FAQs

1. What is the NSW Rural Doctors Network?

2. What is the Rural Doctors Association?

3. What is an Area of Need?

4. What is a District of Workforce Shortage?

5. What is Medicare?

6. What is the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme?

7. What is a Prescriber Number?

8. What are Divisions of General Practice?

9. What is General Practice Education and Training?

10. What are Regional Training Providers?

11. What is a Visiting Medical Officer?

12. What is an Area Health Service?

13. What is a Rural, Remote & Metropolitan Area?

14. What is the Remoteness Area Classification?

15. What is the Accessibility Remoteness Index of Australia?

16. What are Rural Retention Payments?

17. What is a Provider Number?

18. What is the Rural Locum Relief Program?

19. What is the Rural Other Medical Practitioners Scheme?

20. What is the Ten Year Moratorium?

21. What is the Five Year Rural Incentive Scheme?

22. What is the RDA Settlement Package?

1. What is the NSW Rural Doctors Network?

The NSW Rural Doctors Network (RDN) is a non Government, not-for-profit organisation funded by the Australian Government Department of Health and Ageing and the NSW Department of Health. The RDN supports and assists communities in rural and remote New South Wales (NSW) to establish and maintain medical services. It does this through a range of programs including GP recruitment, medical workforce planning, community support and student activities. The RDN provides a single point of contact for rural communities, practices and GPs for issues relating to the recruitment and retention of GPs in rural NSW.

2. What is the Rural Doctors Association?

The Rural Doctors Association of Australia (RDAA) is a national industrial-political body representing the interests of doctors working in rural and remote Australia. The RDAA comprises Rural Doctors Associations in each state and territory. The RDA (NSW) maintains the RDA settlement package in rural New South Wales.

For more information about the RDA, go to the RDAA website.

3. What is an Area of Need?

An Area of Need (AoN) is a vacant position that has been recognised by NSW Health as needing to be filled. It is a NSW Health Program and relates only to medical registration.
A practice has to formally apply for AoN status. If granted, AoN status applies only to the specific position defined in the application. It allows the practice to recruit an overseas trained doctor who would not otherwise be eligible for medical registration in NSW.

AoN status is granted for a fixed period of time - usually four years and most are in rural areas.

For more information about AoN, go to the NSW Health website (AoN).

4. What is a District of Workforce Shortage?

A District of Workforce Shortage (DoWS) is a geographic area in which there are insufficient doctors for the population’s need.

DoWS status is determined by the Australian Government on the basis of the doctor to population ratio in the town. It applies to the whole town but is reviewed on a quarterly basis. DoWS status only applies while the doctor to population ratio in that town remains significantly below the national average.

Doctors affected by the ten year moratorium on provider numbers must work in a DoWS in order to get a Medicare Provider Number.

You can check the DoWS status of a location/locality at the DoHA website.

5. What is Medicare?

Medicare is Australia's universal health insurance system. Through Medicare, Australians receive free or subsidised medical treatment by a range of health care providers including General Practitioners (GPs).

For more information about Medicare, go to the Medicare website.

6. What is the Pharmaceutical Benefit Scheme?

Through the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS), the Australian Government subsidises a wide range of prescription medicine. Australian residents and eligible overseas visitors receive subsidised medicines provided their medication is listed on the PBS and the prescribing doctor has a valid prescriber number.

For more information about the PBS, go to the DoHA website (PBS).

7. What is a Prescriber Number?

For a pharmacist to be able to provide prescription medications through the PBS i.e. at a subsidised price, the prescribing doctor must have a valid Prescriber Number and quote this on the prescription.

Prescriber Numbers are issued by Medicare Australia. All doctors registered in Australia are eligible for a Prescriber Number.

For more information about Prescriber Numbers and to download a Prescriber Number form, go to the Medicare website.

8. What are Divisions of General Practice?

Divisions or Networks of General Practice represent GPs in a geographic area. They are funded by the Australian Government to support GPs at a local level. They do this through a range of activities and services including medical workforce planning, primary health care, practice nurse support and practice management.

There are 16 Divisions of general practice in rural NSW and three Victorian Divisions supporting NSW GPs.

For details of NSW Divisions of General Practice, go to the DoHA website (Divisions).

9. What is General Practice Education and Training?

General Practice Education and Training Limited (GPET) manages the Australian General Practice Training Program on behalf of the Australian Government.

The Australian General Practice Training Program is a three or four year full-time training program funded by the Australian Government. It is delivered through 20 regional training providers (RTPs) across Australia.

For more information about GPET, go to the AGPT website.

10. What are Regional Training Providers?

Regional Training Providers (RTPs) deliver general practice training in Australia in defined geographic areas. They are funded and accredited by GPET. There are eight RTPs in NSW.

For more information and links to the Regional Training Providers in NSW, go to the AGPT website.

11. What is a Visiting Medical Officer?

A Visiting Medical Officer (VMO) is a medical practitioner in private practice who also provides medical services in a public hospital.

VMOs are not hospital employees but are contracted by the Area Health Service (AHS) to provide specific medical services in nominated health facilities. For a GP to be granted VMO rights in a hospital, their core skills must be ‘credentialed’ by the relevant AHS and they must be granted ‘clinical privileges’ to provide services in nominated health facilities.

12. What is an Area Health Service?

Area Health Services (AHSs) are an arm of, and are funded by, NSW Health. They have responsibility for the delivery of public health care in defined geographic areas of NSW. AHSs manage all public health facilities throughout NSW from major teaching hospitals to small district hospitals. There are eight AHSs in NSW with four covering metropolitan areas and four covering rural NSW.

