Forty-two per cent of surveyed Western Australian health students are going hungry while undertaking mandatory clinical placements – a dire reality revealed by data from the National Placement Poverty Survey, released by the Health Students Alliance earlier this year.
Placement poverty refers to the financial hardship experienced by students while undertaking mandatory, unpaid clinical placements as part of their health degrees. As cost-of-living pressures intensify, these placements are pushing thousands of students to breaking point.
The survey highlights the extent of the issue among WA health students:
- 78 per cent needed to take unpaid leave from their jobs to undertake a placement.
- 80 per cent of students needed financial aid due to completing a placement.
- 66 per cent struggled to cover bills during placements.
- 49 per cent considered leaving their degree due to placement-related pressures.
This is not a marginal issue affecting a small cohort. Placement poverty is a structural problem embedded in the way Australia trains its future health workforce. And it disproportionately impacts rural, remote, low-income and Aboriginal students, as well as those with rural intent.
The real cost of rural placements
For students undertaking rural placements away from home the financial impost can be significant. Students electing to complete their placements in a country community might also be expected to pick up the tab for airfares to a regional area, short-term accommodation, and incur higher food and fuel costs; all the while continuing to pay rent or mortgages on their usual home.
When placements also remove a student’s ability to earn an income, the impact is not merely inconvenient – it can be financially devastating. Placement poverty hits hardest with the students who have an interest in rural careers.
Completing a rural placement means they are generally away from their usual home, and that means being unable to work their normal job. Even if that job is just a casual job, it reduces their income at a time when they also need to absorb additional costs.
“It’s not an abstract policy issue – it’s something we hear about every week from students trying to do the right thing by training in rural communities, but who simply can’t afford it,” said Rural Health West Deputy Chief Executive and General Manager Workforce Kelli Porter.
While Rural Health West provides limited financial assistance for travel and placements, demand far exceeds available funding.
“Rural placements are one of the strongest predictors of whether a graduate will return to work in the country,” Kelli said.
“It is why the University Departments of Rural Health are so important and they do a wonderful job of training clinicians in rural locations, and supporting metropolitan students keen to do a rural placement.
“However, there is still a funding gap, and the students are the ones paying the price.
“Providing financial support for students completing placements in rural locations is not welfare – it is a workforce investment. If we want a sustainable, diverse rural health workforce, we must ensure students are not financially penalised for undertaking the training rural communities depend on. “The current system is failing them, and it’s failing rural communities.”
Double whammy for rural students
Although placement poverty affects many health students, its impact is most severe for those from rural and remote backgrounds. These students are often required to move to metropolitan centres for study, absorbing the cost of living away from home. When they later return to regional areas for clinical placements, they may face a second relocation – often to a different town altogether.
Contrary to common assumptions, rural placement does not typically mean “going home.” Placement sites may be hundreds of kilometres away from both their original home and their place of residence while studying.
Ironically, rural-origin students are among those most likely to return to rural practise after graduation. Yet placement poverty creates strong disincentives for them to pursue rural training, undermining the very workforce pipeline rural Australia depends on.
Growing calls for change
The issue is gaining increasing attention from the media, student organisations and policymakers.
Independent Federal Member for Indi in Victoria, Dr Helen Haines, has been a prominent voice on the issue.
“Unpaid mandatory placements are pushing thousands of students into financial hardship at a time of acute workforce shortages and a cost-of-living crisis,” Dr Haines said in a media statement issued in response to the survey findings.
“At a time of severe health workforce shortages – particularly in rural and regional areas – the Government can’t afford to let unpaid placements become the barrier that stops students from completing their degrees.”
The Federal Government introduced the Commonwealth Practicum Payment Scheme on 1 July 2025 to provide financial support for eligible teaching, nursing, midwifery and social work students; however, the scheme excludes medicine and allied health students.
Dr Haines, alongside ACT Independent Senator David Pocock, has pushed for the Commonwealth Practicum Payment to be expanded. Following findings from the Australian Universities Accord Final Report highlighting the need to pay students for mandatory placements, the pair commissioned the Parliamentary Budget Office (PBO) to cost an expansion of the scheme.
