Medical and health students and trainees programs and initiatives

This scholarship scheme encourages Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students to undertake undergraduate or graduate entry studies in pharmacy at an Australian university.

The Aged Care Transition to Practice (ACTTP) program provides nurses with mentoring, training and support at the start of their career in aged care.

The Approved Medical Deputising Services (AMDS) program enables non-vocationally recognised doctors to access Medicare benefits for providing after-hours services on behalf of other doctors. This helps them get general practice experience, while ensuring people can access health care after hours.

Through the APED Program, advanced specialist trainees doing their emergency medicine training can work under supervision in a private hospital for 12 months and access relevant Medicare items. This helps increase the number of emergency medicine specialists in Australia.

The Australian General Practice Training (AGPT) Program trains medical registrars in general practice. Registrars who achieve their fellowship under the program can work as GPs anywhere in Australia. Find out about the program, who is eligible and how to apply.

We contribute funding to these scholarships that help students with their day-to-day expenses and provide mentoring support while they undertake a course in health-related professions.

We contribute funding to these scholarships, which support medical students to complete a year at a Rural Clinical School. The aim is to encourage students to practice medicine in rural Australia.

We contribute funding for these scholarships, which support nursing students to complete their major clinical placement and graduating year in a rural or remote area. The aim is to encourage students to pursue a nursing career in rural Australia.

The Bonded Medical Places Scheme has closed to new applicants. Existing participants can either continue with this scheme or opt in to the more flexible Bonded Medical Program.

This scheme grants qualified privilege to certain quality assurance activities to prevent the release of identifying information. This encourages more health professionals to take part in activities that assess and improve the quality of health services.

Find out what we’re doing to make cosmetic surgery safer in Australia.

The COVID-19 pandemic placed an enormous burden on our health services and the people who work in it. The Australian Government is working with key stakeholders to tackle these challenges and maintain our world-class healthcare system.

DoctorConnect provides information to international medical graduates and their employers. It aims to help international medical graduates understand the steps required to work as a doctor in Australia, where they can work and restrictions on billing patients under Medicare.

This project helps clinicians learn about end-of-life law and the effects this has on end-of-life care and palliative care for patients.

This program supports up to 500 First Nations students to undertake accredited training in the health sector. We fund the National Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation (NACCHO) to deliver the program.

The Five Year International Medical Graduates Recruitment Scheme improves access to doctors in rural and remote areas. It increases the supply of doctors to work in these areas where their services are needed the most.

The Flexible Approach to Training in Expanded Settings (FATES) program funds non-general practitioner specialist medical training approaches. It aims to broaden the skills of the specialist workforce, bring more specialists to regional areas, and ensure all Australians can access high-quality care.

The General Practitioner Procedural Training Support Program (GPPTSP) aims to improve maternity services for women living in rural and remote areas. It supports general practitioners (GPs) in those areas to gain procedural skills in anaesthetics and obstetrics.

The program provides funds to the health workforce in rural areas to help upskill through professional development , training, short courses and seminars.

This initiative reduces outstanding Higher Education Loan Program (HELP) debt for eligible doctors and nurse practitioners who live and work in rural, remote or very remote areas of Australia.

We are supporting the aged care sector to grow the home care workforce with targeted support for providers to recruit and retain home care workers.

National Cabinet has commissioned a review of Australia’s regulatory settings for health professionals. It will consider ways to help ease health workforce shortages while maintaining high standards in health care quality and patient safety.

Learn how this program helps organisations trial new ways of providing primary care in rural and remote communities.

As part of the 2021-22 Budget, the Australian Government announced the new John Flynn Prevocational Doctor Program. This program will better streamline and coordinate medical training in regions and fund new rural primary care rotations to boost training capacity for the next generation of doctors.

The Junior Doctor Training Program (JDTP) supports education and supervision for junior doctors in rural primary health care settings and private hospitals. This helps provide a continued supply of doctors to deliver health services across Australia. It is part of our Stronger Rural Health Strategy.