NT Government Terminates $1.1 Million Private Midwife Contract
The Northern Territory government has cancelled a $1.1 million contract awarded to Darwin midwife Claire Marks to establish a private midwifery service, citing safety and governance concerns. The contract was signed last September despite Marks being under investigation by the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia at the time, which later imposed supervision conditions on her registration. The termination highlights gaps in the government's pre-contract due diligence and leaves Darwin without a private maternity option following the closure of the Territory's only private maternity ward.
The NT government confirmed it has axed a $1.1 million contract with CE Marks Pty Ltd — trading as Midwives in Darwin — nearly ten months after doctors first raised concerns about the arrangement. The contract was awarded to midwife Claire Marks in September 2024 to help fill the gap left by the closure of the NT's only private maternity ward, but at the time of signing, Marks was already under investigation by the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia. Two months after the contract was signed, the Board imposed conditions requiring Marks to practice only under supervision and to engage an approved mentor, restrictions that NT Health says it was unaware of when the deal was finalised. NT Health deputy chief executive Kim Charles stated that no clinical services or patient care had commenced, as the contract was still in its establishment phase, but declined to answer questions about how much taxpayer money was spent or whether any funds would be recovered. The Australian Medical Association's NT branch welcomed the decision, with president John Zorbas also pointing to social media posts by Midwives in Darwin — including a now-deleted claim that birthing further from a delivery suite leads to better outcomes — as spreading misinformation harmful to women. The Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation called on the government to instead invest in existing public maternity services and offer competitive pay to address ongoing workforce shortages.
What's missing
The total amount of taxpayer funds already expended under the contract before termination remains undisclosed, as does whether any funds will be recovered. The specific grounds for the Nursing and Midwifery Board's conditions on Marks's registration have not been publicly released by AHPRA. It is also unclear what alternative arrangements the NT government plans to pursue to address the ongoing absence of private maternity services in Darwin.
What different sources said
- ABC AustraliaCenter
NT government axes controversial $1.1 million private midwife contract
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