Rural NSW healthcare workers getting a $20,000 cash boost

A group of hardworking Australians is being offered a major $20,000 cash boost, provided they’re willing to relocate.

The NSW government will double its cash incentive for healthcare workers in rural areas of the state, offering them a $20,000 cash boost.

NSW Premier Chris Minns said the previous iteration of the policy, which only offered $10,000, had failed to fill critical gaps in the rural health workforce.

He said he was “confident” doubling the incentive to $20,000 would help to fill those gaps.

NSW’s cash incentive for rural healthcare workers will be doubled to $20,000.

The cash boost is part of the broader Rural Health Workforce Incentive Scheme, which aims to fill workforce and skill shortages in rural areas by offering financial and non-financial incentives, including relocation assistance, housing, additional leave allowances, access to training and education, and cash.

The more remote the job, the higher the incentives on offer will be, the Minns government said in a statement announcing the boost on Friday.

“Incentive packages include a range of additional benefits including salary boosts, sign-on bonuses and retention payments of up to $20,000 per annum,” the statement read.

Many NSW regional districts are facing dire healthcare worker shortages.

Wage caps, difficult workloads and high stress have fuelled nursing and healthcare worker shortages in many regional districts, both in NSW and across the country.

Some of the most dire shortages are for nurses with emergency skills in small facilities, Mr Minns said.

“No matter where you live in NSW, you should have access to vital services but that isn’t possible without our essential health workers,” he added.

“I’m confident that by doubling the incentives on offer, we can attract more health staff to our regions.”

The changes to the incentives scheme are just the latest in NSW’s attempts to encourage healthcare workers to take jobs in regional parts of the state.

They join the Single Employer Model, which was introduced last month and provides a tailored pathway for doctors who want to become rural generalists — a kind of GP that provides primary care services and emergency medicine and has training in additional skills such as obstetrics, anaesthetics or mental health services.

Wage caps, difficult workloads and high stress have fuelled shortages. Picture: Lisa Maree Williams/Getty Images

NSW Health Minister Ryan Park said: “I’m confident today’s announcement, together with our recently approved expansion of the Single Employer Model, will result in more clinicians choosing to further their careers in regional NSW”.

Some rural locations have rolled out their own funding to address workplace shortages in healthcare.

The town of Inverell, on the NSW-Queensland border, has allocated $180,000 over three years to attract six skilled GPs to the region.

Overseas-trained doctors will also be fast-tracked to work in Australian communities facing GP shortages, with the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners simplifying its processes for international medical graduates.

Their assessment and accreditation processes will be easier, the minimum time for their training reduced, and the type of training considered applicable widened, as the body aims to get more GPs into communities that need them sooner.