A NEW financial year and tax returns are weighing heavily on the mind – and refunds, if you’re lucky enough to get one.
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But with another financial year also comes a raft of new or changed legislation, and if fees and charges are going to rise – as they inevitably do – then July 1 is it.
However, there’s always good to go with the bad and this year is no different.
One of the most beneficial for rural and regional Australia – and up to 10 towns in this region – is the rise in incentive payments for GPs to practise in these areas.
And the rises are substantial depending on a town’s population and geographical location.
For towns of less than 5000, which take in the likes of Quirindi and Manilla, the bonus payment for GPs to come and work for a minimum period of time jumps from $12,000 to $23,000, an amount not be sneezed at.
For remote communities, the incentive could be as much as $60,000.
Rural health groups have been arguing for years that the previous system of geographical classification did not properly target rural and remote areas, with large regional cities like Cairns eligible for doctor incentive programs.
The upgraded incentives program is based on a new classification system that measures both the geographical location of a town, along with its population.
It obviously makes perfect sense, and while it’s taken a while to get here, the government should be applauded for finally making the necessary changes that give rural and regional areas the best chance of attracting the GPs they need.
Money talks, so the saying goes, and if it takes incentive payments to make doctors consider practices outside our big cities, then it’s money well spent.
When this goes hand in hand with the likes of targeted scholarships, bonded medical spots and quarantined medical places for country students, then our regions may finally begin to get the medical attention they deserve.