Arabic version: طلاب المهن الصحية المساندة سيحصلون على مدفوعات تدريب عملي موسعة
According to SBS News, eligible university students completing practical placements in 10 frontline allied health fields will receive payments of up to $338.60 a week from July next year under a Commonwealth expansion of paid prac support.
The program is forecast to cost $745 million by the end of the decade. It expands an existing scheme introduced just over a year ago for students in teaching, nursing, midwifery and social work. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the measure would provide cost-of-living relief while helping build the future healthcare workforce.
The expanded payments will cover students in clinical psychology, physiotherapy, occupational therapy, speech pathology, paramedicine, radiography, pharmacy, rehabilitation therapies, audiology and podiatry. Albanese said it was “surprising” that a scheme supporting allied health students did not already exist.
“Paid prac is already making a real difference, it’s helping students with the cost of living while they train and that’s why we’re expanding it,” Albanese said on Thursday. “This is an investment in our future healthcare workforce. We need more of them, and this will help more Australians get the qualifications our nation needs.”
Albanese announced the expansion on the first day of Labor’s 50th National Conference in Adelaide, where hundreds of delegates gathered for the three-day event. He also announced a Fair Work Court intended to resolve workplace disputes. Delegates will consider party positions on issues including artificial intelligence protections, gas taxes, gambling reform and Palestine, while Labor’s parliamentary team will decide whether and when measures are implemented.