For more information about AHSs, go to the NSW Health website.

13. What is a Rural, Remote Metropolitan Area?

RRMA (Rural, Remote & Metropolitan Areas) is a classification system used to determine the remoteness of a geographic area. The Australian Government uses RRMA to determine eligibility for certain government programs.

There are seven RRMA categories:

RRMA 1: Capital Cities
RRMA 2: Other Metropolitan Centres
RRMA 3: Large Rural Centres
RRMA 4: Small Rural Centres
RRMA 5: Other Rural Areas
RRMA 6: Remote Centres
RRMA 7: Other Remote Areas

A national RRMA classification database is available on the RRMA/ASGC-RA Town / Postcode Search website. This database allows you to search for RRMA classifications by town or postcode.

14. What is the Remoteness Area Classification?

The Australian Standard Geographical Classification - Remoteness Area (ASGC-RA) is a new classification system measuring remoteness of different geographical regions.

There are five RA categories:

RA1: Major cities of Australia
RA2: Inner regional Australia
RA3: Outer regional Australia
RA4: Remote Australia
RA5: Very remote Australia

From July 2010, RA categories will be used by the Australian Government to determine eligibility for many government programs for rural doctors.

For more information about Remoteness Area Classifications, go to the DoHA website (Remoteness Area Locator).

15. What is the GP Accessibility Remoteness Index of Australia?

GP ARIA (the Accessibility Remoteness Index of Australia) measures the remoteness, local isolation and professional isolation of GPs practising in different towns in Australia. There are seven GP ARIA categories in Australia with GP ARIA 1 being the least remote and GP ARIA 7 being the most remote.

The RDN uses GP ARIA categories to determine eligibility for some grants.

GP ARIA is also used to determine eligibility for Rural Retention Payments.

16. What are Rural Retention Payments?

GPs working in designated rural areas may be eligible for Rural Retention Payments.

These payments are made to GPs who have provided a minimum period of general practice or primary health care services in a qualifying location.

Qualifying locations are divided into five Retention Payment Categories ranging from A to E, with E representing the most remote locations.

Payments range from $25,000 per year after 12 months service (Category E) to $5,000 per year after six years service (Category A).

From July 2010, retention payments will increase and will be paid under the new GP Rural Incentives Program.

For more information about Rural Retention Payments, go to the DoHA website (Rural Retention Program).

17. What is a Provider Number?

For a patient’s medical care to be subsidised by Medicare, the treating health professional must have a current Medicare Provider Number appropriate for the location in which the service is provided. The service too must be one subsidised by Medicare.

Doctors also require a Provider Number to refer patients to specialist medical practitioners so that the patient can claim a Medicare rebate for the specialist service.

Medicare Provider Numbers are issued by Medicare Australia.

Some restrictions apply to doctors’ eligibility for a Medicare Provider Number.

For more information on Provider Numbers, go to the DoHA website (Provider Numbers).

18. What is the Rural Locum Relief Program?

The Rural Locum Relief Program (RLRP) enables doctors with certain provider number restrictions to obtain a Medicare provider number to work in designated rural areas.

Since 1996, Australian citizens and permanent Australian residents have had to be vocationally registered or have Fellowship of an Australian College of General Practice in order to obtain a Medicare provider number.

Doctors who face Provider Number restrictions because of this requirement may apply to join the RLRP.

In NSW the RLRP is administered by the RDN.

For more information about the RLRP, go to the RDN RLRP webpage.

19. What is the Rural Other Medical Practitioners Program?

The Rural Other Medical Practitioners (ROMPs) Program provides access to the higher A1 Medicare rebate to non-vocationally recognised medical practitioners providing general practice services in eligible rural and remote areas. Normally non-vocationally recognised medical practitioners would access the lower A2 Medicare rebate.

To find out if you are eligible for ROMPs or for more information on the program, go to the DoHA website (ROMPs).

20. What is the Ten Year Moratorium?

The Ten Year Moratorium is the common name for the provider number restrictions imposed by Section 19AB of the Health Insurance Act.

Overseas-trained doctors and overseas medical students who were not registered as a medical practitioner in Australia, or had not applied to sit the Australian Medical Council (AMC) exams by 1 January 1997 are likely to be subject to the Moratorium.

Exemptions to the Moratorium can be granted by the Australian Government if the doctor works in a designated District of Workforce Shortage.

The duration of the moratorium will vary depending on when the doctor first obtained medical registration in Australia and when they obtained permanent Australian residency. A reduction on the Moratorium may be given if a doctor works in a nominated rural or remote area.

For more information on the Ten Year Moratorium, go to the DoHA website (19AB).

21. What is the Five Year Rural Incentive Scheme?

The Five Year Rural Incentive Scheme (Five Year Program) provides eligible OTDs with a pathway to permanent Australian residency and a reduction on the OTDs' Ten Year Moratorium on Medicare provider numbers. OTDs applying to join this program must undertake to obtain Fellowship of a specialist General Practice College within two years of enrolment, and must be eligible to do so.

22. What is the RDA Settlement Package?

The RDA (Rural Doctors Association) Settlement Package establishes payment rates for medical services provided by GP VMOs at 125 small (RDA Settlement Package) hospitals in rural NSW. These payment rates are only available to RDA (NSW) members and are substantially higher than the Medicare rebates otherwise payable.

The schedule of fees is indexed annually. The RDA Settlement Package ensures that GP VMOs providing on call and after hours services in areas with minimal specialist backup are renumerated appropriately for the services they provide.

For more information about the RDA Settlement Package and a list of hospitals go to the RDA (NSW) website.