Prospective and New Members

There are three primary ways you can contact the ACNP:  

1. Calling the National Office at 1300 433 660

2. Contacting your State/Territory Chapter Lead using the email address found on the ACNP Chapters page

3. Contact us through the Contact Us page

You will find a full list of approved University Courses to become a NP on the Universities page.  You can learn more on the How to Become an NP page.

The ACNP is unable to provide recommendations for a specific course.  We are aware that some courses offer students a much more enriching experience compared to others.  In general, the type of course you should be looking for is:

• Flexible, to account for work/academic balance with options for online and asynchronous delivery.  This is particularly important for NP students as most must work part-time while undertaking university studies.  It is not recommended that you work full-time and attempt to undertake a Master of Nurse Practitioner course; what you put into a course is what you get out of it.
• Offers face-to-face components for advanced physical assessment units.  This is to ensure students are able to appropriately consolidate advanced assessment skills that can be used to inform a differential diagnosis.
• Offers support in identifying unique clinical placements for yourself under the direction of a nurse practitioner.  Although we are appreciative and supportive of medical practitioner support in assisting NP students, we find that some of the most enriching clinical support placements are with NPs.  
• Offer individualised support and guidance for medical practitioner and nurse practitioner supervisors who are used for mandatory clinical placement hours.
• Use objective and transparent methods to justify that you are working as an advanced practice nurse, to support entry into an NP education course.  This will reduce the chance of significant delays when seeking endorsement by the NMBA after graduation.

Nurse Practitioner education programs are accredited through ANMAC's Nurse Practitioner Accreditation Standards and endorsed by the NMBA.  We strongly encourage students to notify ANMAC of any issues relating to the accreditation of its programs.

It depends.  Both pathways require a master's qualification in a clinically-relevant area, which can be mapped against the NMBA's Nurse Practitioner Standards for Practice.

Pathway 1 is primarily used by advanced practice nurses who are graduates from Australian registered nursing and nurse practitioner education programs.  This pathway requires you to undertake a Master of Nurse Practitioner program accredited by ANMAC before you can obtain endorsement by the NMBA.

Pathway 2 is primarily used by advanced practice nurses who've received their education and training leading towards registration in another country.  For example, a nurse practitioner who received their training in New Zealand or North America and is now immigrating to Australia.  This pathway requires extensive mapping and evidence demonstrating your course curriculum against the NP Standards for Practice, and generally requires extensive review by the NMBA.  However, there are circumstances where an Australian graduate may choose to undertake Pathway 2 endorsement, particularly if they hold extensive postgraduate qualifications and experience that demonstrate the Standards.

Population data can be found on the NMBA website at https://www.nursingmidwiferyboard.gov.au/About/Statistics.aspx.

This information is updated quarterly.  

Additional workforce information is published by the Department of Health, Disabilty and Ageing from yearly registration data.  You can find this information at https://hwd.health.gov.au/resources/dashboards/nhwds-nursing-factsheets.html

A Full Member is an NMBA-endorsed Nurse Practitioner; full members have voting rights at the AGM and any SGMs.

Your exclusive ACNP membership benefits include: 

• ACNP representation on relevant issues to government and stakeholders;
• Advocacy for Nurse Practitioner and Advanced Practice roles through extensive submissions;
• Committee representation;
• Professional networking;
• Scholarships and awards;
• Exclusive invitations to education and events;
• Member-only access to ACNP information; 
• Monthly access to our e-Magazine, InFocus;
• Access to our membership app;
• Free electronic access to the Journal for Nurse Practitioners;
• Banking discounts and benefits through our partnership with Bank First;
• 10% discount on eTG complete and Therapeutic Guidelines books;
• 15% discount on all online and print products with the Australian Medicines Handbook;
• Access to the Professional Performance Framework platform;
• Private indemnity insurance discounts through ACNP's insurance broker;
• BlueLight Card membership discount program; and
• Other membership benefits associated with our industry partners, which are available upon inquiry.

