A new appeal process has been introduced to allow general practices to request a review of the Distribution Priority Area (DPA) classification for their area.
Requests will be considered by the Distribution Working Group. Information about requesting a review of DPA status can be found on the Australian Government Department of Health website.
Support from the local Rural Workforce Agency
Applications for review must demonstrate support of the local Rural Workforce Agency (RWA). Rural Health West is the appointed RWA for Western Australia.
Please follow these steps when completing your application:
- Read the attached information pack supplied by the Australian Government Department of Health
- Complete the application form (included in the information pack) and submit to [email protected]
It is important that you consider providing additional information and support for your application as this is a critical component in making a recommendation for DPA review.
Information and supporting documentation should demonstrate one or more of the following:
- Changes to health services, workforce or health system (e.g practice closures, retirement of doctors without replacement, etc)
- Patient demographics or changes (underserviced demographic or requirement for specialised services)
- Absence of services.
Once you have completed the Application Form, Rural Health West will use this information and your supporting documents, along with the available health workforce data for your area, to complete the Rural Workforce Agency component.
We will notify you of our summary and recommendation within 3 weeks of receiving your completed application submission.
Rural Health West will submit the application and required documentation to the Distribution Working Group (DWG) on your behalf.
The DWG have provided the following timeline for assessment:
- Requests will be assessed by the DWG within 3 weeks of submission.
- The Department of Health will advise of the outcome within 2 weeks of the DWG decision date.
- DWG outcomes will also be published online to ensure transparency.