Nurse Cath Simpson was dragged before a disciplinary tribunal for lawful posts on X — then sent a threatening card at her home address.

Now the Nursing Council is seeking even more power through a proposed new Code of Conduct that would severely restrict what nurses can say — including online and off-duty.What’s wrong with the draft Code of Conduct? 

1. Vague speech rules with no definitions. Nurses would have to ensure public statements aren’t “offensive, abusive, inflammatory or ill-informed” — but none of those terms are defined.That invites arbitrary enforcement and makes self-censorship the safest option.

2. A ban on “imposing” beliefs — without saying what “impose” means.The Code prohibits nurses from “imposing” political, religious, or cultural beliefs on “health consumers”, but offers no guidance on what counts as “imposing”. With “health consumer” defined broadly, this can spill into nurses’ off-duty public expression online – even where there is no patient relationship.

3. A clampdown on dissent and workplace critique The draft discourages nurses from publicly discussing colleagues, clinical care, or broader practice issues, including on social media. Even with whistleblowing pathways, this risks penalising nurses who speak up when internal mechanisms fail — entrenching a culture of silence.Do two things today

We built a satirical “Speech Checker” to show how quickly normal opinions can be labelled non-compliant. It’s funny — until you realise the Code is real and the consequences would be real.Try the Speech Checker (20 seconds) Make a submission to the Nursing Council (from the same page)

CHECK TO SEE IF YOUR SPEECH IS COMPLIANT.

But shouldn’t nurses’ speech have some limits?
Of course. Confidentiality and patient privacy matter. Serious misconduct matters. 

Nobody is arguing that nurses should be able to say anything, anywhere, without consequences.
The problem is this draft goes far beyond those obvious boundaries. 

When a regulator uses vague concepts like “inflammatory” or “ill-informed” without definitions, the result is predictable: people go quiet.

Why this matters for all of us. 
We rely on nurses to speak honestly about what’s happening in our health system – in normal times, and especially in crisis. If nurses learn that lawful speech can trigger disciplinary action, or that raising concerns publicly is too risky, patients lose.

Public trust isn’t built by forcing conformity. It’s built through competence, integrity, and the freedom to raise concerns when something is going wrong.

But nurses lose too. Nobody should give up their right to public debate on issues that interest them because they have joined a regulated profession.

How many more Cath Simpsons will this new code lead to?
Submissions close 9 March 2026.Please take the time to do this today:

CHECK OUT THE PAGE AND MAKE A SUBMISSION

Thanks for backing us, and for helping make sure the next time nurses need to speak honestly, they still can.