Rural and remote medicine placements

The RCS Student Support Program is an initiative of the Rural Clinical School and provides financial support primarily to assist students to complete a clinical immersion in regional, rural and remote communities throughout Queensland during the MD program. RCS students travelling to GBCS Learning Communities will also be eligible for support.  

Students undertaking the following experiences are eligible for the support shown below. Internet allowances will also be available to students who do not have access to Wifi at their accommodation. 

Accommodation for all UQ-arranged rural terms will be booked for students and provided at no cost. Accommodation is available from the Sunday prior to the immersion term start date until the Saturday following the immersion term end date. If you wish to extend these arrangements, please contact the RRM Team to discuss.

Types of Accommodation

Rural and Regional immersion term accommodation varies in type and availability and UQ owned and rented units, QH staff quarters, shared houses, partner University designated student accommodation and homestays. These types of accommodation may give students the opportunity to mix with other health professionals, other students and/or local community members. Within the staff quarters, shared houses & homestays, students typically have their own lockable room with a bed, desk and storage, and utilise shared cooking facilities, TV room and laundry facilities.

The quality of accommodation does vary across sites. Students should consider placement accommodation the same as accommodation when travelling or backpacking – an adventure and an experience. For many rural sites, there is a shortage of accommodation, even for staff – so QH accommodation is to be considered a privilege rather than an expectation.

The Mayne Academy of Rural and Remote Medicine (RRM) staff administer this accommodation and if students have any issues with their accommodation, they are encouraged to discuss this with the RRM Team as soon as possible so any issues can be resolved in a timely manner. All students are asked to provide feedback on accommodation following their placement. This feedback is reviewed and acted on.

• Accommodation Guidelines
• Students may choose to make their own accommodation arrangements at their own expense. Students must notify the RRM Student Coordinator a minimum of 2 weeks prior to the arrival date.
• Accommodation is intended as single occupancy for the student on placement only. Visitors are not permitted to stay overnight.
• Repayment of the subsidy or part thereof may be required in the event that the Rural Clinical School incurs any expense to remedy a student’s breach of conditions governing the use and occupation of Rural Placement Accommodation.
• On vacating placement accommodation, students are responsible for ensuring the accommodation is left in a clean and tidy manner, as presented at the start of the stay.

More information on RCS accommodation can be found here.

Rural & Regional Placement Travel Subsidy

The Rural Placement Travel Subsidy is provided to offset the cost of a single return trip to your rural immersion site.

1. Schedule of Placement Travel Subsidy

Travel Guidelines

• Students are responsible for making their own travel arrangements to their rural placement.
• If there are exceptional circumstances where a student is approved to commute each day to a rural placement from their home, they will be eligible for the Placement Support Subsidy that they can use to offset any travel costs.

Placement Support Subsidy

Students undertaking an immersion as listed in the above Table will be eligible to receive a flat fee amount of $400 to offset the cost of living away from home. Those marked with ** will be paid by the RRM Team, those without, will apply for subsidies through the StarRez portal.

Please note that PLD students doing a rural placement will receive free accommodation but no travel/living away subsidies.

Internet Access Subsidy

Some of the rural placement accommodation options include internet access for students, while others do not. Access to the internet is considered essential for students on placement to meet course requirements.

Students assigned to accommodation where internet is not available will be eligible for an Internet Access Subsidy of $100 per placement (based on the average cost of a 2.5-month, sim-only plan) to assist students in adjusting personal internet plans.

• Internet Guidelines
• Students will be informed as to the availability of Internet connectivity at the placement accommodation by the RRM Team prior to placement.
• Students eligible to claim the Internet Access Subsidy need to decide if their current plan is sufficient or if they need to move to another plan.
• Students need to review provider coverage maps to ensure that the plan/coverage is appropriate for the placement site before purchasing– see Mobile Coverage Map Australia - Boost Mobile
• Students need to read the details of the plan and be aware of the costs of exceeding the monthly data subsidy. No further support for internet access is available to cover the cost of exceeding plan limits. You can find information on plan options at the following link:  https://boost.com.au/pages/prepaid-plans

Procedures to Claim Subsidy

• Students undertaking MEDI7300 RCI, MEDI7400 Rural CE, GPiRL and EPP will receive an email to their UQ student account detailing eligibility. Information to process subsidy claims is collected through an online form for eligible students. 
  • Once the claim form has been submitted, subsidies will be paid directly into the nominated bank account in accordance with the payment timeline below.
  • Click here to complete your details and submit your information.
• Students undertaking MEDI7400 Regional Clinical Extension, will apply for subsidies through the StarRez portal (more information to come).

Timeline for subsidy payments

Please see the PowerPoint presentation  2026 Rural Clinical School opportunities and Support for more information.