Rural health worker recruitments and retentions have surged by one fifth in just the last six months, after the NSW Government doubled the support available under the Rural Health Workforce Incentive Scheme, from $10,000 to $20,000.

As of 18 January 2024, since it was first introduced in July 2022, the Rural Health Workforce Incentive Scheme has recruited 1,628 health workers and retained 9,447 health workers in some of the hardest to fill and critically vacant positions in rural and regional NSW.

Since incentives were doubled, the scheme has recruited a further 315 health workers and retained a further 1,932 health workers.

Incentive packages include a range of additional benefits including salary boost, sign-on bonuses and retention payments of up to $20,000 per annum, relocation assistance and housing, additional leave, and access to training and education.

Packages are scaled and increase in value in more remote locations.

One of those individuals is Soumya Baby, a registered nurse at Gilgandra Multi-Purpose Service, who relocated from New Zealand to Gilgandra with her family through the NSW Rural Health Workforce Incentive Scheme in November 2023.

Ms Baby began her career training, working and educating general nursing students in her home country of India, before moving to Dubai and then New Zealand, where she worked as a maternity, paediatric, COVID-19, aged-care and emergency nurse.

The doubling of the rural health incentives forms part of the NSW Government’s broad range of measures to boost staff and tackle worker shortages in the bush, including:

• Rolling out an extra 500 regional and rural paramedics; and
• delivering safe staffing levels in our hospitals, including in the bush.
• preparing to roll out health worker study subsidies for those working in regional and rural areas;
• rolling out health worker accommodation; and
• boosting more doctors in our regional GP surgeries as well as hospitals through the expansion of the single employer model which makes it easier for doctors to transfer their employee benefits between workplaces.

To find out more about eligibility, benefits and the application process for the NSW Rural Health Workforce Incentives Scheme visit the NSW Health website.

Regional Health Minister Ryan Park said:

“The NSW Government is committed to attracting and retaining more healthcare workers to regional and rural areas to ensure people living in these communities can receive high-quality, timely care close to home.

“Doubling the incentive packages from $10,000 to up to $20,000 for our hardest to fill positions has encouraged more healthcare workers to take up opportunities in our regional communities to fill critical staff vacancies.

“I encourage people to consider relocating a regional or rural area in NSW as there are many benefits on offer and many wonderful places to live and work in.”

Soumya Baby, registered nurse said:

“It has always been my dream to come to Australia and the incentives scheme helped us financially to relocate and settle in Australia.

“This is the best decision that I have made. I am earning my salary with additional benefits to help my family and I to start our lives here in Gilgandra.

“The community at Gilgandra is lovely and I have not been made to feel ‘new’ at work, with my colleagues supporting me along the way.

“Coming from Dubai, I am now getting to spend more time with my family, so we are very happy. It’s the best thing and I plan to continue in Gilgandra.”