What is the Workforce Incentive Program – Rural Advanced Skills Stream?

This is a FAQ BLOG and you can refer to our General Practice Incentives & How To Get Them blog here.

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Date Updated: 2026-09-08

What is it?

The Workforce Incentive Program – Rural Advanced Skills Stream gives financial incentives every year to Rural Generalists (RGs) and General Practitioners (GPs) who provide both primary care and emergency and/or advanced skills in MM3-7 locations.

There are 2 streams for the this incentive:

Stream 1: Emergency Medicine – From $4,000 up to $10,500 per annum for doctors providing a minimum level of emergency care and emergency after hours services in eligible locations.

Stream 2: Advanced Skills – From $4,000 up to $10,500 per annum for doctors who hold recognised qualifications in advanced skills (such as obstetrics, anaesthetics, surgery, mental health and/or First Nations Health) and provide a minimum level of service using these skills.

You can claim either or both payment streams as long as you meet the eligibility criteria and the required thresholds for each stream, but you must apply for each stream separately.

Applications for the WIP Rural Advanced Skills Incentive are open until 31 March 2027.

Please note the WIP-Rural Advanced Skills payment covers services delivered between 1 January 2023 and 31 December 2026, and applicants are paid based on their activity during each 12-month assessment period.

Am I eligible?

You are eligible for the Rural Advanced Skills Stream if you:

Are one of the following:
- Vocationally Registered General Practitioners (GP)
- Rural Generalists (RGs)
- *Non-vocationally registered doctors that are on an approved GP/RG training pathway working in primary care, specifically the following approved training pathways:
  - Australian General Practice Training (AGPT) Program
  - ACRRM Independent Pathway
  - Remote Vocational Training Scheme (RVTS)
  - RACGP Fellowship Support Program (FSP)
  - RACGP Practice Experience Program (PEP)
  - ACRRM Rural Generalist Training Scheme (RGTS)

Have a Medicare Provider Number pertaining to an MM 3-7 location

Provide comprehensive Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS) primary care/general practice services in MM 3-7 locations

Meet minimum primary care and advanced skill service thresholds:
- Full-time doctors – 96 primary care rosters
- Part-time doctors – 48 primary care rosters

Provide evidence (e.g., signed supporting documentation) to substantiate their application (proof of qualifications or advanced skills and employer verification of services delivered).
- Stream 1 and 2 requires documentation from practice or regional health authority (Local Health Network/District, Primary Health Network), including verification of provision of required levels of health service delivery for both general practice/primary care and advanced skills services.
- Stream 2 also requires to attach:
  - Documentation from ACRRM or RACGP confirming their advanced skill, OR
  - A signed declaration from the hospital/employer in which they deliver services. The declaration needs to confirm they:
    - hold eligible advanced skill; and
    - have delivered services using that advanced skill during the assessment period.

Stream 1: Emergency Medicine Additional Eligibility Requirements:
- You must deliver emergency medicine services in a:
  - Hospital,
  - Medicare Urgent Care Clinic, or
  - Multipurpose service.
- Emergency after hour services (including on-call services) in rural and remote communities without hospital, urgent care clinics, or multipurpose services within a 50 km radius are also eligible locations.

Stream 2: Advanced Skills Additional Eligibility Requirements:
- Advanced skills can be performed in a:
  - Hospital,
  - Medicare Urgent Care Clinic,
  - Multipurpose service, or
  - General practice.
- You must have at least one of the advanced skills below:
  - Adult internal medicine
  - Anaesthesia
  - First Nations Health
  - Mental health
  - Obstetrics and gynaecology
  - Paediatrics and child health
  - Palliative care
  - Remote medicine
  - Small Town Rural General Practice
  - Surgery

Please note that you must have your individual bank account details registered with Services Australia through the Health Professional Online Services (HPOS) to enable payment.

