Fee-free nurse training is now being offered by Mater Education in Brisbane and Springfield as Queensland races to grow its health workforce.

Students who join Mater Education’s Diploma of Nursing’s October intake will become Enrolled Nurses in just 18 months – without having to pay a dollar in course fees.

Fees were dropped after Mater Education became an approved provider for the Australian and Queensland Governments’ Fee-Free TAFE initiative, effective from July 1.

Mater Education Executive Director Barry Hankinson said the decision was a major boost for Queensland’s health sector, which needs to recruit an estimated 12,000 new nursing and midwifery professionals by 2025.

“Fee-free nurse training at Mater Education is a massive boost for current and future students, but it’s also fantastic news for the patients our graduates will care for,” Mr Hankinson said.

“Nursing is an incredibly rewarding career and there has never been a better time to train for this profession.

“Mater Education is both the largest non-government training organisation of nurses in Queensland and the only one which now offers the fee-free Diploma of Nursing.

“Our course connects the classroom with Mater’s statewide network of hospitals, ensuring our students learn through immersive, real-world experience.

“If you’re interested in a health career, nursing needs you! There are huge opportunities for new nurses at Mater and across Australia’s health system.”

According to Jobs Queensland, the state will need 87,000 nursing and midwifery professionals by 2025, up from around 75,000 today.

The full fee for the Diploma of Nursing course, before its inclusion in Fee-Free TAFE, was $23,990.

Funding for Mater Education’s fee-free Diploma of Nursing is being provided by the Queensland Government’s Department of Youth Justice, Employment, Small Business and Training.  

Fee-free training has been extended to all Diploma of Nursing students who joined Mater Education’s Brisbane and Townsville intakes in January, April and July 2023.

The fee-free initiative also includes Mater Education’s next intake in October – which this year will include students at the new Mater Health Hub, Springfield, as well as those enrolled at Mater’s South Brisbane health campuses.

Brisbane mum-of-two Krystle Magdalinski started the Mater Education Diploma of Nursing course earlier this month and said she was in ‘complete shock’ when she learned there would be no fee to pay.

“It was very exciting news – fee-free training will definitely lift the financial pressure on me and allow me to fully focus on my studies,” the 35-year-old said.

“The cost of living is a deterrent to taking the leap and studying for many people, so fee-free training will open the door for more people to become nurses.”

New applicants must live in Queensland and be an Australian citizen or permanent resident.

To find out more, potential students should contact Mater Education student services on 1300 070 350 or go to matereducation.qld.edu.au.

This program is proudly supported and funded by the Queensland Government. Conditions and eligibility criteria apply. The delivery of the Diploma of Nursing in Springfield is subject to ANMAC approval.