Midwife Job Kit

with STEM™ CAREERS JOB KIT

midwife

Work in partnership with women, supporting them through pregnancy, childbirth and beyond

Choose ACU and graduate ready to make a profound difference for women, families and communities.

Launch your midwifery career with ACU and join a community shaping the future of woman centred maternity care.

• ACU is Australia’s largest midwifery education provider. Study at one of our three campuses offering midwifery and benefit from a strong national network.

• You’ll build real world confidence and capability from day one with early clinical learning and more than 1,000 hours of hands on experience. Be supported by ACU’s digital health and immersive simulation through our partnership with Skybox Health.

• Our ethical, woman centred curriculum is grounded in dignity, equity, Indigenous cultural perspectives and ACU’s mission, with opportunities for community service.

• Join a supportive and inclusive student community with a strong commitment to inclusion and diversity. You can access peer mentorship for academic and personal support, plus a student run midwifery society (MidSoc) on every campus offering connection, networking and events all year round.

Compassion and connection

A midwifery career offers deep purpose and the opportunity to make a lasting difference

Dr Annette Garvey Senior Lecturer in Midwifery + Midwifery Coordinator,Course ACU

Midwifery is not just a profession, it’s a vocation! It is amazing, rewarding and a privilege to stand beside women in some of the most powerful, vulnerable, and transformative moments of their lives. The role is filled with extraordinary highs, and moments of deep connection.

While there are challenges, midwifery continues to evolve in inspiring ways. New, exciting evidence emerges all the time, enabling us to enhance our practice and create better outcomes for women, their families, communities and globally.

Throughout my career, I have engaged in the full scope of midwifery practice, in many countries around the world. Every place, every woman, and every birth has deepened my appreciation and understanding of not only the strength of women, but also what it means to provide compassionate and culturally sensitive care.

If you’re passionate, resilient, and willing to make a real impact, midwifery is an incredible path to take. Studying at ACU can help get you there.

At ACU, the passion of experienced midwives working within academia is a testament to the robustness of a woman-centred, contemporary and culturally responsive midwifery degree. Our course is grounded in real-world midwifery practice and evidence-based care. Underpinning the Bachelor of Midwifery are ACU’s core values of truth, excellence and service, which promote flourishing lives, thriving communities and an ethical future.

If you’re passionate, resilient and willing to make a real impact, midwifery is an incredible path to take”

Career opportunities for ACU graduates are wonderful too. You can work in areas across the scope of midwifery (antenatal clinics, birthing suite and/or the postnatal ward), or you can work within a midwifery group practice or as a private or independent midwife. You can later choose to work in a specialised area, like assisted fertility services or education, after additional training. Midwifery also offers opportunities to work internationally. Wherever your interests lie, midwifery offers a pathway that supports ongoing growth, advanced practice, and meaningful connection with women, babies and families.

Dr Annette Garvey Senior Lecturer in Midwifery and Midwifery Course Coordinator, ACU

Delivering career opportunities

Looking for a job that’s varied and emotionally fulfilling? Study midwifery!

What’s a midwife?

A midwife is a trained professional who works in partnership with women supporting them through pregnancy and childbirth. They also provide safe, respectful and responsive postnatal care to women and their babies. This includes meeting the emotional, psychological, physical, social and spiritual needs of each woman they care for.

Pay day

According to SEEK, the average annual salary for midwife jobs in Australia ranges from $90,000 to $110,000.

The best of the best

ACU was ranked in the top 10 in Australia and top 100 globally for nursing in the Times Higher Education in 2024.

What do they do?

During pregnancy a midwife can:

• Conduct regular checkups to monitor the wellbeing of both mother and baby

• Arrange diagnostic tests when needed

• Share knowledge and resources on pregnancy, birth and early parenting

Career options

Study a Bachelor of Midwifery at ACU and you could work as:

• A registered midwife within maternal settings

• A consultant midwife

• A clinical specialist

• An antenatal educator

• A researcher

• A midwife in family care

• An independent midwifery practitioner

• A special care nursery midwife

FYI

ACU’s Bachelor of Midwifery is offered on three Blacktown,campuses: Brisbane and Melbourne.