Your ‘Primary care/general practice’ services are also expected to include “management of undifferentiated acute and chronic health problems across the lifespan in an unreferred patient population; providing continuing care for individuals with chronic conditions; undertaking preventive health activities such as screening, immunisation and health education”.

What is the minimum service threshold?

For WIP-Rural Advanced Skills payments, a ‘roster’ is a period of 4 hours or longer during a 24-hour period.

Here are a few useful notes from the guidelines:

FTE = Full Time Equivalent
One roster is 4 hours or longer in a 24-hour period.
96 primary care rosters are equivalent to 2 days per week (11 months per year).
Advanced skills rosters are based on one, two and four rosters per month (11 months per year).
Doctors working 0.6 FTE and above, in total across all MM 3-7 employment settings, are considered full-time.
idered full-time.
Payment values increase based on rurality and number of advanced skill services delivered.
Minimum service thresholds for each payment level differ due to MM location due to different workforce profiles and community needs.
Pro-rata payments are not available for doctors that have not reached minimum service thresholds for each payment level.

How much can I get?

For each stream, you can get $4,000 up to $10,500 per annum which are based on the number of advanced skills rosters worked in eligible locations. You can claim either or both payment streams as long as you meet the eligibility criteria and required thresholds for each stream.

The table below shows the service thresholds and amount you can get based on rosters and locations for your reference:

Here are examples from the Guidelines:

Example 1: GP Fellow with advanced skills

Dr Jones is a GP fellow with advanced skills in Surgery.
Dr Jones works in general practice in a Modified Monash 4 location four days per week (200 annual rosters) and provides surgical services from the hospital in that same town one day per week (48 rosters).
Dr Jones also provides after hours emergency services from the hospital once per fortnight.

Example 2: Rural Generalist with advanced skills

Dr Marcos is a Rural Generalist with advanced skills in Anaesthetics and Obstetrics.
Dr Marcos works in general practice in a Modified Monash 5 location three days per week (0.6 FTE) and provides obstetrics and anesthetic services from the hospital in that same town approximately two days per week (29 obstetrics and 46 anesthetics rosters).
While Dr Marcos is asked to provide data on what proportion of her rosters was spent on obstetrics and what part was spent on anaesthetics, if possible, this is not essential.
Payment is calculated on total Advanced Skills rosters delivered during the assessment period.

How do I apply?

You will need to apply through an online form which is separate for each stream.

For Stream 1: Emergency Medicine, apply here.

For Stream 2: Advanced Skills, apply here.

The Rural Workforce Agency (RWA) will be responsible for checking your application, then payment will be calculated and transferred to Services Australia. All enquiries before the payment will be handled by your RWA. You can check the contact details of your RWA at the Workforce Incentive Program – Rural Advanced Skills – Frequently asked Questions.

Reminders:

You can claim either or both payment streams as long as you meet the eligibility criteria and the required thresholds for each stream, but you must apply for each stream separately.
Applications for the WIP Rural Advanced Skills Incentive are open until 31 March 2027.
WIP-Rural Advanced Skills payment covers services delivered between 1 January 2023 and 31 December 2026, and applicants are paid based on their activity during each 12-month assessment period.

We Can Help You

Here at People Medical Consulting, we have a passion for guiding medical practitioners through their career pathways to Australia. We have extensive experience in assisting medical facilities in recruiting doctors from local and overseas who will best suit their requirements.

We provide Document Assistance for those requiring support for their PESCI with IME, ACRRM or RACGP, registration and all other mandatory AHPRA requirements, fellowship program related forms and letters, application for Medicare provider and prescriber numbers, application for 19AB or 19AA exemptions and preparation of employment documents.

If you want to talk to someone about your pathway or practice management—book a consultation with us below, or if you need Recruitment or Document Assistance, contact us at help@peoplemedical.com.au or click the buttons below. We’d be glad to help you!

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Information from this blog has been taken directly from:

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What is the Workforce Incentive Program – Doctor Stream?

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