As Chief Nursing and Midwifery Officer for NT Health, Kellie Wilton is driving a bold agenda to ensure nurses and midwives can work to their full scope of practice – and to imagine career pathways that stretch far beyond traditional frontline roles.
For Kellie, this is central to both workforce retention and workforce efficiency. “Highly skilled practitioners want to keep learning, to advance their practice and to work in roles that make full use of their capabilities,” she says.
“So, when we can remove political, policy or administrative barriers, it is very easy low-hanging fruit. It can be done.”
Midwifery leadership and professional identity
Kellie’s own career reflects her refusal to accept the status quo – especially when she sees opportunities to strengthen midwifery as an autonomous profession. Midwifery gained formal recognition as a standalone discipline at the turn of the century, and Kellie was among the early midwives to qualify with a single midwifery qualification.
Her rise to the most senior nursing and midwifery leadership role in the Northern Territory is a powerful demonstration that midwives can lead at the highest executive levels without first becoming registered nurses.
Before joining NT Health, Kellie served as Australia’s first Senior Midwifery Advisor within the Commonwealth Chief Nursing and Midwifery Officer Division. At the time, she highlighted a significant shift: “This government has recognised that nursing and midwifery are two very distinct professions and is committed to reducing health inequities in the maternity space.”
She continues to champion the importance of midwives having a voice in national and jurisdictional decision-making. “There are growing opportunities to have a midwife at the table, advising, and this can’t be understated,” she says. “I’m not just talking about the status of the profession – it’s also about Australians getting the best start in life.”
Expanding scope: Prescribing and digital health
In her current role, Kellie is advancing initiatives that broaden clinical scope and modernise practice. One priority is the introduction of RN prescribing, with NT Health partnering with Charles Darwin University to establish education pathways from 2027.
This will allow registered nurses who meet specific criteria to become endorsed prescribers within defined models of care, such as diabetes education, palliative care and discharge settings.
“It’s a partnership model within a specific model of care,” Kellie explains.
“It increases patient flow and creates new opportunities for nurses to expand their scope.”
She is also shaping NT Health’s approach to digital health, ensuring nurses and midwives are embedded in the design of emerging systems.
“Digital tools are most effective when designed with direct input from those who use them,” she says. Too often, systems are rolled out without adequate consultation, resulting in tools that are not fit for purpose.
For Kellie, digital health is also a retention strategy – an avenue for experienced clinicians to remain in the profession even when stepping away from direct clinical care. Their expertise continues to influence service planning, workforce modelling and quality improvement.
A strong voice for maternity care and continuity models
Kellie’s earlier clinical work as a midwife – particularly in Aboriginal communities and with women in immigration detention – has deeply shaped her views on maternity care. She is a strong advocate for midwifery continuity of care, a model she believes should be the default for all women.
“In midwifery, the default should be continuity of care for every woman having a baby, not an option,” she says.
Evidence from Aboriginal communities consistently shows improved outcomes, and Kellie is adamant that continuity models are one of the most powerful tools available to improve maternal and infant health.
“It really does set up babies with the best start for life and the best for women across the life course. Talking about closing the gap, the under-five space is the place to do it. If we took a public health approach, this would be the best investment for governments looking at improving public health.”
Leading in the Territory
When Kellie moved to the Northern Territory a year ago, she saw its challenges – vast distances a high Aboriginal population, significant chronic disease burden – not as deterrents but as motivators. A priority from day one has been making herself visible to the workforce, travelling beyond Darwin to connect directly with nurses and midwives across the Territory.
Her goal for her four-year term, which runs until early 2029, is clear: to strengthen the system, build on existing work, and create a platform for ongoing improvement for those who follow.
