Australia is facing a chronic shortage of healthcare professionals. We urgently need more allied health graduates in medical radiography, occupational therapy, physiotherapy, psychology, and all other allied health disciplines. We also need more doctors and pharmacists.

As part of their training, healthcare students are required to complete hundreds - and in some cases thousands - of hours of mandatory unpaid clinical placement. Many students report significant financial hardship, called ‘placement poverty’, while undertaking mandatory placements. Placements can result in loss of income, increased rent, travel and food costs, and overall financial distress.

The Australian Government has created the Commonwealth Prac Payment to support eligible teaching, nursing, midwifery and social work students while they are undertaking mandatory placements. Expanding that program to all allied health and medical students is an effective way to reduce placement poverty.

At a time of urgent health workforce shortages, financial barriers should not prevent or delay students from completing health degrees. Medical and allied health students are essential to Australia’s health system, and equitable access to placement support must be a national priority.

We therefore ask the Government to expand Commonwealth Prac Payments to include students in all allied health and medicine Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees.