Coalition vows $100 million for rural healthcare

The Coalition has set aside $100 million to be spent on improving rural healthcare, if successful at next month’s Federal Election.
 
Announced on Wednesday, the Coalition says the money has been earmarked for upgrading regional medical training facilities and additional regional medical Commonwealth Supported Places (CSPs).
 
This plan would be rolled out within six months, if the Coalition is elected, through a new Rural, Regional, and Remote Health Strategy developed by National Rural Health Commissioner, Professor Jenny May.
 
The Coalition says its promised 200 medical CSPs would be guaranteed for the regions to ‘tackle the chronic rural health workforce shortage’, taking its medical CSP commitment to 350 places.
 
This announcement comes after Labor promised $45 million in the 2025–26 Federal Budget for 100 new medical CSPs per year from 2026, increasing to 150 per year from 2028.
 
It also set aside more than $3 million from 2025–26 to uncap the number of medical CSPs for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students from 2026.
 
RACGP Rural Chair Associate Professor Michael Clements described the funding promise as ‘momentum in the right direction’.
 
‘It’s a good idea, it’s a good policy, the direction is correct but we’re unlikely to see that particular promise make a very large impact,’ he told newsGP.
 
‘I like the fact that this is targeted and with rural delivery of education, we know that means trainees are more likely to grow attachments to regional areas – marry, find a property that they like or a hobby.
 
‘We also know that whenever you increase the medical student infrastructure, you’re also increasing the allied health, the admin staff, the nursing staff, and it’s building that community even further.’
 
Shadow Health Minister Anne Ruston said the funding will ‘kick start works to upgrade teaching facilities, laboratories and student accommodation’.
 
‘The $100 million infrastructure funding will be available to universities and healthcare institutions engaged in medical, nursing and allied health training,’ she said.
 
‘Eligible applicants must demonstrate a commitment to training healthcare professionals at their regional facilities or campus.
 
‘This important investment responds to growing calls from stakeholders for a dedicated focus on regional, rural and remote healthcare.’
 
Throughout the Federal Election campaign, Associate Professor Clements has been calling for significant investment promises from political parties to specifically target rural and remote healthcare.
 
Regional Australia has long struggled to attract healthcare professionals, but Associate Professor Clements said that recently, ‘there is hope, there is absolutely growth’.
 
‘There has been new investment and new money, we are seeing an increase in the total number of people applying for general practice training and the total number of people applying for rural general practice training in the college has increased,’ he said.
 
‘As a rural GP and a rural general practice owner, I think it’s a great time to be in general practice and I think there is a lot to be pleased about.
 
‘Having said that, there’s still more work to be done and there are still some communities that are really struggling that we need to be looking at.’
 
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