This Alert applies to hospitals and health services.
Safe Patient Care (Nurse to Patient and Midwife to Patient Ratios) Amendment Bill 2026 (Vic)
On 25 August 2026, the Safe Patient Care (Nurse to Patient and Midwife to Patient Ratios) Amendment Bill 2026 (Vic) (the Bill) passed the Victorian Parliament and received Royal Assent on 1 September 2026. The Bill will commence on the day after it receives Royal Assent, except for Parts 2 and 3, with Part 2 commencing on 1 July 2027 and Part 3 commencing on 1 July 2028.
Operationally Significant Changes
The Bill inserts a range of amendments into the Safe Patient Care (Nurse to Patient and Midwife to Patient Ratios) Act 2015 (Vic) (the Act). The most significant changes (from an operational perspective), include:
- the reclassification of certain hospitals; and
- changes to emergency department hospital categories.
Further Information
Reclassification of hospitals
Part 2 of the Bill amends Schedule 1 of the Act by reclassifying several hospitals between the Level 1, Level 2 and Level 3 categories. As the staffing ratio obligations under the Act differ depending on a hospital’s classification, these changes will alter the nurse-to-patient and midwife-to-patient ratios that apply to affected hospitals.
The following hospitals are reclassified from Level 2 to Level 1 by being removed from Part 2 of Schedule 1 of the Act and added to Part 1 of Schedule 1 of the Act:
- Bendigo Hospital;
- Goulburn Valley Health (Shepparton campus);
- Grampians Health (Ballarat Base Hospital);
- Latrobe Regional Hospital;
- Maroondah Hospital;
- Mercy Hospital for Women;
- The Royal Women’s Hospital; and
- Werribee Mercy Hospital.
The following hospitals are reclassified from Level 3 to Level 2 by being removed from Part 3 of Schedule 1 and added to Part 2 of Schedule 1 of the Act:
- Albury Wodonga Health (Wodonga campus);
- Angliss Hospital;
- Bairnsdale Regional Health Service;
- Central Gippsland Health Service (Sale campus);
- Echuca Regional Health;
- Grampians Health (Wimmera Base Hospital);
- Rosebud Hospital;
- Sandringham Hospital;
- Swan Hill District Health;
- The Royal Victorian Eye and Ear Hospital; and
- West Gippsland Hospital.
The Bill also adds the following hospitals to Level 2 under Part 2 Schedule 1 of the Act:
- Victorian Heart Hospital; and
- Wonthaggi Hospital.
In addition, the following hospitals are added to a classification Level 3 under Part 3 of Schedule 1 of the Act:
- Ararat Hospital;
- Colac Area Health; and
- Maryborough District Health Service.
To assist affected health services to implement these changes, proposed new section 51 provides transitional arrangements. For hospitals moving from Level 2 to Level 1, certain Level 1 staffing obligations will not apply until 1 July 2029, and some Level 2 obligations will continue to apply until 30 June 2029. Section 51 also delays the application of section 20B of the Act for certain hospitals newly classified as Level 2 until 1 July 2029.
Changes to emergency department hospital categories
Part 3 of the Bill amends Schedule 3 of the Act, which categorises hospitals for the purposes of emergency department nurse-to-patient ratios. These amendments change the emergency department staffing ratio requirements that apply to affected hospitals.
The following hospitals are added to Part 1 of Schedule 3 of the Act:
- Echuca Regional Health;
- Northeast Health Wangaratta; and
- The Royal Victorian Eye and Ear Hospital.
- The following hospitals are added to Part 2 of Schedule 3 of the Act:
- Central Gippsland Health Service (Sale campus);
- Swan Hill District Health;
- The Royal Women’s Hospital;
- West Gippsland Hospital; and
- Wonthaggi Hospital.
Part 3 of Schedule 3 of the Act has been replaced and the following hospitals have been added:
- Hamilton Base Hospital;
- Mercy Hospital for Women; and
- Victorian Heart Hospital.
These amendments are scheduled to commence on 1 July 2028 and will require affected hospitals to comply with the emergency department staffing ratios applicable to their revised category.
Please click here to access the full Bill.
