Senate Education and Employment Legislation Committee, , 8:39:37 to 8:45:59
Officials explain the criteria for selecting disciplines eligible for practicum payments, focusing on workforce shortages and completion rates. The discussion addresses why certain fields, such as veterinary science, were excluded despite identified shortages.
Topics: Education, Employment, Health
Speakers: Ms. Madonna Morton, Speaker 36, Ms. Jasmina Joldic, Mr. Tony Cook, Unknown Speaker, Senator Marielle Smith
>> Um thank you Senator. Um the additional 10 um um courses that have been selected um the things that we have taken into account is the eligible disciplines um was kind of a combination of criteria that we've applied. We've looked at um completions, workforce shortages, and priority occupations were the main drivers to look at um how we came up with the uh with the priority disciplines. Um but perhaps Mr. Nordstrom will um want to elaborate on that a bit more.
>> As Miss Joel Dish uh um mentioned, Senator um we look at a range of of factors. Just to note, the CPP, as you know, is not a universal program. It was not set up to be a universal uh payment. It's a targeted program. Uh so it is looking to target those disciplines where we know there are cost of living pressures for students who have to undertake the mandatory placement. >> Uh we also know um that it works to target the investment in the critical work forces. And in addition to what Miss Yelich has mentioned around completions and skill shortages um which we look at the JSA um shortage uh occupation list for that uh we also uh consult and do a fair bit of work with the department of health disability and aging because they look after um those work forces the medical workforces. So they have a chief allied health officer uh in particular as well. So we worked with them in terms of seeking advice from them as to what they're noticing around particular workforce pipelines uh particular workforce pressures. Um we know that in some of the professions um that may not have been included in in the expansion that the kind of um workforce shortages can be quite variable within a discipline. So for example for veterinarians you might see some pockets of high workforce shortage but overall you're not seeing uh shortages across that profession. So for example >> just >> metropolitan veterinarians there's normally not a presentation of workforce shortage but large animal veterinarians you can sometimes see pockets of that. So,
>> but just on veterinarians, looking at jobs and skills,
>> yep,
>> Australia, since 2021, veterinarians were classified as being in shortage nationally in every state and territory, including the ACT. Um, 2025, JSA identified veterinarians as one of Australia's most under supplied
>> Yeah. uh as Miss Yelich mentions there's a combination of factors. So workforce shortages is one of those but we know completions we also look at completions data and we know that veterinarians have a relatively high level of completion data associated with that discipline. So that's a factor that we take into consideration. We also look at what the states and territories are doing. So for example um the New South Wales government offers the New South Wales regional veterary program. Sorry, placement scholarships I should call it. And that provides financial support to about 94 uh veterinarian students from a couple of universities to assist them in completing clinical placements in regional areas. So that's a response specifically targeted from the New South Wales government. So we have an eye to those three factors that Miss Yldish mentioned. >> Um and then we also look at where they might also be getting some assistance as well. We are aware of the veterinarians from the accord process. So you know we do have a we do have a strong look at at the application and the analysis of those factors.
>> Okay. And so you haven't mentioned cost at all. So cost wasn't a wasn't a factor in actually deciding who to expand it
>> No, it was these three factors uh in terms of how we analyze where we think um the best bang for buck I suppose uh could be made. Um the other kind of driver around this that the government expressed in announcing the extension was around strengthening Medicare uh supporting those kind of allied health professions. Of course there was also the 2023 employment white paper that talked about the care economy and I think we we've discussed that at previous uh hearings as well. So they are the things that are take that were taken in into consideration around what should be expanded again those three factors completions shortages and the advice from the department of health uh disability and aging they've got a bit more of an insight and they get more data on work forces than than we would collect as a as an education department.
>> Have you costed how much it would cost to extend the scheme
>> uh for the 10 allied health disciplines?
Yeah, I mean say to medical students or dentistry, optometry, science, chairo and osteo.
>> So we've we've certainly costed um and provided uh advice to government around um these 10 allied health disciplines um and um government has kind of you know weighed that up in terms of what they're seeing in terms of those three factors that that I mentioned previously.
>> Okay. So cost isn't a factor but you've
>> we do that as part of our our advice.
>> Okay.
>> So when we work with the chief out sorry secretary
>> we're going to the budget process now. So we'll be limited by what we'll be able to say because it is a budget process. Of course we have to cost things that go into budget around the 10 disciplines of course >> but as you know we can't talk about anything to do with cabinet budgetary processes.
>> Senator Pocock I'm going to give you a nudge soon.
these kind of go to the data. So, I'll put them on notice, too. But thanks very much for your work. It's such an important scheme. Great to hear the uptake. Um, and we'll certainly keep pushing for it to be expanded. Thanks.
>> Thanks, S.
>> Thank you, Senator Senator O. Sullivan.