ANDREW GEE
FEDERAL MEMBER FOR CALARE
I WELCOME the Prime Minister’s announcement expanding the Commonwealth Prac Payment scheme to include 10 allied health University courses and professions.
This is a massive win for country students, regional universities like Charles Sturt University and independent MPs who have been pressuring the Government to deliver this support.
Under the expanded scheme, allied health students in fields like physiotherapy, occupational therapy, speech pathology, paramedicine, and pharmacy will now receive $338.60 a week to help ease the crushing burden of cost-of-living pressures while out on Prac placements.
Among students, this struggle is known as “placement poverty.”
In country areas, students don’t just travel a suburb or two down the road to do their practical training.
They often have to travel thousands of kilometres, relocate interstate, pay for extra accommodation, and give up their part-time jobs just to complete over 1000 hours of mandatory, unpaid placements.
Without financial help, it discourages people from studying in the bush altogether.
If we don’t support our regional health students, we won’t have the health workforce of tomorrow, and country communities will suffer.
People in the country die younger than our city counterparts and that is the cold, hard truth. We desperately need more health professionals out here.
While this announcement is a great start and will make a real difference, the Government shouldn’t be playing Scrooge when it comes to regional health.
Why have key courses and professions including medicine, dentistry, optometry, and veterinary science been left out?
Medical students, for example, face up to 3000 hours of unpaid clinical rotations.
Expecting them to do that for free, far away from home, pushes them to the brink.
Studying for a medical degree shouldn’t depend on the size of your bank balance.
The Federal Government has taken a good first step, but the job isn’t finished.
I am calling on the Prime Minister to extend these Prac Payments to our medical, dentistry, optometry, and vet students so we can build the strong, vibrant regional healthcare workforce country Australia urgently needs.