The PBO found that extending the $338.60 weekly Commonwealth Practicum Payment to medical and allied health students would cost approximately $290 million over four years. “These costings show that ending placement poverty is both achievable and affordable,” Dr Haines said.
Following the release of these costings, Dr Haines and Senator Pocock launched a national petition with Allied Health Professions Australia (AHPA), calling for the expansion of practicum payments to include disciplines such as physiotherapy, occupational therapy and psychology.
The petition argues that unpaid placements are preventing students from completing their studies and worsening workforce shortages in critical sectors. With tens of thousands of signatures, the campaign underscores the scale of both financial pressure and workforce need.
A long-recognised issue
The issue of placement poverty is not new, however financial support has been limited to ad hoc programs.
The Country Women’s Association (CWA) WA has long offered scholarships to support health students from rural backgrounds who intend to return to the country to practise.
“The Country Women’s Association of Western Australia has long understood that financial barriers can prevent rural students from pursuing careers in health, particularly when it comes to undertaking mandatory placements away from home,” CWA State President, Felicity Edwards said.
“For nearly 20 years, the CWA has supported rural students through a range of scholarships, for medical, dental and nursing students who intend to work in rural communities. These scholarships are designed to reduce financial pressure and encourage students to undertake rural placements and ultimately return to country areas to work.
“We know that when students experience rural placements, they are more likely to consider a rural career. Supporting students to afford these placements is not just about helping individuals – it is an investment in the future rural health workforce and the sustainability of our country communities.”
Flow-on effects for workforce and equity
The consequences of placement poverty extend far beyond individual students. Financial stress during placements is linked to increased anxiety, burnout and reduced learning capacity.
Some students avoid rural placements altogether; others reduce their study load, delay graduation or leave their degree entirely.
“It is particularly alarming that nearly half of the students responding to the latest placement poverty survey have considered leaving their degree due to the financial impost of completing their placements,” Kelli said.
“We continue to have workforce shortages in rural locations and so we need to support every student with rural intent to complete their studies and head to the country.”
For rural training sites, this means fewer students. For communities, it means fewer graduates returning. Over time, placement poverty becomes a quiet but significant driver of workforce maldistribution.
It also raises serious equity concerns. When only financially secure students can afford rural placements, the future workforce becomes less diverse, less representative and less connected to the communities it serves. This has implications for cultural safety, continuity of care and long-term workforce stability.
Ultimately, the system sends a clear message: rural placements are encouraged, but only if you can afford them.
Calls for help: sample of requests for support from health students
ECU has suggested I reach out to your team to enquire if there is any assistance available, particularly regarding assistance with travel costs / accommodation in Wiluna. Due to its remote location, flights from Perth cost around $850 return, or an 11-hour, 1,000km drive, and as a full-time student, the financial aspect is the biggest barrier for undertaking remote placements. Bachelor of Science student, Edith Cowan University
I would like to be considered for sponsorship to attend this prac placement because it represents a crucial opportunity for my growth as a future pharmacist. As a student, I am deeply committed to building the clinical, professional, and interpersonal skills needed to support patients and contribute meaningfully to the pharmacy profession. Financially, placement commitments are significant. Between reduced income during placement and ongoing study expenses, attending the event would not be possible without support. Sponsorship would relieve this pressure and allow me to fully participate, engage, and gain the most value out of the experience. I am passionate about becoming a knowledgeable, confident, and patient-centred pharmacist. Being selected for sponsorship would not only support my current placement journey but would also contribute to my long-term ability to serve patients and the community with greater skill and confidence. Bachelor of Pharmacy student, Curtin University
I would like to be considered for financial assistance as I am originally from country WA and relocated to Perth to complete studies in Physiotherapy. I moved away from home and family at 18 years old and have been supporting myself since. Attending a rural placement in Carnarvon was a goal of mine and I have invested in making the most out of this occasion. I have concerns regarding how I will financially support myself during this time as I take time off from my casual job and go without any income for 5 weeks. I believe this prac will expose me to diverse clinical environments that I wouldn’t see in Perth. I intend to work rurally when I complete my studies and hope this prac will allow me to gain experience in the field. I just believe I need some financial support to get me through the 5 weeks. Masters of Physiotherapy student, University of Notre Dame