ACNN develops evidence-based position statements to communicate our position on key neonatal and neonatal nursing issues. Position statements are written by the ACNN's expert committees and are based on the evidence available.
Additionally, ACNN issues statements in support on matters pertinent and relevant to the profession of nursing/midwifery and the health of adults, children and neonates in and/or under the care of Australia.
ACNN position statements are reviewed regularly, in accordance with ACNN's position statements policy.
ACNN Position Statements
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Neonatal Health - November 2024
As the peak professional body for neonatal nurses in Australia, ACNN recognises the need to address the
unacceptable health disparities between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander infants and non-Indigenous infants. This position statement
is designed to guide education and practice for neonatal nurses working with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander infants and their
families. Read
the full statement.
Environmental Health and Greening Neonatal Care Position Statement - February 2024
As the professional body for neonatal nurses in Australia, ACNN recognises that achieving environmental
sustainability through reducing carbon emissions, waste, and managing resources more efficiently will deliver better outcomes for the
environment and contribute to greening neonatal care. Read
the full statement.
Breastfeeding and breast milk substitutes position statement
ACNN supports the aim of the World Health Organization International Code of Marketing of Breast-milk Substitutes to promote and
protect breastfeeding as the best form of nutrition for all infants, in particular the sick and/or preterm infants admitted to neonatal
units. ACNN also supports the Australian response to the WHO code, the Marketing in Australia of Infant Formulas (MAIF) Agreement, as
updated in 2016. Read more in the full
statement.
Statements in support and endorsement
MBS Taskforce review and Nurse Practitioner Recommendations
5
March 2021
ACNN strongly supports the Australian College of Nurse Practitioners call to respond to the MBS taskforce report and recommendations. ACNN
supports and endorses the 14 recommendations the Nurse Practitioner Reference Group put forward aimed at improving patient access to
quality affordable health care. Unfortunately all the recommendations were rejected by the taskforce. A concern was 'implementation of the
NPRG recommendations might strengthen NP workforce expansion and capacity, and that “every nurse will become a nurse practitioner”'. ACNN,
as a member of the Coalition of National Nursing & Midwifery Organisations (CoNNMO) is supporting the Australian College of Nurse
Practitioners in a response to the Health Minister in relation to the final Taskforse report.
Anndrea Flint
President ACNN
23 October 2018
The Australian College of Neonatal Nurses joins with other nursing, midwifery and medical professional organisations to strongly
support the evacuation of all children and families from Nauru and Manus Island
to Australia for professional assessment and treatment. ACNN advocates for the welfare of all families, recognising the particular needs of
disadvantaged and vulnerable groups, including children in detention centres. ACNN calls on our federal MPs to listen to expert health
professionals, to close the detention centres on Nauru and Manus and transfer all remaining people to processing centres in Australia where
professional medical and mental healthcare is readily available for all, according to need.
A/Prof Karen Walker
President ACNN
3 January 2017
ACNN strongly supports the position statement Nurses, midwives and vaccination, issued by the Nursing and Midwifery Board of
Australia (NMBA) in October 2016, see http://www.nursingmidwiferyboard.gov.au/Codes-Guidelines-Statements/Position-Statements/vaccination.aspx
ACNN expects its members to comply with the professional standards set by the NMBA. In accordance with the NMBA, ACNN promotes the use of
best available evidence as the basis for health care advice. The Australian National Immunisation Handbook 10th edition provides
evidence-based advice on vaccinations and their public health associated benefits.
A/Prof Karen
Walker
President ACNN
14 June 2016
The Australian College of Neonatal Nurses Inc. (ACNN) strongly supports the view of the Australian College of Nursing (ACN) that access to
comprehensive health care should be available to all persons regardless of visa status. ACNN also advocates for equitable and holistic
health care. ACNN agrees with the ACN position that the Australian Border Force Act 2015 (the Act) undermines the ability of nurses and
midwives to uphold their professional standards under the Code of Professional Conduct and Code of Ethics for nurses in Australia and that
the Act is inconsistent with the International Council of Nursing Code of Ethics for Nurses.
ACNN is concerned about the recent transfer of a woman to Brisbane for an emergency delivery due to complications. Without an open, clear
review of health management it is uncertain if the standard of care for mothers and babies in immigration detention is the same standard of
care available to all Australians. The Act prohibits nurses and midwives working directly or indirectly for the Department of Immigration
and Border Protection from disclosing information regarding access and quality of health care and prescribes a penalty of 2 years jail for
breaches of the Act. ACNN is an active provider of education and training for all health workers working with newborns in the Asia-Pacific
region; however we deeply regret that the current situation, in regard to refugees and asylum seekers and The Act, prevents ACNN members
from providing this education and other services in-country in Nauru, for the benefit of locals, refugees and asylum seekers.
A/Prof Karen Walker
President ACNN
8 March 2016
The Australian College of Neonatal Nurses (ACNN) strongly supports the Australian Medical Association (AMA) in calling for:
1. A moratorium on asylum seeker children being sent back to detention centres.
2. The immediate release of all children from both offshore and onshore detention centres into the community where they can be properly
cared for.
3. The establishment of a transparent, national statutory body of clinical experts, independent of government, with the power to investigate
and report to the Parliament on the health and welfare of asylum seekers and refugees.
4. If the Government or Opposition cannot provide satisfactory health care to people seeking asylum, then their policies should be
revisited.
A/Prof Karen Walker
President ACNN