Media Release - $429m boost to training of health professionals

14 May 2010 

Health Workforce Australia (HWA) has announced a new funding round to increase the number of clinical training places for health professional students throughout Australia.

On Saturday 15 May 2010, HWA will be calling for proposals from government agencies, universities and non government health and aged care providers to increase clinical training places for health professional students, effective from the 2011 academic year.

This new funding round was signed off as part of a $496m package announced by the Australian Health Ministers Conference on 22 April 2010.

This initiative is part of the Commonwealth’s contribution to the $1.6Bn National Partnership Agreement on Hospital and Health Workforce Reform.

Chair of the HWA Board, The Hon James McGinty said “$359m over three years will be available to support growth in clinical training places, building up to approximately $145m annually in 2012-13”.

“A further $70m will be available to provide an incentive for universities and clinical training providers to expand capacity, with special emphasis on new and underserviced areas such as rural and remote areas, aged care, private sector, mental health, primary and community care and dental”, he said.

“This is in addition to the $67 million recently committed by the Commonwealth Government under the Increased Clinical Training Capacity Grants.”

“We are pleased to be able to commit such a significant amount of funding to train up Australia’s future health workforce” Mr McGinty said.

Health Workforce Australia (HWA) is a national health workforce agency established as part of the $1.6 billion health workforce package agreed to by the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) in November 2008.

HWA will be responsible for implementing the majority of initiatives under the COAG workforce package.

The 24 health professional disciplines agreed by Health Ministers as eligible for funding support are listed at Attachment A.

Media contact

Laura A’Bell

Communications Manager

03 9092 2004

Laura.abell@health.vic.gov.au