Rural LEAP

ACRRM has been contracted by the Department of Health and Ageing to administer the Rural Locum Education Assistance Program (Rural LEAP). This program is a new government initiative designed to improve the availability of locums in rural and remote Australia.

Rural LEAP provides financial assistance to urban GPs who undertake emergency medicine training and commit to a four week (20 working days) general practice locum placement in a rural locality within a two year period. This is a one off incentive with participants able to obtain financial assistance of up to $6,000 for 3 days of emergency medicine training. This is based on a rate of $2,000 per day.

Please note that Rural LEAP is a pilot program with a limited number of placements available in 2010. Depending on uptake in the pilot, places in the program may be increased in future years.

Who is eligible?

To be eligible for payment under the program, applicants need to be:

• a general practitioner, and
• currently practicing in an urban locality (i.e., ASGC-RA 1*)

* The Australian Standard Geographical Classification – Remoteness Area (ASGC-RA) is the classification system used to define eligible areas. Urban localities are classified ASGC-RA 1 and localities eligible for locum placements are in ASGC-RA 2-5. To check your ASGC-RA classification, you can search on the Health Workforce Queensland website.

How to Apply

To be considered for the pilot program, urban GPs should apply to the Australian College of Rural and Remote Medicine (ACRRM) using the official Application Form in the Guidelines.

Due to the limited number of places in the program, ACRRM will assess applications based on when an application is received. Applicants will also need to outline the following:

• when the applicant intends to undertake training
• type of training the applicant intends to undertake, and 
• when the applicant intends to fulfill their locum commitment.

If the program is over subscribed, all successful applicants who do not make the initial round will be placed on a waiting list and contacted if numbers in the program are increased.

Eligible Training

ACRRM, in consultation with relevant external agencies, will assess the eligibility of training for inclusion in Rural LEAP. The list below provides examples of eligible training courses:

• Emergency Crisis Resource Management
• Early Management of Severe Trauma (EMST)
• Emergency Life Support (ELS) Course
• Advanced Paediatric Life Support (APLS)
• Rural Emergency Skills Training (REST)
• Intermediate and/or Advanced Life Support
• Emergency Medicine Crisis Management
• Intermediate and/or CEMP workshops
• HWQLD Rural Emergency Medicine Workshop
• Soma Health Airway, CPR and Trauma Management Workshop

If the above courses do not meet your needs, you may submit a learning plan as part of your application to be assessed by ACRRM.

Locum Commitment

Participants in the program are to undertake a total of four weeks locum placements within two years of receiving their payment for undertaking emergency medicine training. The four weeks (20 working days) can be broken up into shorter periods; however a total of two weeks (10 working days) needs to be completed in the first 12 months from receiving their payment.

Participants are required to undertake practice based GP locum positions located in ASGC-RA 2-5. These locum placements may be organised by the participant or the participant may seek assistance through various locum agencies.

Once a participant has fulfilled their locum commitment, they are required to advise Medicare Australia. This can be through a statutory declaration from the practice where the locum was provided or a letter from the locum agency as verification.

Payment of the Incentive

Eligible GPs receive a payment once Medicare Australia receives evidence from ACRRM of the GP’s completion of eligible training. Payments to GPs are made directly to a bank account nominated by the GP. Medicare Australia also forwards a statement to the GP detailing payment. Medicare Australia will also provide reminders to GPs to undertake their locum requirement by a required date.

How to Claim

As a registered participant in Rural LEAP, you can claim for your nominated registered educational event by completing, signing, and faxing the Rural LEAP Claim Form to ACRRM. The form must be accompanied by evidence that you attended the event (e.g. certificate of attendance, letter of attendance from the course provider, or a tax invoice).

Claim Form

Locum placements

After you complete your Rural LEAP training, you are eligible to apply to be part of Rural Health Workforce Australia’s Rural GP Locum Program (RGPLP). Support for GPs undertaking a locum placement under the RGPLP includes assistance with travel, accommodation, and provider numbers. You are not charged a fee for this service. Rural Workforce Agencies will also help locums find placements that meet their needs. To find out more go to the Rural GP Locum website/ or download the RGPLP brochure.  

More information?

Please open and read the Rural LEAP official program guidelines and application form.
For additional information, please contact ACRRM's Rural LEAP team:

• Freecall:  1800 223 226 (8am to 5pm, Monday to Friday, AEST)
• Fax: 07 - 3105 8299
• Email: the trrpgpacrrm [dot] org [dot] au (Rural LEAP team)