To achieve this, the Australian Government has invested in a network of Rural Clinical Schools (RCSs) and University Departments of Rural Health (UDRHs) as well as supporting metropolitan dental schools to offer extended clinical placements in rural areas. With effect from 1 January 2016, these previously separate initiatives have been consolidated into one program, the Rural Health Multidisciplinary Training (RHMT) program.
The RHMT program is designed to encourage the recruitment and retention of rural and remote health professionals 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 rural origin health and medical students; and
- Maximising the investment of program funds in rural, regional and remote areas for the maintenance of well supported academic networks to enhance the delivery of training to students to support the provision of medical services to communities.
The RHMT program also incorporates funding support for:
- Flinders University to operate the Northern Territory Medical program and the Indigenous Transition Pathways to Medicine program,
- Regional training hubs under the Integrated Rural Training Pipeline for Medicine initiative; and
- Rural Health Clubs and the National Rural Health Student Network.
In the 2015-2016 Mid-Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook, the government announced a significant increase in investment through the RHMT program. This included an expansion to multidisciplinary training by almost doubling the funding to UDRHs and providing funding to establish three new UDRHs. It also included funding for the regional training hubs component of the Integrated Rural Training Pipeline for Medicine (IRTP) to be based at RHMT program sites.
On 13 April 2017, the Assistant Minister for Health, the Hon David Gillespie MP, announced the successful applicants to establish the new UDRHs and the locations of the 26 regional training hubs. Details of the new UDRHs can be found in the table below
New University Departments of Rural Health
| State | Region | University |
|---|---|---|
| WA | Broome and Kimberley | University of Notre Dame Australia |
| NSW | Southern and Central | Charles Sturt University |
| Queensland | South-east | University of Queensland |
The RHMT program supports a network of rural clinical training sites across Australia, with university staff living and working in regional, rural and remote areas, delivering rural clinical training experiences to health students and encouraging them to remain in these communities when they complete their training.
Universities currently participating in the RHMT program are:
Adelaide University
Adelaide Rural Clinical School
Australian National University
Australian National University Rural Clinical School
Charles Sturt University
Three Rivers University Department of Rural Health
Deakin University
Deakin Rural Clinical School
Flinders University South Australia
Flinders Rural Health South Australia
Flinders University Northern Territory
Northern Territory Medical Program
Centre for Remote Health
Griffith University
Griffith QRME Longlook Program
James Cook University
James Cook Rural Clinical Schools
Mount Isa Centre for Rural and Remote Health
University of Melbourne
University of Melbourne Department of Rural Health
Monash University
Monash Rural Health
University of Newcastle
University of Newcastle Department of Rural Health
University of New South Wales
UNSW Medicine’s Rural Clinical School
University of Notre Dame Australia
School of Medicine, Sydney Rural Clinical Schools
Rural Clinical School of Western Australia (partnership with the University of Western Australia)
University of Queensland
University of Queensland Rural Clinical School
University of South Australia
Department of Rural Health
University of Sydney
University of Sydney School of Rural Health
Broken Hill University Department of Rural Health
University Centre for Rural Health North Coast
University of Tasmania
University of Tasmania Rural Clinical School
University of Tasmania Centre for Rural Health
University of Western Australia
Rural Clinical School of Western Australia
Western Australian Centre for Rural Health
Western Sydney University
Western Sydney University Rural Clinical Schools
University of Wollongong
University of Wollongong School of Medicine
Rural Health Multidisciplinary Training (RHMT) Program 2016 – 2018 Framework
Rural Health Multidisciplinary Training (RHMT) 2016-2018 – Program Framework
More Information
For more information email enquiries@health.gov.au