Charles Sturt University has welcomed the Australian Government’s announcement that it will receive an additional 10 Commonwealth-Supported Places (CSPs) each year for students in the Doctor of Medicine course, widening the pipeline of bush doctors for regional Australia.

The new allocation means that from next year the course will have 47 CSPs, dramatically increasing its ability to address critical doctor shortages across regional, rural and remote communities. 

Charles Sturt University Vice-Chancellor Professor Renée Leon (inset) said the announcement is a win for regional Australians. 

“We welcome this announcement and thank the Government for recognising the importance of training doctors in regional settings, who then go on to work in regional towns. We know our local GPs are the lifeblood of our towns, cities and communities,” Professor Leon said. 

“These additional places mean more students will study medicine here in regional Australia and, importantly, more doctors will work in regional communities when they graduate.” 

The School of Rural Medicine is based at the University’s Orange campus, where students spend their first two years studying in state-of-the-art facilities. 

They then spend the last three years of the course in clinical settings across regional New South Wales, completing thousands of hours of placements.  

Professor Leon said the School of Rural Medicine was created to counter the health inequities faced by regional Australians. 

“For too long, Australia’s regional healthcare system has been in crisis. The consequences are stark: poorer health outcomes, higher rates of preventable hospitalisations and reduced life expectancy compared to our urban counterparts,” she said. 

“By training doctors in a regional setting, we are not only equipping them with the skills they need but embedding them in the communities where they are most needed.” 

In 2026 the Government will allocate an additional 50 CSP medicine places for each of the next three years, for a total of 150 places per year from 2028. 

Professor Leon said the University will seek further CSP allocations then. 

“We will be seeking additional medicine places in the next round of allocations because the need is so great,” she said. 

“If this is coupled with funding models which enable us to accept more nursing, midwifery, paramedicine, dentistry and allied health students, we are ready and waiting to provide regional Australia’s healthcare workforce for the decades to come.” 

Minister for Education, the Hon. Jason Clare, said the Government wants “more young Australians to become doctors, and more of them to become GPs”. 

“That’s why we are expanding the number of Australians studying medicine with these additional places spread across the country,” Minister Clare said. 

“More places and more training means more opportunity for young people and more doctors for communities that need them.” 

The Medicine program has been delivered in partnership with Western Sydney University. 

The initial cohort of 38 students, who commenced their studies in 2021, has completed the course, with over 80 per cent about to commence their careers in regional, rural or remote practice.  

Charles Sturt will celebrate that milestone on Tuesday 2 December at Templers Mill at its Orange campus.