An Associate Member is either an Advanced Practice Nurse, Student Nurse Practitioner, Registered Nurse, Allied Health Professional, Paramedic, Pharmacy Professional, Medical Professional, Academic, Nursing Student or a supporter of Nurse Practitioners

Once you have submitted your membership application, you will receive an automated email from the ACNP confirming your application.  If you have paid your membership via credit card a confirmation email will arrive within the hour.  For Direct Deposit payments, this will occur on the next business day.

Your Membership application has been approved when you receive your New Membership letter from the ACNP.

There are several ways you can elect to pay your membership:

1. Jumping onto the ACNP website Join and Renew section, and paying your membership online. This can be completed via a credit card payment or a bank transfer to the ACNP.
2. By calling the ACNP office on 1300 433 660 and paying over the phone.
3. Contact the ACNP using our Contact Form.

The ACNP membership requested that both Full and Associate Memberships be renewed on the 31st of May of each calendar year, to coincide with annual registration and registration requirements.

If your membership has expired, you will no longer have access to exclusive member pages and benefits.  You can renew your membership online at Join and Renew or by calling the office on 1300 433 660. 

We do not offer membership holds due to limitations with our systems and policies.  We can offer you a reduced membership fee if you are now retired from nursing and would like to retain your ACNP membership.

Once you are in the ACNP site you need a separate login to access the event booking system.  You need to create separate and new access for each event you register in.  This can all be the same information, but you need to create a new user account.  This is the image you should see in the events software.

You can update your details by logging into your account and updating your details.  You can do this at any time.

If you need assistance, please call the office on 1300 433 660 and one of the team will be able to help you out.  Alternatively, If you require assistance, please contact the office on 1300 433 660 or use our Contact Form.

If you are not receiving emails from ACNP please try the following:

1. Check that you are a current financial member at Join and Renew (Look at the bottom of the page)
2. Confirm the email address provided is correct
3. Ensure you are using your personal email address. 
   • NOTE: Members with a "@health.state.gov.au" email address will have issues receiving ACNP messages due to jurisdictional health IT policies and firewalls.
   • Ask your NP colleagues who are members if they are having similar issues.

If you require assistance, please contact the office on 1300 433 660 or use our Contact Form.

On the ACNP website when you log in, there are two options: 

1. Forgot Username; and
2. Forgot Password. 

You can select either of these and an email will be sent to your email address where you can reset these. 

If you require assistance, please contact the office on 1300 433 660 or use our Contact Form.

The ACNP has a policy on the use of its logo.  Please refer to the ACNP By-Law on the Use of ACNP Logos.

If you require assistance, please contact the office via our Contact Form.

Each state has a Chapter Lead who is a Full Member (an Endorsed NP) of the ACNP. The Chapter Lead from each jurisdiction collectively forms the ACNP National Council, and together they support the ACNP Board in the management and development of the college.

Each jurisdiction has a committee for their State/Territory.  Most Chapter Leads serve on the State committee before expressing interest to stand for the Chapter Lead position. All Chapter Lead positions are elected by the state memberships every 2 years.

All full financial members (Endorsed NPs) can stand for a position on the Board of the ACNP. Anyone applying for an ACNP Board position is required to complete a Board application which includes the provision of evidence of NP practice, leadership, participation in the ACNP, and references from ACNP members.

All applications are reviewed by the Board Election committee made up of ACNP Council members. The Elected Board determined which Board position each member will hold at their first board meeting.

Stories

To share a story about NPs (or your own story), what they do, how or where they work, or anything else, please contact the ACNP.

Advocacy

To notify the ACNP of an advocacy opportunity please contact the ACNP via the Contact Us online form with as much information and/or links that can help the Board formulate a response and, if deemed appropriate, a submission or letter to the relevant parties.

Research

To share research articles please send them to the ACNP with as much information as possible to aid in deciding its relevance to NPs.  These articles will be available on the Research page of the website, once approved.

To request assistance with your research project please go to our Research page.  Here you will be able to access the application form and also see what other research projects have been approved.