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❓ I refer to the nursing workforce employed in the Western Australian public health system, and I ask: (a) For each year from 1 July 2019 to the present, please provide the headcount and FTE of nurses e

AnsweredQoN 1984Legislative Assembly

Asked

17 March 2026

Member

Ms Libby Mettam

Portfolio

Health

QuestionView source ↗

I refer to the nursing workforce employed in the Western Australian public health system, and I ask: (a) For each year from 1 July 2019 to the present, please provide the headcount and FTE of nurses employed across WA Health, broken down by the following categories: (i) Registered Nurses – Level 1.1 to Level 1.8 (or equivalent); (ii) Registered Nurses – Level 2.1 to Level 2.8 (or equivalent); (iii) Clinical Nurse Specialists / Clinical Nurse Consultants – Level 3; (iv) Nurse Managers / Nurse Directors – Level 4 and above; (v) Senior Registered Nurses (SRN) by classification level where applicable; (vi) Enrolled Nurses; and (vii) Graduate Nurses (including participants in the WA Health Graduate Nurse Program); (b) For each year from 1 July 2019 to the present, please provide the number of nurses employed in each of the above categories broken down by Health Service Provider, including: (i) North Metropolitan Health Service; (ii) South Metropolitan Health Service; (iii) East Metropolitan Health Service; (iv) Child and Adolescent Health Service; (v) WA Country Health Service; (vi) Health Support Services; and (vii) Department of Health; (c) For each year from 1 July 2019 to the present, please provide the number of new graduate nurses recruited into the WA public health system, including the number who: (i) commenced employment in the system; (ii) remained employed after 12 months; and; and (iii) remained employed after 24 months.; (d) For each year from 1 July 2019 to the present, please provide the number of nurses leaving the WA public health system, broken down by: (i) Registered Nurses; (ii) Enrolled Nurses; (iii) Graduate Nurses; and (iv) Senior Registered Nurses; (e) For each year from 1 July 2019 to the present, please provide the ratio of graduate nurses to all registered nurses employed across the WA public health system; and (f) If the information requested in any part cannot be provided for the entire period requested, please provide the earliest year for which the data is available?

