Rural Health Multidisciplinary Training (RHMT) program

The RHMT program offers health students the opportunity to train in rural and remote communities via a network of training facilities. It aims to improve the recruitment and retention of medical, nursing, dental and allied health professionals in rural and remote Australia.

About the program

The RHMT program offers health students the opportunity to train in rural and remote communities via a network including:

  • rural clinical schools (RCSs)
  • university departments of rural health (UDRHs)
  • dental faculties offering extended rural placements
  • the Northern Territory Medical Program
  • 26 regional training hubs that build medical training pathways within a region and guide students and trainees.

See the RHMT program framework for more about its requirements.

Why it is important

There are relatively fewer health professionals in rural and remote Australia compared with the rest of the country. This affects the health and wellbeing of people who live in rural and remote areas.

Health students who undertake extended training in a rural area, and those from a rural background, are more likely to take up rural practice when they graduate.

Supporting high-quality rural health training is an effective way for us to address gaps in the rural and remote health workforce.

Goals

The program aims to improve the recruitment and retention of medical, nursing, dental and allied health professionals in rural and remote Australia.

Meeting our goals

The RHMT program meets its goals by:

  • providing effective rural training experiences for health students
  • developing an evidence base for the efficacy of rural training strategies in delivering rural health workforce outcomes
  • supporting rural health professionals to improve Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health
  • increasing the number of health and medical students who come from rural areas
  • maximising the investment of program funds in rural, regional and remote areas to maintain well-supported academic networks
  • creating networks and rural clinical training experiences that encourage students to remain in the community when they complete their training.

The program also supports metropolitan dental schools to offer extended clinical placements in rural areas.

Status

The RHMT program funds 21 universities which have created a national network of RCSs and UDRHs.

A recent independent evaluation of the RHMT found that:

  • long-term RCS placements have tripled since the early 2000s
  • between 2016 and 2018, more than 30% of Australian Government-supported medical students spent a year or more at an RCS
  • UDRH-supported nursing and allied health placements have grown from around 3,000 per year in 2004 to more than 13,000 in 2018
  • graduates with the most rural clinical placement student experience (average of 20 weeks) were working more in regional, rural and remote Australia.

Increasing rural medical training – Sector stakeholder briefing

We held an online sector stakeholder briefing on 12 May 2023 with the Department of Education about increasing rural medical training.

This briefing included information on an upcoming competitive grant round for 80 commencing medical Commonwealth supported places (CSPs)

This initiative includes more than $81 million in funding to expand rural medical clinical training placements.

We invited universities to send questions ahead of the briefing session. You can still raise questions during the application period through GrantConnect. 

Learn more by viewing the webinar below and visiting the forecast opportunity on GrantConnect.

Increasing rural medical training – Sector stakeholder briefing

We held an online sector stakeholder briefing on 12 May 2023 with the Department of Education about increasing rural medical training. This briefing included information on an upcoming competitive grant round for 80 commencing medical Commonwealth Supported Places (CSPs).

Contact

For more information about the RHMT program, contact:

  • participating universities (if you are a student)
  • our national office (for general enquiries).

Participating universities

The table lists participating universities and their associated rural training facilities.

Using the table

Click on a column heading to sort. Or start typing in the search box to find the information you need. Swipe left or right to see more of the table if you're on a mobile device.

The table lists participating universities and their associated rural training facilities.

 

University State Rural clinical school (RCS) University department of rural health (UDRH) Regional training hub (RTH) Dental training site
The University of Adelaide SA Adelaide RCS   Eyre Peninsula and Spencer Gulf RTH Adelaide Dental School
Australian National University ACT ANU RCS   South East NSW RTH  
Charles Sturt University NSW   Three Rivers UDRH    
Curtin University WA

Curtin Medical School Rural Health Campus RCS of Western Australia (partnership with the University of Western Australia)

     
Deakin University Vic Deakin Rural Clinical School Deakin Rural Health Western Victoria RTH  
Flinders University NT, SA

NT Medical Program Rural and Remote Health SA

Remote Interprofessional Placement Learning NT Centre for Remote Health NT

Northern Territory RTH Limestone Coast/Riverland RTH

 
Griffith University Qld Griffith RCS     Griffith dental training site
James Cook University Qld James Cook University RCS Mount Isa Centre for Rural and Remote Health North Queensland RTH  
La Trobe University Vic   La Trobe Rural Health School    
The University of Melbourne Vic The University of Melbourne Rural Clinic Schools University of Melbourne Department of Rural Health Goulburn Valley RTH University of Melbourne Dental School
Monash University Vic Monash University RCS Monash School of Rural Health Gippsland and North West Victoria RTH  
The University of Newcastle NSW Peel, Manning and Tablelands RCS University of Newcastle Department of Rural Health North West NSW RTH  
University of New South Wales NSW University of New South Wales Rural Clinic School   UNSW Medicine Regional Training Hubs  
The University of Notre Dame Australia NSW, Vic, WA Lithgow, Ballarat and Wagga Wagga clinical schools RCS of Western Australia (partnership with the University of Western Australia) Majarlin Kimberley UDRH Riverina RTH  
The University of Queensland Qld UQ RCS Southern Queensland Rural Health UQ Regional Training Hubs UQ Rural Dental Clinics
University of South Australia SA   UniSA Department of Rural Health    
The University of Sydney NSW University of Sydney School of Rural Health University Centre for Rural Health Broken Hill University Department of Rural Health Western NSW Far West NSW Northern NSW RTH University of Sydney School of Dentistry
University of Tasmania Tas University of Tasmania Rural Clinical School University of Tasmania Centre for Rural Health Tasmanian RTH  
The University of Western Australia WA RCS of Western Australia Western Australian Centre for Rural Health UWA Rural Training Hubs UWA Dental School
Western Sydney University NSW Western Sydney University Rural Clinical Schools      
University of Wollongong NSW University of Wollongong School of Medicine   Clarence Valley RTH  (shared with University of Sydney)  
Date last updated:

Help us improve health.gov.au

If you would like a response please use the enquiries form instead.