• Help women create a birth plan that respects their priorities and choices In labour they:

• Monitor and support the woman and baby throughout labour and birth

• Support the woman in managing their pain

• Assist the woman as she births her baby

After birth they:

• Conduct checks on the mother and baby

• Offer reassurance and support on infant feeding, newborn behaviour and the mother’s recovery

• Provide referrals to other health professionals (like lactation consultants, psychologists and paediatricians) if required

Where you could work

Midwife employers include:

✔ Public and private hospitals

✔ Private midwifery practices

✔ Community health centres

✔ Aboriginal community-controlled health organisations

✔ Themselves! Midwives can be self-employed and hired by women for home and hospital births, as well as antenatal and postnatal care

Grab your passport

As an ACU midwifery student, you could experience a short-term international study experience (STISE).

Midwife meter

Could you be a midwife?

Count up how many sentences apply to you:

1. You’re really good at communicating and explaining

2. You’re known for being empathetic and supportive

3. You’re known for staying calm under pressure

4. You’re accepting of a wide range of cultural beliefs

5. You easily adapt to changing situations

Be in demand

ACU ranks #1 in Australiagraduatefor employment!

6. You notice the little things

Did you count four or more?

Congrats, you would make an incredible midwife!

Midwife glossary

Antenatal = before birth

B/P = blood pressure

Breech = baby is positioned bottom down

Cephalic = baby is positioned head down

EDD = estimated due date

Fundus height = measurement that indicates fetal growth and gestational age (how far along the pregnancy is)

Gestation = pregnancy length

Postnatal = after birth

Did you know?

Across NSW, midwives support the birth of almost 100,000 babies each year.

How to become a midwife

Want to become a registered midwife who can work in hospitals, birth centres and the community? Study the Bachelor of Midwifery at ACU – they’re Australia’s largest midwifery education provider. The perks of this degree include:

✔ Immersing yourself in a woman-centred curriculum, focusing on dignity and global perspectives

✔ 1000 hours of clinical experience starting in your first year

✔ Peer mentorship to support you on your study journey

✔ Access to digital health and simulation innovation through ACU’s partnership with Skybox Health

✔ Financial support for clinical placements

✔ A tailored Indigenous pathway including an away-from-base model for Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander students

Learn more about the degree by scanning the QR code: And flip to page 8 to see other midwifery degree options at ACU!

We need more midwives

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), there will be a shortage of 0.31 million midwives by 2030. Why not skill up with a Bachelor of Midwifery and have your pick of midwifery jobs?

Birth is transformative

Especially for Mayra Stark, who decided to switch from a career in music to midwifery after the homebirth of her second child!

Mayra’s birthing experience made her want to give back by working in midwifery. “It was such a life changing experience,” she explains. “So, I did some research, applied to study a Bachelor of Midwifery at ACU, and well, the rest is history.”

At ACU, Mayra loved that her fellow students were a mix of age groups. “It was easy to find my people and I still have many close midwife friends from my ACU cohort,” she says. She also liked that the course content had a strong focus on midwifery philosophy and woman-centred care, and that the staff were keen to set the students up for success.

And now? Mayra works at Joan Kirner Women’s and Children’s Hospital at Western Health. She has two roles there – one as a midwife in the Midwifery Group Practice (MGP) program, and one as a midwifery research assistant on a safety in labour and birth project.

MAYRA STARK MIDWIFE and midwife research assistant

I graduated,” she says. “However, I also have small kids and a brain that is academically inclined, so for this stage of my life working in MGP and assisting on an excellent research project is really fulfilling. One thing that’s great about midwifery is that there are many options for different kinds of work.”

For future midwifery students, Mayra shares, “Midwifery is about heart, communication and skill, and all of these things need to be developed as you study.” She also believes it’s important to have a good support network around you, to keep your mind and heart open to learning, and to always listen to those you are providing care to.

