Calls have been made for the Australian Government’s new weekly payments for some students doing practical placement to extend to audiology and speech pathology students.
From July 2025, the Commonwealth Prac Payment scheme will provide student teachers, nurses, midwives and social workers with a $320 weekly payment during their mandatory practical placements.
The new cost-of-living measure will be means-tested to target students who need it the most and will cover about 68,000 higher education and 5,000 VET students a year.
Releasing the 2024-2045 Federal Budget last night, 14 May 2024, treasurer Dr Jim Chalmers PhD said, “we are paying students in critical sectors like nursing, teaching and social work to do the practical placements which are an important part of their studies.”
But Allied Health Professions Australia (AHPA) wants the measure expanded to cover allied health students including audiology and speech pathology students during their clinical and professional placements.
AHPA CEO Ms Bronwyn Morris-Donovan welcomed the announcement but said “placement poverty” was real for many students of allied health disciplines where mandatory placements were just as extensive, if not more.
She said the Commonwealth Government had acknowledged the shortfall of allied health professionals in Australia and was developing a National Allied Health Workforce Strategy to future-proof supply of allied health professionals.
In the 2023 Skills Priority List, there was a shortage in every jurisdiction for allied health professions, she added. This included audiologists, speech therapists, occupational therapists, optometrists, orthotists/prosthetists, physiotherapists, podiatrists, psychologists, social workers and sonographers.
“AHPA calls for an expansion of this ‘placement payment’ to ensure the supply of qualified allied health professionals matches demand for services and incentivises the next generation of allied health professionals,” Morris-Donovan said
Audiometry misses out again; call for industry to complete survey
Meanwhile audiometry students have missed out again, Australasian College of Audiometry (AuCA) director Mr Chedy Kalach said.
“It’s great to hear the apprenticeship hiring incentives remain for another year but as audiometry is not currently a traineeship, studying audiometry will not attract any financial subsidies,” he told Hearing Practitioner Australia.
“The priority wage subsidy (PWS) scheme also continues, but again, audiometry is not on the skills shortage list and being measured as a stand-alone profession.
“With the changes to the ABS ANZSCO yet to be finalised and released (changes due in 2025) the only way to prove a jobs shortage is via industry feedback.
“Surveys like this are being distributed currently and need industry support to show skills shortages are real and need to be addressed.
“With enough industry responses, Jobs and Skills Australia might be able to add audiometry on the skills shortage, which might lead to the inclusion on the PWS.”
Call for industry to complete survey
He urged those working in the industry to complete the college’s recruitment of clinicians survey found at https://forms.gle/f4nwUiHMcFANDUWq6.
“The information you provide assists AuCA in advocating to government for the needs of new and future hearing care professionals,” he said.
Business benefits from Budget
Meanwhile, audiology practices are among small businesses who can benefit from a one- year extension of the Australian Government’s $20,000 instant asset write-off scheme, announced in the Budget. The scheme was due to end on 30 June 2024.
“The government is providing $290 million in cash flow support by extending the $20,000 instant asset write-off,” its small business fact sheet released after the Budget stated.
“Small businesses with annual turnover of less than $10 million will be able to immediately deduct eligible assets costing less than $20,000 until 30 June 2025.”
The government will also provide direct energy bill relief for small businesses through its Energy Bill Relief Fund which will provide rebates of $325 to about one million eligible small businesses on small customer electricity plans to help cover their electricity bills.
Other measures which might also assist audiology businesses, students and hearing practitioners include:
- $20.5 million to the Fair Work Ombudsman to help small business employers comply with workplace laws.
- A further $10.8 million to support the mental health and financial wellbeing of small business owners by extending Beyond Blue’s NewAccess for Small Business Owners guided self-help mental health coaching program which provides tailored, free and confidential mental health support to small business owners.
- Extending the Small Business Debt Helpline, a national, free and confidential phone-based financial counselling service for small business owners.
- $90 million to address health workforce shortages by making it simpler and quicker for international health practitioners to work in Australia.
- Wiping off $3 billion of HECS debts for about three million Australians, backdated to 1 July 2023. A student with an average HECS debt of about $26,000 would have about $1,200 wiped off and someone with a debt of about $40,000 will see a cut of about $1,800, Prime Minister Mr Anthony Albanese said.
