New bite at rural dental incentives

Dentists are welcome to apply for the latest funding round of the Dental Relocation and Infrastructure Support Scheme (DRISS) which opens on Monday 17 February.

DRISS is an Australian Government initiative supporting dentists to take up private practice in regional, rural and remote Australia. It is administered by Rural Health Workforce Australia, the peak body for the state and territory Rural Workforce Agencies. DRISS offers:

• Relocation grants of between $15,000 and $120,000 scaled depending on the dentist's current location and the location of the new practice; and
• Infrastructure grants up to $250,000 to assist with establishing a new practice or to expand an existing one. Infrastructure grant funds can be used for building, refurbishment and equipment costs.

Dentists moving to locations that are more regional, rural or remote than their current practice to provide general dental services in private practice are eligible for the grants. Further information about how to apply and how applications are assessed is available on the DRISS website.

"This is an important program because there is real need for more dental services in rural and remote Australia," says RHWA General Manager – Programs, Jo-Anne Chapman. "In addition to the grants, our Rural Workforce Agency network is committed to supporting dentists who want to make the move to rural Australia. The agencies are very experienced at helping health professionals settle into communities and connect with local people."

The DRISS funding round opens 17 February and closes on 26 March. For further information, visit www.rhwa.org.au/DRISS.

About RHWA

Rural Health Workforce Australia is the peak body for the seven state and territory Rural Workforce Agencies. This not-for-profit network attracts and supports health professionals to work in rural and remote communities.

Across Australia in 2012-2013, the RHWA-RWA network:

• Recruited more than 650 new doctors, nurses and allied health professionals for rural communities and Aboriginal Medical Services
• Facilitated 194,000 patient services via outreach specialist teams
• Supported 5,800 rural doctors and 2,000 rural practices
• Handled 12,000 inquiries from health professionals
• Arranged locum relief for 1,000 rural doctors, so they could take a break
• Supported 1,800 rural doctor families
• Provided crisis support to 81 doctors
• Engaged hundreds of medical, nursing and allied health students in positive rural experiences such as rural high school visits, Rural Health Club activities and Go Rural career events