regulate the standards of practice of nursing

* To register persons who complied with the requirements of the Act

* To approve agencies or courses conducted by registered funded agencies

* To set and conduct examinations, and accredit courses which provided qualifications for registration purposes and which provide qualifications in addition to those required for registration

* To investigate the professional conduct or fitness to practise of persons registered under the Act and impose sanctions where necessary

* To issue guidelines about appropriate standards of nursing practice

* To identify and distinguish between the principal functions that may be carried out by nurses registered in each division of the register

* To exchange information with registration boards in other jurisdictions about registered persons or persons who have sought to become registered in Victoria and provide information to the Australian Nursing Council about registered persons or persons who have sought to become registered in Victoria

In October 2002, the Victorian Department of Human Services commenced a review of the regulatory framework governing the registered health professions in Victoria. The review provided the opportunity not only to update all of the health practitioner registration Acts, but also to review the Victorian model of health practitioner regulation to ensure that the legislative framework satisfactorily equipped the registration boards to protect the public and address emerging challenges in the regulation of the health professions. The review resulted in the passage of the Health Professions Registration Act 2005, which came into operation on 1 July 2007. The key outcome was a single legislative framework that incorporated all of the relevant health professions and established a new registration board for each profession.

Abolition

The Health Practitioner Regulation National Law (Victoria) Act 2009 (No. 79 of 2009) came into operation on 1 July 2010. The purpose of his Act was to provide for the adoption of a national law to establish a national registration and accreditation scheme for health practitioners. The Act prescribed the establishment of 14 new National Boards, 10 of which commenced on 1 July 2010. The National Boards may establish a State or Territory Board, where members are to be appointed by the responsible Minister for the participating jurisdiction.

The Health Professions Registration Act 2005 (No. 97/2005) was amended as a consequence of the enactment of the Health Practitioner Regulation Law (Victoria) Act 2009 (No. 79 of 2009). The piece of legislation that enabled these amendments was the Statute Law Amendment (National Health Practitioner Regulation) Act 2010 (No. 13 of 2010), proclaimed in the Government Gazette on 30 March 2010. The purposes of this Act included the abolition of the Nurses Board of Victoria and the removal of any references to this board.