HELP for Rural Doctors and Nurse Practitioners

About the initiative

The HELP for Rural Doctors and Nurse Practitioners initiative gives eligible doctors and nurses the opportunity to reduce their outstanding HELP debt if they meet:

• the eligibility criteria
• their obligations to complete the required amount of eligible work in rural, remote or very remote areas of Australia.

For this initiative, areas classified as Modified Monash Model 3 to 7 count as rural, remote or very remote.

Eligibility starts from 1 January 2022. If you are eligible for this initiative:

• your outstanding HELP debt will be updated each year through the taxation system
• an indexation waiver will apply to your outstanding HELP debt for the period you live and complete eligible work in an MM 3 to 7 area.

Amendments to the Higher Education Support Act 2003

On 9 February 2023, the Higher Education Support Amendment (2022 Measures No.1) Bill 2022 (the Bill) passed both houses of the Australian Parliament, and is now awaiting the Royal Assent.

The Bill amends the Higher Education Support Act 2003 to establish the Higher Education Loan Program (HELP) Debt Reduction for Health Practitioners Program (the Program).

The Bill also enables development of secondary legislation in the form of the HELP Debtor (Health Practitioner) Guidelines.

Once the Bill receives the Royal Assent the Guidelines will be developed and will outline the:

• detailed eligibility requirements
• arrangements for the administration of the program
• obligations for participants to access the benefits of the program.

On commencement of the Program, eligible doctors and nurse practitioners will be encouraged to live and work in rural, remote or very remote areas of Australia, with an offer from the Government to reduce their outstanding HELP debt, provided they meet the eligibility criteria and their obligations to complete the required amount of work.

More information can be found in the program fact sheet and frequently asked questions.   

We will provide further updates on the progress of the amendments as appropriate.

Goals

The initiative aims to increase the number of doctors and nurse practitioners living and working in rural Australia.

Eligibility criteria

See our fact sheet for details of the specific eligibility criteria that apply for doctors and nurse practitioners.

Obligations

To have your outstanding HELP debt eliminated, you must live and complete eligible work in a rural, remote or very remote location for the required amount of time.

The required amount of time varies depending on how remote the location is and how many years your degree took.

See our fact sheet for details on how long you would need to work to qualify for partial or full elimination of outstanding HELP debt.