A Dean Winter Labor Government will deliver a Fresh Start for our local health workforce with more incentives for doctors and midwives who study and work in Tasmania.

This will support our TassieDoc plan to open five new free doctor clinics around the state, as well as our commitment to expanded regional care.

Labor’s health workforce plan will:

• Deliver our game-changing TassieDoc policy
• Get midwives studying here in Tasmania again
• Support expanded regional health services

Why we need it

After 11 years under the Liberals, Tasmania needs more health staff. 

• GP surgeries have closed across the state, and it’s impossible to get a bulk-billed doctor.
• Our health service is reliant on bringing in locums from interstate.
• The University of Tasmania stopped offering midwifery courses four years ago.
• Midwifery services, especially in the north, are struggling to meet demand.

The details

A Dean Winter Labor Government will provide recruitment and retention incentives for doctors to stay in Tasmania, with 150 incentive payments available for doctors to train and stay here.

This will comprise 100 $10,000 incentive payments for doctors to train and stay in urban areas and 50 $20,000 incentives for doctors to work in rural areas.

The incentive payments will be made to practices which will encourage clinics to take on registrars, and will support those registrars to stay in Tasmania.

A Labor Government will work with the University of Tasmania to restart midwifery courses here in Tasmania.

Once they have restarted, Labor will provide 200 scholarships over the next four years to support nurses to undertake further training as midwives.

The scholarships will be $10,000 to support the cost of training plus a further $5,000 for those who choose to stay and work in Tasmania.