Rural Doctors Association Australia

06/08/2026

There have been terrific trios through the generations, but the Great Debate team for the Affirmative may just have them all beat. Introducing the Team for the Affirmative Graduating Class of 2000 (UQ) John Andrew Hall Adam Coltzau & Sarah Chalmers

Make sure you are part of RMA26 https://rma.acrrm.org.au

05/08/2026

Cost-effective reform is 'ready to roll' in helping build a sustainable consultant specialist workforce for rural and remote Australia - all that's needed is the political commitment to make it happen!

In our submission to the current 'Inquiry into access to and affordability of medical specialists in Australia' we've said there's a lot that can be done to encourage more consultant specialists to set up practice in the bush, including:

🎯 Significantly expanding end-to-end training positions for consultant specialists in rural areas.

🎯 Urgently reforming the Commonwealth-funded Specialist Training Program (STP) so it better aligns with one of its main intents - to increase the number of specialists working in regional, rural and remote areas by facilitating rural training opportunities.

🎯 More flexible employment models to support consultant specialists to work across rural private practice, local hospitals, research and academia.

🎯 Improved health workforce planning that better facilitates Rural Generalists (RGs) working in collaboration with consultant specialists to provide local services.

Rural and remote patients would also benefit from Medicare reforms that enable credentialled rural GPs and RGs to refer directly for a broader range of diagnostic tests or second-line specialist services.

Read our media release here:

https://www.rdaa.com.au/Aus/News/2026-Articles/Time-for-action---cost-effective-reforms--ready-and-waiting--to-help-fix-rural-specialist-shortage.aspx

Mark Butler MP Emma McBride MP

04/08/2026

Distance shouldn't be coming between dignity and dying.

Terminally ill rural Australians shouldn't have to travel long distances to access lawful care.

Australia's Rural Doctors are calling for outdated Commonwealth laws to allow telehealth consultations, where clinically appropriate, as part of voluntary assisted dying care.

Read more: https://bit.ly/4w5TYQA

01/08/2026

The Great Debate is back for Can Rural Generalists Have It All? - the queen of RG A/Prof Ruth Stewart will have the final word, and rule over all proceedings.

Register for RMA26 https://rma.acrrm.org.au
Australian College of Rural and Remote Medicine (ACRRM)

31/07/2026

Think you know what a rural doctor does? Think again.

From space medicine and AI to expedition medicine, disaster response and maternity care, the program showcases the extraordinary breadth of rural medicine.

Read more: https://bit.ly/4h2wlV9

Explore the program: https://rma.acrrm.org.au/

28/07/2026

It's World Hepatitis Day 2026 - and a great opportunity to get the message out about a couple of members of the Hep family!

🎯 In Australia, an estimated 300,000 people are living with hepatitis B or hepatitis C, and many remain undiagnosed or are not currently engaged in care.

You can live well with hepatitis, and there is support available. Hepatitis C can be cured, and hepatitis B has a vaccine and can be managed.

The important thing is to and get tested if you believe you may be at risk of having contracted hepatitis.

🎯 For free, confidential hepatitis support and advice, you can call HepLink on 1800 437 222.

🎯 You can also visit www.worldhepatitisday.org.au to read more about hepatitis (and what supports are available).

Hepatitis Australia World Health Organization (WHO)

28/07/2026

We are excited to be taking our 2nd NT conference to Alice Springs in September 2026. Our theme this year is 'Working Together' celebrating what can be achieved with strong integrated multidisciplinary health care teams. Register now https://bit.ly/NTRRMC26

Australian College of Rural and Remote Medicine (ACRRM) Central Australian Aboriginal Congress RACGP

28/07/2026

No Australian should have to live with untreated pain because of their postcode.

Persistent pain isn't something you should simply "put up with",and it certainly isn't just a normal part of getting older.

This National Pain Week, RDAA is reminding Australians that early support can make a real difference. Rural GPs play a vital role in helping people understand the cause of their pain and develop a personalised management plan. For some people, referral to a pain specialist may also open the door to advanced therapies and procedures that can improve quality of life.

Unfortunately, too many rural Australians face long waits or long drives to access specialist pain services.

Everyone deserves access to effective pain management, no matter where they live.

Read more: https://bit.ly/4hAuxTs

23/07/2026

Future rural doctors have been left out again.

Continuing to exclude medical students undermines efforts to address Australia's rural doctor shortage.

Medical students complete around 2,000 hours of mandatory clinical placement, often while relocating, paying significant travel and accommodation costs, and giving up paid work.

If we're serious about growing the rural medical workforce, we need to make it possible for rural students to become doctors—and give more medical students the chance to experience the outstanding training and rewarding careers rural medicine has to offer.

Read more: https://bit.ly/4pAjMSZ

The Rural Doctors Association of Australia (RDAA) says today’s expansion of the Commonwealth Prac Payment (CPP) scheme is good news for thousands of health students but a blow to Australia’s future rural medical workforce.

21/07/2026

We are thrilled to announce the recipients of our MDA National & RDAA Bursary for 2026! 🤩

The Bursary is offered to up to five junior doctors annually, with each receiving $1500 to assist with travel and accommodation costs in attending a rural medical conference or clinical placement.

Five junior doctors with a passion for Rural Medicine have been awarded the Bursary this year. They are:

🩺 Dr Rachel Aspermont (Ballarat VIC)
🩺 Dr Madelyn Deigan (Cairns QLD)
🩺 Dr Sarah Houle (Toowoomba QLD)
🩺 Dr Stephanie MacPherson (Rockingham WA)
🩺 Dr Kalli Morton (Darwin NT)

Rachel, Madelyn, Sarah and Kalli will use the Bursary to help them attend our & ACRRM's Rural Medicine Australia - RMA conference in Tarndanya (Adelaide) in October, while Stephanie will undertake a Rural Psychiatry observership and an audit and/or quality improvement research project on rural mental health - in particular, to demonstrate the need for mental health services (including psychiatry) in rural and remote communities.

Congratulations to each of our recipients, and huge thanks to MDA National for their ongoing major support of RDAA (and through us, rural and remote doctors across Australia) for more than a decade! 😍

Read more about our recipients here:
https://www.rdaa.com.au/Aus/News/2026-Articles/Impressive-junior-doctors-to-benefit-from-rural-bursary.aspx

Australian College of Rural and Remote Medicine (ACRRM)