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Media Centre
Media Release
2020 new higher education places to boost the health workforce
9 May 2006 BUD 19/06
The 2006-07 Budget provides new funding of $268.8 million over four years
for an extra 2020 new Commonwealth supported places in health disciplines
and increased funding to support nursing clinical training.
The Government is funding 400 new medical places, 1,000 new nursing
places and an increase in funding to support clinical training for nursing
students, as part of the Government’s contribution to the COAG’s Health
Workforce package as announced on 8 April 2006. A proportion of the new
medical school places will be bonded to areas of medical workforce
shortages. In addition, the Government is providing funding for 420 new
mental health nursing places and 200 new clinical psychology places as part
of the Government’s contribution to the COAG Mental Health package as
announced on 5 April 2006.
The new places build on the more than 39,000 new places the Australian
Government is already funding by 2009 as part of the $11 billion in
additional funding through the Our Universities: Backing Australia’s
Future package of higher education reforms.
"These places will ensure we have more nurses, doctors and clinical
psychologists, including in the mental health area," the Minister for
Education, Science and Training, the Hon Julie Bishop MP, said.
"It will help address skills shortages in the health workforce and ensure
Australians continue to have access to high quality health services."
Minister Bishop said state and territory governments must also ensure
there are clinical training opportunities in the public hospital sector, as
well as addressing workforce retention issues.
In addition, in this Budget, the Australian Government is announcing that
FEE-HELP for full fee-paying higher education students enrolled in both
undergraduate and graduate studies with both public and private higher
education providers will be increased. The current limit of $50,950 will be
increased to a maximum of $80,000 for all courses except for medicine,
veterinary science and dentistry which will attract a maximum FEE-HELP loan
of $100,000. These increases will apply from 1 January 2007 to all eligible
students, regardless of when they commenced their studies.
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Media Contacts |
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| Minister Bishop’s Office: |
Murray Hansen |
0417 886 155 |
| Dept of Education, Science & Training: |
Virginia Cook |
0412 971 323 |
Supporting Information
Why is this important?
This funding will help higher education providers increase the supply
of nurses, doctors and clinical psychologists to boost the health
workforce.
Who will benefit?
Higher education providers and students will benefit from increased
funding.
All Australians will benefit through a greater number of nursing,
medical and psychology graduates joining the health workforce.
What funding is the Government committing to the initiative?
This funding forms part of the Government’s contribution to the
Council of Australian Governments’ Health Workforce package as announced
on 8 April 2006 and Mental Health package as announced on 5 April 2006.
An additional 1,000 new nursing places commencing in 2007 that will
grow to 2,735 additional nursing places by 2010, at a cost of over $92
million over four years.
An additional 400 new commencing medical places at a cost of over $60
million over four years, with 200 places commencing in 2007 and the full
400 available by 2009. The final number of places funded will depend on
the length of the courses that receive new places, but over 1,800 new
medical places could be funded by 2013 as students progress through
their courses.
120 of these new medical places will be used to establish a new
medical school at Deakin University with a focus on western Victoria and
40 places will be used to establish a new Gippsland branch of Monash
University’s medical school.
One-off capital grants of up to $18 million to Deakin University and
up to $5 million to Monash University will be made in 2005-06, subject
to matching commitments from the Victorian Government, to enable these
universities to establish these new training facilities.
An additional 420 new places in undergraduate nursing courses with a
mental health major commencing in 2007 growing to at least 1,148 places
by 2010, at a cost of around $40 million over four years.
FEE-HELP for eligible full fee-paying students will be increased from
a maximum $50,950 in 2006 to $80,000 from 1 January 2007 for all
disciplines except for medicine, veterinary science and dentistry which
will increase to $100,000.
An additional 200 Commonwealth supported postgraduate clinical
psychology Masters Degree places commencing in 2007, growing to 400
places by 2008, at a cost of around $11 million over four years as part
of the Australian Government’s commitment to improving services for
people with mental illnesses.
What have we done in the past?
These new health places build on the more than 39,000 new places the
Australian Government is already funding by 2009 as part of the $11
billion in additional funding being delivered to the sector through the
Our Universities: Backing Australia’s Future package of higher education
reforms. This includes over 5,100 new nursing places over the five years
from 2004 to 2008.
The number of publicly funded commencing medicine places in
Australian universities has increased by more than 30% since 2000 as a
result of two Government initiatives: the Medical Rural Bonded
Scholarship Scheme and the Bonded Medical Places Scheme, which are the
responsibility of my colleague, the Minister for Health and Ageing, the
Hon Tony Abbott MP.
The Government is already providing significant support for the
establishment of several new medical schools. In 2005, new medical
schools were opened at Griffith University and the Fremantle campus of
the University of Notre Dame. In 2007, medical schools will open at the
University of Western Sydney and the University of Wollongong and, in
2008, the University of Notre Dame will open a medical school in Sydney.
As part of the Our Universities: Backing Australia’s Future package
of higher education reforms, the Government provided funding for nursing
units of study to provide targeted funding to assist higher education
providers with the cost of clinical education. The Government is now
increasing this funding in 2007 from $688 to $1,000 (2006 prices) for
every Commonwealth supported full time equivalent nursing unit of study.
This will deliver around $30 million in additional funding to higher
education providers over four years to assist with clinical training.
When will the initiative conclude?
Funding for the new health places and the increase in the FEE-HELP
loan limit are ongoing. The capital funding for Deakin University and
Monash University is in the form of one-off capital grants to be paid in
2005-06.
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