“I love this dual role as working in MGP has always been my goal and I’ve been itching to provide continuity of care since

“Midwifery is about heart, communication and skill, and all of these things need to be developed as you study”

A day in the life of a… MIDWIFE

Kerry Foster studied midwifery at ACU and now cares for women and families on Palm Island

Every morning, clinical midwifery consultant Kerry flies to Palm Island – an Aboriginal island community located 60 kilometres from Townsville.

“I work in a team of two midwives and one Aboriginal Health worker to provide antenatal, postnatal and parenting care on Palm Island,” Kerry explains. “As an endorsed midwife, I can also prescribe medications and order pathology and ultrasound scans for women during pregnancy, labour and the postpartum period, which provides cohesive primary maternity care.”

One of the best parts of her job? Building deep, trusting relationships with First Nations women and their families on Country.

“This helps with knowledge transfer – I provide support with breastfeeding, parenting, newborn care, nutrition, self-care, mental health and wellbeing. Seeing a new mother blossom, surrounded by love and wisdom, is an extraordinary experience.”

If you’re considering becoming a midwife, Kerry’s advice is to do it!

“Being a midwife is incredibly rewarding and joyful, but we also care for women experiencing loss and grief as a part of the job. Communication is vital, and being able to explain things many ways is important.”

Being a midwife is incredibly rewarding and joyful”

On the job

6:30am

Arrive at the airport for my flight to Palm Island.

8am

Antenatal visits at the hospital.

10am

Case conference with the midwifery team to plan care for pregnant and postnatal women without them having to leave home.

11am

Head out in the car with our Aboriginal health worker to complete postnatal home visits. We visit every mum and baby up to six weeks postnatal to monitor feeding, wellbeing, baby weight and development.

2pm

Head back to the clinic to complete documentation, have lunch and complete online professional development learning.

3pm

Plan for tomorrow’s cooking class. We provide cooking sessions at playgroup so parents can learn to cook nutritious, cost-effective meals.

4pm

Head to the airport for the flight home.

Get the job!

✔ Want to influence maternal and women’s health, nationally and internationally

✔ Are passionate about social justice, feminism and advocacy

✔ Would like a career that’s in demand and hands-on

✔ Are keen to make a difference

✔ Would like to support women and families at a special and vulnerable time Choose this career if you...

Call the Midwife (ABC iview)

In this British period drama, follow the nurses, midwives and nuns who visit expectant mothers in the town of Poplar, providing women with the best possible care.

ACU Graduate: Cherisse Buzzacott, Outback Midwife (YouTube)

Follow the story of Cherisse Buzzacott, who works in remote communities and is the only Aboriginal midwife at Alice Springs Hospital.

Listen

Australian Birth Stories

Hear from over 300 women who discuss their unique pregnancy and birth journeys, as well as how they’re navigating postpartum.

Making a Midwife

This podcast shares stories from midwives across Australia and around the world.

Bachelor of Midwifery • Bachelor of Midwifery (Indigenous Cohort) • Bachelor of Midwifery (Honours)

‘A New Beginning’

Find out what inspired Lynda Trovato to make the switch from a food and nutrition science career to midwifery, three decades later.

‘A Labour of Love’

Read about the experiences of a male midwife who graduated from ACU.

‘The Beauty of Birth’

Paramedic Lydia Attrill’s experience at an unplanned homebirth reaffirmed her decision to study midwifery.

Read the above articles at: impact.acu.edu.au

‘The Birth Project’ (ABC)

Insights from Australian childbirth stories gathered from over 4000 people. Topics include mental health, premature birth, regional midwifery programs, home birth and more.

Labours of Love: A midwife’s stories of birth, life and speaking up for women by Oceane Campbell

In this book, an Australian midwife shares career and personal stories about fertility, pregnancy, miscarriage and birth, and explores issues women face when becoming a mother.