More students in allied health fields to get Commonwealth prac placement payments | Region Canberra
Students in 10 frontline allied health degrees will be eligible for the newly extended paid prac placements next year. Photo: File. Commonwealth paid practical placements are being extended to university. . .
Students in 10 frontline allied health degrees will be eligible for the newly extended paid prac placements next year. Photo: File. Commonwealth paid practical placements are being extended to university students in 10 frontline allied health fields of study. The move will give eligible students up to $338. 60 a week from July next year, with the whole program now expected to cost $745 million to the end of the decade. Paid prac is already given to students studying teaching, nursing, midwifery and social work, which the Federal Government introduced just over a year ago. Anthony Albanese has used the first day of the Labor’s 50th National Conference (23 July) to announce the new measure, which he says will provide cost-of-living relief for students and support the future healthcare workforce. The Prime Minister’s speech, titledDelivering Real Change,lists the 10 areas of training the new prac payments will be directed towards. They are: clinical psychology; physiotherapy; occupational therapy; speech pathology; paramedicine; radiography; pharmacy; rehabilitation therapies; audiology; and podiatry. “Paid prac is already making a real difference – it’s helping students with cost of living while they train and that’s why we’re expanding it,” Mr Albanese said. “This is an investment in our future healthcare workforce. We need more of them, and this will help more Australians get the qualifications our nation needs. “We’re backing Australians to get the education they need, and this announcement builds on our reduction to student debt, free TAFE and tax cuts that put money back in people’s pockets. ”Practical placements are a big part of healthcare degrees and for some courses can comprise a full year towards achieving a qualification. Employers do not pay students for their placements, and many postings require them to move away from home and take up part-time, late-night jobs. Travel, accommodation and relocation costs can also discourage students from undertaking placements in regional and remote Australia, where health workforce shortages are often most acute. The government’s paid practice provides financial support to help students while they undertake their practical training. The payments are means-tested against the single Austudy rate and are indexed annually. “I understand that for many Australians right now, looking to the future runs second to the immediate pressures they are under,” the Prime Minister told the conference, which is meeting in Adelaide. “The last decade has inflicted one global shock after another, and people have been given every reason to feel like the economy is simply not working for them. “That goes deeper than sentiment; it’s a reality people are up against. It is a challenge confronting governments and democracies right around the world. “That is why our focus remains squarely on helping with the cost of living, on the practical measures that matter to people and make a positive difference to their lives. “Because that is how we demonstrate to Australians that their hard work will pay off, that their effort is worth it, that they can plan and build for their future. “And it is how we prove that the status quo is not set in stone – that problems can be solved. ”Medical and veterinary students continue to miss out, however, with the Federal Government directing the prac payments to the allied health areas it believes need to attract more students and address skills shortages. “We’re expanding it into allied health because we thought this was the absolute priority. There is a cost, of course, to this as well,” the PM said when asked about the decision-making process. “There aren’t shortages of people who want to do medical degrees. In practical terms, there are shortages of nurses, there are shortages of our social workers. ”But the Australian Medical Association isn’t too pleased at all. AMA president Danielle McMullen said including medical students would improve community access to healthcare, particularly in under-serviced rural and remote communities. “We welcome the inclusion of more health disciplines in the prac payment scheme, but the community deserves an explanation from the government about why medical students are once again being excluded from this payment scheme,” Dr McMullen said. Health Minister Mark Butler said expanding paid prac to more healthcare professions will not only help to build the health workforce, but also strengthen Medicare. “Training a domestic health workforce is crucial to ensuring every Australian can access quality health care where and when they need it,” the minister said. “These are people who are going to look after us when we’re sick or old, helping women during childbirth, helping Australians living with disability. ”Education Minister Jason Clare said paid prac was being extended to more students because it has proven to be working. “Paid prac helps to pay the bills, pay the rent and pay for things like petrol and parking,” he said. “Paid prac is making a difference now for students training for some of the most important jobs in our country. ”“We’re expanding paid prac so more frontline health workers will get that cost-of-living help while they train. “This will help more students finish their qualifications and move into the jobs the country needs. ”