| | establishment of the Australian College of Rural and Remote Medicine (ACRRM), a separate organisation to look after standards, training and continuing medical education for rural doctors |
| | establishment of the Rural Workforce Agencies |
| | medical indemnity support for GP proceduralists in Federal Government package |
| | retention payments of up to $20 000 depending on location |
| | Practice Incentive Payments (PIP) rurality loading of between 15 to 50 per cent depending on location |
| | a 12.5 per cent rise in GP rebates over the 18 months to May 2001 |
| | professional networks such as the Female Rural Doctors and Procedural Rural Medicine Groups |
| | vocational recognition for OMPs in rural areas from January 2001, so that their patients can access the higher Medicare rebates |
| | scholarships to encourage students from rural areas to study medicine (Remote Area Medical Undergraduate Scheme) and to encourage rural exposure (John Flynn Scholarship Scheme) |
| | HECS rebates for doctors who commit to rural/remote practice as post graducates |
| | up to 50 per cent financial bonus for GP registrars who commit to rural training |
| | financial support for housing for rural trainees up to $12 million |
| | regionalisation of GP training, introduction of more rural clinical schools |
| | $3 million funding through ACRRM for Rural and Remote Area Placement Program to enable young doctors, prior to making their vocational commitment, to rotate through rural practices as part of the hospital rotation |
| | $2 million research funding to examine the costs and complexities of rural practice |
| | locum support |
| | remote area grants |
| | relocation grants |
| | rural continuing medical education (CME) support |
| | continued support for the rural workforce agencies |
| | ongoing engagement, advocacy and policy development with Government for improved conditions |
| | greater intake of Indigenous students to medical courses |
| | representation on key professional bodies and at all important national medico-political forums |
| | inclusion of procedural rural medicine onto the national agenda |
During the Memorandum of Understanding between the Commonwealth of Australia and the RDAA, RACGP and ADGP (July 1999 to June 2002), RDAA was able to influence the following rural initiatives:
| | $26.45 million over three years to further encourage the recruitment and retention of doctors in rural and remote areas, including: |
| | an additional $12 million to be added to the retention grants pool |
| | an additional $3 million to be added to the $4 million announced in the budget to provide scholarships for rural students |
| | an additional $5 million over three years will be made available to support accommodation for registrars and students in rural and remote areas through Divisions of General Practice and/or RWAs |
| | $3 million for a further rural/remote area program for increased exposure of recent graduates to rural practice |
| | $1 million over three years to expand the distance education pilot developed through the RACGP training program for registrars |
| | $1.3 million over three years to develop and implement a program to provide support for doctors working in Indigenous communities, including IT infrastructure development |
| | $250,000 over three years to increase support for medical families in rural and remote communities |
| | $600,000 to provide subsidies for medical indemnity for registrars working in marginally viable procedural teaching practices |
| | $300,000 to develop and maintain a website database of teaching practices for students and registrars. |
