The University of Notre Dame Australia’s decision to pause new enrolments in its Bachelor of Nursing program has raised concerns about the future supply of nurses in Western Australia.

The university stopped accepting new students for 12 months after acknowledging that the program had been oversubscribed. The decision has also raised concerns about clinical placements and graduation delays affecting existing students.

Nursing students at the Fremantle campus have reported difficulties completing required practical placements. Some say delays in securing placement hours could affect their ability to graduate and enter the workforce on schedule.

The Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation (ANMF) in Western Australia has called for government intervention, warning that the situation could contribute to a future nursing shortage.

ANMF WA secretary Romina Raschilla said the state could potentially face a shortfall of around 1,000 Notre Dame nursing graduates by 2029–30 as a result of the paused intake.

The union warned that any shortage could place additional pressure on both public and private hospitals.

The WA government, however, said the pause at one university was unlikely by itself to have a major impact on overall nursing workforce supply. It said workforce planning involves multiple universities and TAFEs and is undertaken several years in advance.

Meanwhile, the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency (TEQSA) has confirmed that a compliance process relating to the decision is underway.

For current students, the immediate concern remains completing mandatory clinical placements and graduating on time.

The situation highlights a wider challenge facing healthcare education: ensuring universities have sufficient capacity and clinical placements to train the healthcare workers the community needs.