Rural Workforce Agency Victoria (RWAV) is a not-for-profit government-funded organisation improving health care for rural, regional, and Aboriginal communities in Victoria.
We provide a range of activities and support to improve the recruitment and retention of health professionals to rural and regional Victoria, including grants.
Our grants are designed to help you achieve your career goals including relocation, professional development and postgraduate education, enabling you to support your rural community.
Grants are available for medical, nursing and allied health professionals, and practice managers and practice staff working in regional and rural Victoria and students looking to work in rural healthcare.
Find the recent webinar recording here. This recording covers the following items:
- Health Workforce Scholarship Program
- Medical Professional Development Program
- East Gippsland Trust Fund Grant
- Cultural Safety Training
- Creating a MyRWAV account
- Applying for RWAV’s grants
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Grants for Doctors Webinar Q&A
This depends on the grant. Health Workforce Scholarship Program eligibility is MMM 3 to 7 locations. MPD eligibility is MMM 2 to 7 (noting that there are currently no MMM7 regions in Victoria). You can check the MMM for your location via the Health Workforce Locator map here.
Aboriginal Medical Service, Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation.
This depends on the grant. For the Medical Professional Development grant, you need to have paid for the course and also be able to provide a certificate of completion in order to lodge an application.
For the Health Workforce Scholarship Program, you are able to provide proof of what the course costs will be, for example an invoice (unpaid), or a screenshot showing the course details and cost. This will allow you to get a pre-approval for the course costs, and you can then go ahead and register and pay for the course with the certainty that you will be reimbursed for it (as long as you continue to meet the eligibility and course completion criteria).
This depends on the grant. The Medical Professional Development grant has to be submitted in the financial year that it was completed in.
The Health Workforce Scholarship Program runs through the Financial year subject to funding availability.
Anyone can create their own MyRWAV account. It is best for the actual applicant to register for themselves, as the application name needs to match the details person applying.
Administration staff are not eligible for either the Medical Professional Development grant or the Health Workforce Scholarship Program, but may be eligible for the Rural Practice Training Grant.
Full details on eligibility requirements for locums are included in the Health Workforce Scholarship Program for Locums guidelines. Essentially you must be able to demonstrate a previous and ongoing commitment to providing primary healthcare services to rural and regional areas.
In the past locum doctors have been ineligible to apply for the Health Workforce Scholarship Program. The guidelines have recently been reviewed and funding of locums is still in a pilot phase. This will be reviewed in due course. Funding of $5,000 or more in one year attracts a Return of Service Obligation which is much more difficult to adhere to as a locum.
Yes, you may apply for more than one type of grant at the same time, and you may also lodge multiple applications for the same grant for different courses. Remember to be aware of the annual cap for the grant/s you are applying for.
If you wish to lodge an appeal regarding a declined grant application, you may do so by firstly discussing the issue with the Senior Manager, Health Workforce Development at RWAV by emailing grants@rwav.com.au
If the matter is not resolved to your satisfaction you may then appeal to the RWAV Chief Executive Officer (CEO) who is the final arbiter for all appeals.
Yes, you may apply for overseas course which are run online, however do bear in mind the differences in healthcare between different countries. It would be preferable to do an Australian based course if possible.
The current grants do not allow for reimbursement of overseas face-to-face course registrations, travel, or accommodation.
Yes, the grants offered by ACRRM and RWAV are quite different. Please check guidelines carefully to see which grants you are eligible to apply for and weigh up your options to get maximum support.
This depends on the travel undertaken. If you travel by air, bus, train, etc you will need to provide a receipt for your ticket. If you travel by private car, you will need to provide your home address and the address of the course. You will be reimbursed at the Australian Taxation office standard rates for the applicable financial year. Note that we cannot reimburse you for taxi, uber, etc.
Yes, as long as you are currently working as a Medical Practitioner and meet the other relevant eligibility criteria for the grant you are applying for.
RWAV is not a registered Training Organisation and does not provide training. We may on occasion facilitate training for specific courses by liaising directly with the course provider. Relevant applicants would be notified directly if we are facilitating courses in this way.
The grants are reimbursements so there shouldn’t be.
As long as you meet the locum requirements for the Health Workforce Scholarship Program you are eligible to apply. Funds as a locum are capped at $4,900 per year. If you then move into an eligible permanent role, the cap for the year will increase to $10,000. This is inclusive of any grant funds you received as a locum.
Medical Professional Development claims must be made in the same financial year as the course was attended. Health Workforce Scholarship Program claims must be made prior to commencing the course, and may be made in the previous financial year if the course commencement date is early in the new year.
