Good morning.
I’d like to begin by acknowledging the traditional owners of the land on which we meet, the Ngarrindjeri people, and pay my respect to elders, past and present.
I extend that respect to all First Nations people here today.
I would also like to acknowledge:
• National Rural Health Commissioner Professor Jenny May
• Deputy Rural Health Commissioner, Associate Professor Geoff Argus
• Regional Education Commissioner Fiona Nash; and
• Wayne Champion, CEO and his team from the Riverland Mallee Coorong Local Health Network
I’m delighted to be here in Murray Bridge for the Rural Health International Place-Based Education and Research Conference, and to open this important workshop: Framing the Future: Rural Place-Based Training and Education.
It’s wonderful to have so many people in the room and joining us online to frame the future of place-based training and education.
Place-based education isn’t just a model – it’s a way of thinking.
It recognises that rural and remote communities aren’t just location pins on a map. They’re places full of life, connection, and care.
Working as the Chief Pharmacist at Wyong Hospital—in my hometown—was a privilege.
Working alongside other local people, it showed me that being part of a community changes the way you care.
You’re not just someone dispensing medication or at the bedside —you’re someone people know and trust.
And that makes a real difference—not just in health care but in people’s lives.
It’s why we’re committed to building a system that delivers care closer to home, where those connections matter most.
Those connections aren’t just personal—they’re part of what makes rural health care unique.
They demonstrate the importance of listening to communities as we design and implement services.
We know rural and remote communities face different challenges to those in cities.
At the same time, they bring incredible strengths – insights, innovation, and leadership.
And expectations are changing. People want their governments and health services to understand the bigger picture – things like housing, income, education, and how these shape health.
That’s especially true in rural areas, where the social determinants of health play out differently.
It’s also important that education and accreditation standards keep up with what communities need.
That’s why we’re encouraging a stronger focus on the skills and knowledge that match what communities expect and what the health system needs.
This includes areas like women’s health, including menopause, perimenopause and reproductive health, mental health, and family and domestic violence.
Training also needs to keep pace with technology.
AI and telehealth are changing how care is delivered, especially in remote areas.
And with so many older Australians living in rural communities, we need to make sure every practitioner is ready to care for older people with confidence and compassion.
I’m proud to be part of a government that is dedicated to equitable access to quality health care, regardless of where people live.
And that starts with training, recruiting and retaining the healthcare practitioners we need.
Fostering a home-grown workforce and training future doctors beyond the big cities and towns.
In this year’s Budget, we committed more than $662 million to grow the primary care workforce and train more Australian doctors.
This includes strengthening general practice as a specialty, and the expansion of GP and rural generalist training places.
There will be 200 extra GP and rural generalist places next year, increasing to an extra 400 places from 2028.
This will mean more GPs and rural generalist trainees – indeed a record number – working in communities where they are most needed.
Government-funded GP training will grow to more than 2,000 commencing places each year for doctors to specialise in general practice – more than half of these will be in regional and remote areas.
We are making it easier for junior doctors to pursue GP training, with new $30,000 salary incentives, up to 20 weeks’ parental leave and five days of annual study leave for GP registrars.
There are also extra rotations for junior doctors, so that over the next four years around 1,300 more early career doctors will gain experience working in primary care.
We are funding an extra 100 Commonwealth Supported Places for medical students from next year, increasing to 150 new places per year by 2028.
And an additional 400 scholarships will be available through the Primary Care Nursing and Midwifery Scholarship Program.
All with benefits for patients and a range of health practitioners, particularly in rural and remote areas.
These investments are creating pathways – not just pipelines.
Pathways that are flexible, supportive, and responsive to the needs of rural communities.
These initiatives recognise that one size does not fit all and that local solutions are needed for local issues – grassroots, not top down.
We know that medical graduates who come from a rural background or study in rural areas are much more likely to stay and practice in these communities.
The Rural Health Multidisciplinary Training (RHMT) Program is a capstone of our approach to place-based training.
Delivered by 23 universities, it supports students in medicine, nursing, midwifery, dentistry and allied health to train in rural and remote communities.
In the 2024 academic year alone, the RHMT program supported:
• Over 23,000 placements, totalling more than 204,000 training weeks.
• Nearly 10,000 nursing and midwifery placements
• 7,200 allied health placements.
• And more than 2,400 medical placements, including long-term and short-term rotations.
This is backed by an annual investment of $252 million, supporting 20 Rural Clinical Schools, 19 University Departments of Rural Health, and 28 Regional Training Hubs.
We’ve also invested in end-to-end rural medical programs, including the Murray–Darling Medical Schools Network, which will train 670 medical students at capacity and graduate 146 doctors each year.
Let me share a few stories that bring this work to life.
Dr Al Alwash – who is presenting at this conference – is originally from the UK and found his professional home in Renmark through the Riverland Academy of Clinical Excellence. He joined the rural generalist training pathway, welcoming the opportunity to complete his training locally. Today, he’s just months away from fellowship, planning to stay connected to rural practice and even planting fruit trees on his block in Berri.
Dr Nick Ireland took a different path – leaving school early, picking up a trade, and later entering medicine through the Single Employer Model. In Dr Nick’s words, “You should be able to access high quality care wherever you are in Australia. Being a rural generalist bridges that gap”.
Dr Christie Arthur, who grew up on the south coast of NSW, returned to her community through the Single Employer Model. She says, “The fact that you are in one community for the length of your training offers you a stable place to set down roots, get to know the community, and have a life outside of medicine”.
These stories show that place-based training is more than just education – it’s also about community.
We must also make sure training is culturally appropriate and inclusive.
That starts from the outset – in undergraduate education – and it’s especially vital in rural and remote settings, where First Nations people often face additional barriers to accessing care.
Growing and supporting the First Nations medical workforce is a key priority for our government.
First Nations representation within the medical workforce is increasing – about 9 per cent over five years.
We are working to boost those numbers further including by introducing demand-driven places for First Nations students to study medicine from next year.
We’re also supporting the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Workforce Strategic Framework, which expands peer support, mentoring, and leadership opportunities.
Making sure First Nations people have a key role in governance and decision-making leads to more responsive, effective services – and helps dismantle systemic racism.
Rural health research is also vital to making sure every Australian – no matter their postcode – has access to high-quality, culturally appropriate care.
We’re investing more than $1.5 billion annually in health and medical research through the Medical Research Future Fund (MRFF) and the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC).
These investments are more than just innovation – they’re about also translation to care.
We’ve also made sure that specific grants support research relevant to rural and remote health – removing barriers and closing gaps that have persisted for too long.
And we’re seeing results.
Applications from rural, regional and remote researchers are increasing, and more rural researchers are successfully securing grants.
That’s a testament to the strength and capability of our rural research community.
As we look ahead, the National Medical Workforce Strategy 2021–2031 is guiding our efforts to build a sustainable, flexible and local workforce.
It prioritises generalist capability, clinical supervision, and growing the First Nations medical workforce.
We’re also developing a National Health and Medical Research Strategy, chaired by Rosemary Huxtable.
This strategy will build on Australia’s strengths, fill gaps, and attract researchers and investors.
Public consultation will be key – and I encourage everyone here to contribute.
Finally, to everyone here – educators, researchers, clinicians, students – I want to say thank you.
You are shaping the future of rural health.
You are building systems that reflect the communities you serve.
And you are proving that place-based education is not just possible – it’s powerful.
Together, we can make sure that every Australian, no matter where they live, can access care that is high-quality, culturally appropriate, and delivered by professionals who understand their community.
Thank you.