21 Funding Your Rural Placement
There are a number of funding options available to you to help you cover the costs of a rural placement.
Most funding specifies the placement must take place in Modified Monash Model (MMM) category 3 or above. The MMM classifies areas according to geographical remoteness and town size. Please see the attachment for further information. You can check the MMM category of a specific location here.
- UQ provides financial hardship assistance to eligible students.
- The UQ Student Union provides placement bursaries for students who are experiencing financial hardship as a result of their work-integrated learning placement. Applications are closed until September 2024.
Rural Pharmacy Student Placement Allowance Program
Eligible students can apply for funding to support transport and accommodation costs to attend their placement. To be eligible you must:
- Be an Australian citizen or a permanent resident (check definition)
- Be enrolled as a full-time student in an undergraduate pharmacy degree
- Placements must be in Modified Monash Model (MMM) Category 3 to Category 7 locations.
- RPSPA Program Rules Rural Pharmacy Student Placement Allowance (ppaonline.com.au) (PDF, 236KB)
- Apply for the allowance through their university. Students must complete a Pre-Placement Rural Funding Application Form prior to travel
- Submit a travel diary and a brief report detailing the activities undertaken while on placement, once the placement is complete.
- Agree to participate in longitudinal studies on the recruitment of rural pharmacists to rural practice.
- Further information on booking travel and accommodation using this funding is in the next section of this handbook.
SQRH Bursary
In addition to all of the other great support, SQRH is offering a limited number of bursaries. To be eligible you must:
- Be doing an extended rural clinical placement (8+ weeks) Students completing an 8-week placement will be awarded $800 to help with costs.
- The placement must in a rural location (classification MMM4-7) within the SQRH region. Please note Toowoomba City is classified as MMM2 and is not included as an eligible location.
Other Funding
There are also many other external organisations that provide financial support via bursaries and competitively awarded scholarships to students undertaking rural placements:
- CRANAplus (peak professional body for the remote and isolated health workforce) offers awards, scholarships and grants to support the development of nursing and allied health students.
- HWQ Going Rural North offers bursaries of $200 per week toward travel and accommodation costs for placements in Far North Qld (excl hospitals). This is only for students who have remaining out-of-pocket expenses after accessing RPSPA funding.
- NAFEA National Association of Field Experience Administrators rural placement scholarship program.
- ACEN Australian Collaborative Education Network student work-integrated learning scholarships. Read Lisa’s story of how she was able to undertake a placement in Mt Isa with the help of an ACEN scholarship.
- Central Queensland Rural Health offers scholarships of $1500 per year to health students who are from a rural or regional area of Queensland and who can demonstrate a commitment to working in a rural community after graduation.
- The National Rural Health Student Network provides a summary of rural placement scholarships available across Australia.
- Rural Health Pro also provides a summary of scholarships available to students undertaking rural placements.
- UQ WIL Placement Financial Hardship Grant available for students experiencing genuine financial hardship resulting from the requirements of participation in WIL placement and may forfeit the opportunity without hardship funding. Open to Internatioanl and Domestic students, for rural and metro placements.
Other ways you can access rural placement support
- Join Towards Rural and Outback Health Professionals in Queensland (TROHPIQ). TROHPIQ is Queensland’s student-run rural health club dedicated to helping medical, nursing and allied health students experience the unique career and lifestyle opportunities to be found beyond the big town of Brisbane.
- The National Rural Health Student Network also provides helpful resources related to rural health placements and is a voice for rural health students.
- Register with Country Universities Centre (CUC). CUC is an organisation that provides secure spaces where you can focus on your studies while you’re on a rural placement and they have centres located in Roma, St George and Dirranbandi, Goondiwindi as well as in other Australian states and territories. The centres offer high-speed internet, printing and copying facilities as well as desktop computers, video conferencing and other study spaces.
- Health Workforce Queensland supports students via a number of initiatives that provide you with the opportunity to undertake activities and experience the possibilities of a rural career.
