Australian Government expands paid prac to strengthen Medicare

The Australian Government is expanding the Commonwealth Prac Payment to people training in an additional ten key front line health professions. This will provide cost of living relief for students and support our future healthcare workforce. Unpaid practical placements are a big part of healthcare degrees. For some courses such as radiography, it is more than a year of the degree. For that commitment, many students have to give up paid work and many have to move away from home. Paid prac provides financial support to help students while they undertake practical training. Paid prac already covers eligible teaching, nursing, midwifery and social work students. The Australian Government is now expanding it to eligible students studying these ten courses: - clinical psychology - physiotherapy - occupational therapy - speech pathology - paramedicine - radiography - pharmacy - rehabilitation therapies - audiology - podiatry This is another way the Australian Government is helping with the cost of living in addition to policies such as our 20 per cent cut to student debt, tax cuts for every taxpayer, cheaper childcare and backing wage rises. Eligible students currently receive $338.60 per week during their clinical and professional placement periods. It is a means tested payment benchmarked to the single Austudy rate and indexed annually. Paid prac is reducing financial pressure on students and allowing them to spend less time worrying about paying the bills and more time focused on their training. It helps students doing placements when they have to relocate, including in the bush. Travel, accommodation and relocation costs can discourage students from undertaking placements in regional and remote Australia, where health workforce shortages are often most acute. The expansion of the Commonwealth Prac Payment will help more students manage these costs, complete their qualifications and move into critical health and care jobs. Expanding paid prac to more healthcare professions will help to continue building the health workforce Australia needs and strengthen Medicare. Quotes attributable to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese: “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. “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.” Quotes attributable to Minister for Health and Ageing Mark Butler: “The Albanese Labor Government is strengthening Medicare by growing the health workforce Australians need. “Training a domestic health workforce is crucial to ensuring every Australian can access quality health care where and when they need it. “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. “This expansion means that if you’re training to be a pharmacist, physio or psychologist, you’ll also now have a bit of extra help to get through. “This will make a big difference for students doing placements in the bush who face extra costs when they’re training away from home.” Quotes attributable to Minister for Education Jason Clare: “Paid prac is working, that’s why we’re expanding it. “Paid prac helps to pay the bills, pay the rent and pay for things like petrol and parking. “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 front line 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.”