Helen Haines (Indi, Independent) Share this | Hansard source

On 1 July students in nursing, teaching and social work became eligible to be paid while undertaking mandatory placements as part of their studies. The Commonwealth Prac Payment scheme is a critical step in reducing financial barriers to higher education, but nurses, teachers and social workers are not the only ones who complete placements. Students in medicine and allied health also complete hundreds and sometimes thousands hours of work—and it is work, especially in the final years of their studies. Students are like apprentices, practising the very skills they will soon use as healthcare professionals.

While they are on placements, students can't do much—if any—paid work. Their income drops but they still have to pay for food, rent and other bills. In fact, they often have extra expenses related to their placements. For many students, it is absolutely unsustainable. That's why I secured an amendment to the legislation to make sure that when the scheme is reviewed the government must consider expanding it to other students.

But a review in the future will not do anything to help students who are experiencing placement poverty right now. I am regularly contacted by allied health and medical students who are struggling to stay afloat because of placements. They tell me they are working all night on night shifts, borrowing money from friends and family, delaying subjects and making hard choices between their financial security and their future careers.

Darcy O'Shannessy from Wangaratta in my electorate is going into his fourth year as a physiotherapy student. In 2026, Darcy will need to complete 25 weeks of full-time unpaid placement to finish his degree. We have a shortage of physiotherapists in regional Australia, so it is terrific that Darcy is so close to completing his studies. Next year will be great for Darcy's career but, by gee, it will be tough on his bank balance. He will have to give up his part-time job and will earn nothing for every week he is on placements. Darcy has had to up stumps and move back home so he has any chance of making ends meet and completing his degree.

A recent survey by the Australian Society of Medical Imaging and Radiation Therapy found 95 per cent of medical radiation science students are not confident they can manage to support themselves financially during full-time placement. Worryingly, almost 10 per cent say they plan to skip meals, sleep in their cars, defer subjects or drop out entirely. The statutory review set a deadline, but the government could choose to act sooner to prevent students from having to take such drastic steps. Across my electorate of Indi, more than 2,000 students are finishing Year 12. Many will be looking ahead to further study, wondering if they will need to move away from home and how they will support themselves if they do, and it is troubling to know that some will choose not to pursue a career in health care because, on top of everything else, they cannot afford to work for free.

And it is not just school leavers. Older students with established careers, families and financial obligations find it very hard to do unpaid placement. This is all the more urgent given that healthcare workforce shortages are rampant across the country, especially in rural and regional Australia. Expanding the prac payment scheme to include medical and allied health students would help in two ways. Firstly, it would allow more students from regional and rural areas, who already face higher costs for further study, to go into these fields—fields we desperately need. Secondly, it would encourage students from metropolitan areas to come to regional and rural Australia for their placements. I have heard of students being forced to turn down such opportunities because they cannot afford to temporarily relocate if they are not being paid. We know that students who do placements in rural and regional areas are significantly more likely to work in those areas after graduation. Making these placements financially viable means more medical and allied health students will return to build their lives and careers across electorates just like mine in Indi.

As a former nurse and midwife, I understand the importance of hands-on experience and of taking what you have learned in the classroom out into the real world. Students should not be penalised for choosing to study subjects that involve practical training. The government knows this and has taken a step in the right direction with the Commonwealth Prac Payment scheme but it must not stop there. I urge the government to immediately expand the Commonwealth Prac Payment scheme to all allied health and medical students.

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