Almost one in four primary care nurses have asked their employers for more complex clinical work in the past year and had their request rejected, a survey shows.

The Australian Primary Health Care Nurses Association (APNA) says many of its members are being “under-utilised” in their roles because they are not allowed to practise to the full extent of their skills and knowledge.

The body published the results of a survey of 2052 nurses working in primary care settings, such as general practices, in which just 34% of respondents said they were regularly practising at the full scope of their training.

Nearly half said they had approached their employers with requests to be allowed to perform more complex tasks, such as health assessments or chronic disease management, in the previous 12 months.