Andrew Gee (Calare, Independent) Share this | Hansard source

I commend the member for Indi for bringing this very important matter of public importance to the attention of the House. The member for Indi makes a very important point. This is a very worthwhile scheme, and it is commendable that it has commenced, but we think that it needs to be expanded. We on the crossbench want to see it made available to more students. It's a payment of $331 per week. It's available to students studying teaching, nursing, midwifery and social work degrees, and it helps them with expenses while undertaking their compulsory professional placements as part of their tertiary education.

In country Australia we have a healthcare workforce crisis. There's a shortage of healthcare workers. That's why we on the crossbench want to see this scheme expanded so that it can help allied health and medical students. Allied health students like occupational therapists, physios and speech pathologists are required to undertake more than a thousand hours of practical experience just to obtain their degree. Medical students need to complete about two or three years of full-time clinical rotations—that is, roughly, 1,500 to 3,000 hours of practical experience and placements across major medical specialities.

We need to understand that our allied health and medical students are crucial to the future of country Australia. They are going to be building and bolstering our country's health workforce. That's why these students need our support, because they are so crucial to regional Australia. There is a significant body of research telling us that placing medical students in regional and rural training programs makes them more likely to subsequently work in country areas. In fact, a University of Queensland study found that students who participated in a 12-week placement in a small rural town were around three times more likely to work in a similar sized community after graduating. Charles Sturt University Vice-Chancellor Professor Renee Lyon pointed out—and it's a point well made—that 70 per cent of CSU graduates go on to live and work in regional Australia and that regional and rural students often have to travel long distances from their homes, families and workplaces to complete the practical components of their courses. It's just a fact of life for country students.

In 2024 alone, more than 2,500 CSU students applied for financial assistance, yet only 750 grants were available—proof of the scale of the need. Vice-Chancellor Leon states: 'Expanding the scope of the Commonwealth track payment goes beyond fairness and helpfulness for these students. It just makes a huge difference and would make a huge difference if it could be expanded. It would enable our future rural health workforce to get on with forging their careers of choice minus the stress of whether they can afford to study outside major cities.' The vice-chancellor makes a very salient point.

While I'm speaking about Charles Sturt University, I mention the fact that since the Charles Sturt University medical school opened its number of students has effectively been capped at 37. We have been fighting for five years, through two governments, to get the number of medical student places expanded. In very positive news, CSU's School of Rural Medicine has just been allocated an additional 10 places by the Australian government, which is what we've been calling for and I've been calling for in this place, in question time. That is positive—although, I have to say, it fell well short of the number of student places CSU was asking for; it's less than half of what CSU was asking for. It's a step in the right direction, but, with another round of medical student places up for grabs next year, you can be sure that country MPs on the crossbench and I will be fighting for more medical student places for our country universities like Charles Sturt University. The health of our country residents and communities is at stake here. The government can expect to hear a lot more from me on this issue.

In conclusion, we want to make sure that, in country Australia, our university students are fully and properly supported so they can build our future country workforce. I commend this matter of public importance to the House, and I thank the member for Indi for bringing it here.

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