The Issues
On average, Australians living in rural and remote areas have shorter lives, higher levels of disease and injury and poorer access to and use of health services, compared with people living in metropolitan areas.
On average, Australians living in rural and remote areas have shorter lives, higher levels of disease and injury and poorer access to and use of health services, compared with people living in metropolitan areas.
— Australian Institute of Health and Welfare
The nearly 30 percent of Australia’s population who live rurally generate at least 80 percent of the nation’s export revenue, 50 percent of tourism income and 90 percent of the food the rest of the country consumes. Yet the people living in these areas often face considerable health challenges, including limited access to medical facilities and health workers, the tyranny of distance and the cost of delivery of care.
Our Plan
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A 10-year rural health strategy to deliver rural and remote priorities, underpinned by a $1 billion rural health fund for local community health care solutions (National Rural Health Alliance).
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More regional and rural placements to encourage medical students to work outside of metropolitan areas, as well as cutting red tape for international medical graduates.
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Funding for multidisciplinary health services that give the flexibility to engage communities and address local needs in partnership, in a similar way to Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisations.
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More training, particularly for allied health and nursing, in rural communities.
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A strategy to mitigate the effects of global warming on people in rural communities, particularly extreme weather events and insect-borne diseases.
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More support to cover travel costs for patients in rural and remote areas, simplified reimbursement processes and cover for non-medical services such as dentistry and allied health.
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Close the many gaps in connectivity and provide access to digital technologies for health, education, cultural activities, finance, family connection, news and media.
The Evidence
In many rural areas people have fewer opportunities for employment and are more likely to be out of work longer than their urban counterparts particularly young people under 25 years of age.
The incidence of poverty in rural and remote areas of Australia is considerably higher than the national average. There is an extremely low ratio of general practitioners in rural Australia and enormous difficulty in recruiting and retaining health practitioners to rural, and particularly remote, areas. A new study weighing up healthcare investment across Australian regions has calculated that patients in rural areas face an average annual shortfall of almost $850 in health funding each year compared to their city counterparts.
Midwives who work in rural or remote locations play crucial roles in maternal health outcomes, but they are often the only health professionals providing face-to-face health services and are often working longer hours, performing multiple roles and on call 24 hours a day.
Young people suffer one of the highest youth suicide rates in the developed world, and rates are especially high for young males in small country communities.
In small towns, rural and remote communities the infrastructure needs are vast and varied and service quality is often poor. Regional passenger transport funding is inconsistent and local governments struggle to provide the infrastructure for freight transport, while the collapse of Rex Airlines remains uncertain. Reliable transport networks are necessary in enabling the efficient movement of healthcare professionals, medications and supplies, and facilitating patient transfers to larger medical centres when needed (National Rural Health Alliance).
New research shows the number of city-dwellers looking to relocate to the regions has doubled over the past 18 months, and 40 percent of capital city residents are considering a move to regional Australia up from 20 percent in May 2023. However, they will expect good services.
References
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Human rights of rural Australians (Australian Human Rights Commission).
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Audit Fact Sheet: Small Towns, Rural and Remote (Infrastructure Australia).
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Equity in health and wellbeing: why does regional, rural and remote Australia matter? (InPsych).
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Rural Health Australia Snapshot (National Rural Health Alliance).