The new anti-Semitism definition adopted by AHPRA is creating confusion, and employers are already using it to restrict what nurses can wear or say outside work, Australia’s biggest nursing union says.

The Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation says its members have already reported being instructed by employers to avoid political commentary or clothing that could be seen as expressing allegiance to a political cause, including while travelling to and from work.

Last month, AHPRA announced it would embrace the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s anti-Semitism definition, which includes examples such as denying Jewish people the right to self-determination by suggesting the creation of Israel is a racist endeavour or comparing contemporary Israeli policy to that of the Nazis.

Critics say it conflates anti-Semitism with anti-Zionism and could silence health workers from speaking out on atrocities in Gaza.