Student Placements Cost Millions: Support Needed Now

Support payments for allied health students facing financial hardship during mandatory unpaid practical placements are estimated to cost less than $300 million over the next four years. This figure comes from exclusive modelling by the Parliamentary Budget Office. The call for these subsidies follows the recent introduction of government support for nursing, midwifery, teaching, and social work students undertaking similar unpaid placements.

Independent MP Helen Haines commissioned modelling indicating that extending these payments to health and medical students, including those in psychology, paramedicine, and physiotherapy, would amount to an additional $290.4 million by the 2028-29 financial year. This proposed extension aims to address the financial strain on students in professions crucial to the nation's healthcare system. The current program, already budgeted at $505.3 million for the same period, provides students with $338.60 per week while they complete required placements for their bachelor's or master's degrees.