AnswerView source ↗

Answered

5 May 2026

Responded by

Minister for Health

Response time

3 days

a) (i – vii)
Nurse Category
1 July 2019
1 July 2020
1 July 2021
1 July 2022
1 July 2023
1 July 2024
1 July 2025
HC
FTE
HC
FTE
HC
FTE
HC
FTE
HC
FTE
HC
FTE
HC
FTE
(i) Registered Nurses Level 1.1 to Level 1.8
10,678
6,829
10,288
6,882
11,277
7,386
12,116
7,913
12,049
7,806
13,179
8,222
14,079
9,013
(ii) Registered Nurses Level 2.1 to Level 2.8
4,628
3,498
4,723
3,603
4,931
3,743
5,266
3,968
5,524
4,118
5,936
4,214
6,214
4,473
(iii) Clinical Nurse Specialists / Clinical Nurse Consultants Level 3
560
450
556
469
593
485
664
542
730
586
837
662
963
757
(iv) Nurse Managers / Nurse Directors Level 4 and above
197
181
197
189
203
192
220
207
233
216
249
223
282
265
(v) Senior Registered Nurses
1,109
885
1,131
938
1,227
980
1,344
1,074
1,448
1,153
1,655
1,249
1,680
1,331
(vi) Enrolled Nurses
1,442
999
1,413
976
1,518
1,036
1,716
1,153
1,639
1,110
1,660
1,101
1,735
1,125
(vii) Graduate Nurses
622
531
681
592
751
630
891
746
998
833
1,051
845
1,134
916
Total
19,236
13,373
18,989
13,649
20,500
14,451
22,217
15,602
22,621
15,822
24,567
16,516
26,087
17,880
(b) (i – vii)
North Metropolitan Health Service
Headcount
Nurse Category
01-Jul-19
01-Jul-20
01-Jul-21
01-Jul-22
01-Jul-23
01-Jul-24
01-Jul-25
(i) Registered Nurses Level 1.1 to Level 1.8
3149
2677
2714
2762
2975
3342
3325
(ii) Registered Nurses Level 2.1 to Level 2.8
1188
1117
1150
1173
1255
1358
1423
(iii) Clinical Nurse Specialists / Clinical Nurse Consultants Level 3
119
112
128
126
148
181
211
(iv) Nurse Managers / Nurse Directors Level 4 and above
30
28
30
39
40
35
37
(v) Senior Registered Nurses
279
258
270
275
334
374
374
(vi) Enrolled Nurses
239
222
245
248
268
274
287
(vii) Graduate Nurses
180
200
226
207
240
264
280
Total
5,184
4,614
4,763
4,830
5,260
5,828
5,937
South Metropolitan Health Service
Headcount
Nurse Category
01-Jul-19
01-Jul-20
01-Jul-21
01-Jul-22
01-Jul-23
01-Jul-24
01-Jul-25
(i) Registered Nurses Level 1.1 to Level 1.8
2662
2549
2834
2978
3131
3384
3970
(ii) Registered Nurses Level 2.1 to Level 2.8
872
883
893
1011
1104
1189
1387
(iii) Clinical Nurse Specialists / Clinical Nurse Consultants Level 3
93
100
99
109
136
163
205
(iv) Nurse Managers / Nurse Directors Level 4 and above
64
62
60
68
66
63
90
(v) Senior Registered Nurses
173
178
202
228
270
272
318
(vi) Enrolled Nurses
284
259
268
325
325
356
435
(vii) Graduate Nurses
296
338
381
497
540
546
643
Total
4,444
4,369
4,737
5,216
5,572
5,973
7,048
East Metropolitan Health Service
Headcount
Nurse Category
01-Jul-19
01-Jul-20
01-Jul-21
01-Jul-22
01-Jul-23
01-Jul-24
01-Jul-25
(i) Registered Nurses Level 1.1 to Level 1.8
2258
2157
2436
2694
2715
2997
3099
(ii) Registered Nurses Level 2.1 to Level 2.8
746
768
811
863
929
948
1002
(iii) Clinical Nurse Specialists / Clinical Nurse Consultants Level 3
105
106
98
127
137
140
165
(iv) Nurse Managers / Nurse Directors Level 4 and above
46
47
50
48
50
52
60
(v) Senior Registered Nurses
147
137
146
143
152
168
191
(vi) Enrolled Nurses
297
297
363
446
402
396
408
(vii) Graduate Nurses
36
19
20
22
27
26
27
Total
3,635
3,531
3,924
4,343
4,412
4,727
4,952
Child and Adolescent Health Service
Headcount
Nurse Category
01-Jul-19
01-Jul-20
01-Jul-21
01-Jul-22
01-Jul-23
01-Jul-24
01-Jul-25
(i) Registered Nurses Level 1.1 to Level 1.8
948
1211
1478
1639
1460
1678
1660
(ii) Registered Nurses Level 2.1 to Level 2.8
756
853
911
996
956
1046
975
(iii) Clinical Nurse Specialists / Clinical Nurse Consultants Level 3
108
118
145
174
166
204
220
(iv) Nurse Managers / Nurse Directors Level 4 and above
21
21
23
23
27
33
28
(v) Senior Registered Nurses
141
170
206
242
245
323
269
(vi) Enrolled Nurses
83
85
104
114
104
96
84
(vii) Graduate Nurses
33
47
39
81
106
126
129
Total
2,090
2,505
2,906
3,269
3,064
3,506
3,365
WA Country Health Service
Headcount
Nurse Category
01-Jul-19
01-Jul-20
01-Jul-21
01-Jul-22
01-Jul-23
01-Jul-24
01-Jul-25
(i) Registered Nurses Level 1.1 to Level 1.8
2410
2225
2359
2380
2243
2476
2735
(ii) Registered Nurses Level 2.1 to Level 2.8
1072
1105
1151
1227
1275
1368
1389
(iii) Clinical Nurse Specialists / Clinical Nurse Consultants Level 3
137
122
122
130
138
145
156
(iv) Nurse Managers / Nurse Directors Level 4 and above
37
39
38
39
51
64
66
(v) Senior Registered Nurses
362
382
391
439
458
520
540
(vi) Enrolled Nurses
572
573
573
612
587
573
557
(vii) Graduate Nurses
77
79
87
90
87
92
62
Total
4,667
4,525
4,721
4,917
4,839
5,238
5,505
Health Support Services
Headcount
Nurse Category
01-Jul-19
01-Jul-20
01-Jul-21
01-Jul-22
01-Jul-23
01-Jul-24
01-Jul-25
(i) Registered Nurses Level 1.1 to Level 1.8
3
35
4
39
7
13
3
(ii) Registered Nurses Level 2.1 to Level 2.8
1
(iii) Clinical Nurse Specialists / Clinical Nurse Consultants Level 3
(iv) Nurse Managers / Nurse Directors Level 4 and above
(v) Senior Registered Nurses
4
6
4
6
4
10
5
(vi) Enrolled Nurses
2
1
1
(vii) Graduate Nurses
Total
7
42
8
47
12
24
8
Department of Health
Headcount
Nurse Category
01-Jul-19
01-Jul-20
01-Jul-21
01-Jul-22
01-Jul-23
01-Jul-24
01-Jul-25
(i) Registered Nurses Level 1.1 to Level 1.8
9
178
81
56
4
6
9
(ii) Registered Nurses Level 2.1 to Level 2.8
2
75
26
13
21
44
44
(iii) Clinical Nurse Specialists / Clinical Nurse Consultants Level 3
11
2
1
6
8
13
(iv) Nurse Managers / Nurse Directors Level 4 and above
4
2
3
2
2
(v) Senior Registered Nurses
16
42
27
31
6
3
7
(vi) Enrolled Nurses
19
3
1
(vii) Graduate Nurses
8
Total
27
337
141
105
37
63
75
(c) (i – iii)
Graduate Nurse Retention
FY 2019-20
FY 2020-21
FY 2021-22
FY 2022-23
FY 2023-24
FY 2024-25
FY 2025-26
(i) Commenced employment
596
560
759
817
758
846
862
(ii) Remained after 12 months
515
483
623
697
667
736
-
(iii) Remained after 24 months
422
400
514
595
559
-
-
(d) (i – iv)
Nurses Leaving WA Health
FY 2019-20
FY 2020-21
FY 2021-22
FY 2022-23
FY 2023-24
FY 2024-25
(i) Registered Nurses
1,369
1,761
2,777
3,012
2,290
2,587
(ii) Enrolled Nurses
263
294
460
606
571
664
(iii) Graduate Nurses
80
54
70
94
93
80
(iv) Senior Registered Nurses
136
180
286
273
255
273
(e)
Graduate: RN
1 July 2019
1 July 2020
1 July 2021
1 July 2022
1 July 2023
1 July 2024
1 July 2025
Graduate Nurses
622
681
751
891
998
1,051
1,134
All Registered Nurses
18,614
18,308
19,749
21,326
21,623
23,516
24,953
Ratio (expressed as percentage, Graduate: Registered Nurse)
3.23%
3.59%
3.66%
4.01%
4.41%
4.28%
4.35%
(f) The most recent complete financial year is 2024-25.

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