The National Rural Health Alliance (the Alliance) has welcomed the Australian Government’s decision to extend the Commonwealth Prac Payment to students undertaking mandatory placements in ten additional health professions.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has announced that, from 1 July 2027, eligible students studying clinical psychology, physiotherapy, occupational therapy, speech pathology, paramedicine, radiography, pharmacy, rehabilitation therapies, podiatry and audiology will be able to access the payment.
The means-tested and indexed payment provides eligible students with up to $338.60 a week while completing mandatory clinical and professional placements.
National Rural Health Alliance Chief Executive, Susi Tegen, said the expansion was an important investment in the future health workforce, especially for rural Australia.
“This is a welcome and practical measure that recognises students still have rent, food, transport, childcare and other bills to pay while undertaking the clinical placements required to complete their qualifications,” Ms Tegen said.
“This is not a rural-only payment, but it has significant potential to remove some of the financial barriers that prevent students from accepting rural and remote placements”.
Students who undertake rural placements can gain enormous experience of broader scopes of practice, multidisciplinary care, community connection and the professional opportunities available outside metropolitan Australia.
The Alliance cautioned that a general weekly payment may not fully meet the additional costs associated with rural and remote placements.
“For some students, $338.60 a week will not cover the real cost of travelling hundreds of kilometres, paying for temporary accommodation and continuing to meet existing expenses,” Ms Tegen said.
The expanded scheme is expected to support more than 20,000 additional students, bringing the total number supported by the Commonwealth Prac Payment to approximately 95,000.
Ms Tegen said the additional disciplines were central to delivering comprehensive, multidisciplinary care in rural Australia. “Expanding the Prac Payment across these professions is a positive workforce pipeline initiative, but it must be connected to a broader funded National Rural Health Strategy which includes a Rural Health Workforce Strategy.”
The Alliance looks forward to working with Government to build on this momentum through:
- additional travel and accommodation assistance for rural and remote placements;
- investment in appropriate student accommodation and health infrastructure;
- stronger partnerships between universities, training providers, health services and rural communities;
- greater support for students of rural origin; and,
- clear pathways from rural training into secure rural employment.
“The AJRH is a refereed online journal and welcomes papers from Australian and international rural researchers and clinician researchers,” said Dr Jo Spong. It provides research and policy articles, commentary and letters pertinent to health, disability and ageing care as well as health and medical clinicians living and working in rural and remote areas.
“Many rural solutions are locally designed, pragmatic and place based. Rural systems operate differently: thin markets, long distances, workforce scarcity, higher transport costs, volunteer reliance and higher exposure to climate and disaster pressures,” said Ms Tegen. “The AJRH keeps those structural realities visible, it is a voice and has the opportunity to influence policy and funding allocation through evidence.” The AJRH provides a channel to document health care workforce models that would otherwise remain invisible; outreach care, rural generalist models, community-led prevention, telehealth blended with face-to-face care, Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation approaches, student placement innovation, transport solutions and multidisciplinary workforce models.