Medical students will undertake up to 4000 hours of clinical placement. But they still won’t be paid for it.
Yesterday, the Prime Minister announced the expansion of Commonwealth prac payment scheme to include another 10 “front line” health degrees – none of which were medicine.
It’s a decision that’s left some – including the Australian Medical Students Association – baffled, and others overjoyed.
The expanded scope is expected to support more than 20,000 additional students, bringing the total number of students supported by the payments to 95,000.
Independent MP for Kooyong Dr Monique Ryan said while she was really glad to see a “sensible, well-focused policy measure”, she thought the exclusion of other healthcare students “deeply unfair and unsustainable”.
“How can you fix placement poverty for physios and podiatrists, but not for medical, dentistry, veterinary, nutrition and dietetics, optometry, and osteopathy students?”
“We can’t have students sleeping in tents, skipping meals and deferring their courses because they can’t work while on placement and they can’t pay their bills,” she said.
Dr Ryan, a former paediatric neurologist, said she’ll continue to push the government to close the gap and extend prac payments to all.
“No one training to look after Australians’ health [should be] forced to choose between finishing their degree and paying their rent.”
Here’s what some of the healthcare peak organisations had to say.
Organisation: Medical Deans Australia and New Zealand (MDANZ)
Who: Professor Kirsty Forrest, president
The MDANZ president said it was vital medical students receive assistance during mandatory placements, with the medical education peak body’s 2026 national data report finding 54.9% of medical students rely on government assistance to complete their degree.
“Over 61.4% of [medical] students are working paid jobs alongside their studies, income that has to stop the moment they go on placement, creating student poverty at exactly the point they can least afford it,” Professor Forrest said.
While the MDANZ commended the government’s extension of prac payments to 10 additional allied health professionals, Professor Forrest said it was essential that medicine be accessible to all students, irrespective of their socioeconomic or cultural background.
“[It’s] an important change we have been working to bring about and want to continue,” she said.
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Organisation: Rural Doctors Association of Australia (RDAA)
Who: Professor Sarah Chalmers, president
Calling it a “blow” to Australia’s future rural medical workforce and healthcare access, the RDAA president said the government had once again failed to recognise the significant financial pressures on medical students, especially those in rural and remote areas.
“Rural and remote Australia is short of healthcare professionals across the board, so every additional discipline included in the scheme is welcome. But continuing to leave medical students out undermines efforts to address Australia’s rural doctor shortage,” Professor Chalmers said.
While the RDAA president said every health profession deserves assistance during mandatory placement, she found the decision to exclude students in some of the longest, most demanding placements “difficult to understand and deeply frustrating”.
“Employers cannot always hold a job open while a student is away on placement for weeks or months. That makes medical students more financially vulnerable and more reliant on family support, putting medicine increasingly out of reach for people from less advantaged backgrounds,” she said.
The RDAA called on the federal government to extend the Commonwealth prac payment to medical students before the scheduled review.
Organisation: National Rural Health Alliance (NRHA)
Who: Susi Tegen, chief executive
The NHRA chief executive said the means-tested indexed payment, which would provide students with up to $338.60 per week, was a welcome measure and important investment in delivering comprehensive, multidisciplinary care in rural communities.
“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,” Ms Tegen said.
However, the alliance warned weekly payments might not cover the extra 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 NRHA said it looked forward to working with the government to build on the prac payment’s expansion, including additional travel and accommodation assistance and clearer pathways from rural training into secure rural employment.
Organisation: AMA Queensland
Who: Associate Professor Erica Gannon, president
The AMA Queensland president backed the Australian Medical Students’ Association’s call for the allowance to be expanded.
“Australia needs thousands of new doctors from all walks of life to keep up with the demands of a growing and ageing population,” Professor Gannon said.
“We need doctors from diverse backgrounds to serve their communities and bring unique perspectives to the profession,” she said.
Organisation: Australian Medical Association
Who: Dr Danielle McMullen, president
The AMA president said the government’s decision “makes no sense” given its workforce modelling, which highlights a dire need to attract doctors to underserved communities and specialties, where patients already face difficulty accessing timely care.
“Providing means-tested access to these payments for medical students would be an important step towards addressing this growing challenge,” she said.
Dr McMullen said the community deserved an explanation as to why medical students were once again being excluded from the payment scheme.
Organisation: Royal Australian College of General Practice
Who: Dr Michael Wright, president
The RACGP, which has not yet issued an official statement, told The Medical Republic that the financial burden of training highly skilled GPs and doctors through unpaid placements is a major barrier for some of the “brightest” doctors.
“Expanding this means-tested program to medical students just makes sense, and we’ll be calling on the government to do this,” Dr Wright said.
The program will begin on 1 July 2027.
