A new online calculator could help bring doctors to the bush by making it easier to find out if there are incentives or financial support available for working in a rural area.
The Rural Doctors Association of Australia (RDAA) has developed the tool in the hopes of streamlining the process and bringing information on a range of measures and programs together in one place.
The Commonwealth Financial Support Calculator asks a series of questions to narrow down the available incentives, such as whether they are a trainee GP, fully qualified specialist GP or rural generalist, how much HELP debt they incurred from their studies, and the rurality or remoteness of the area where they will work according to the Modified Monash Model.
The calculator also takes into account if a doctor has advanced skills such as obstetrics, anaesthetics or mental health care, or if they can provide emergency care in a local hospital.
RDAA president Dr RT Lewandowski said doctors often have to be detectives to figure out what incentives they are eligible for.
"With any bureaucracy it can be difficult to negotiate and navigate even though they exist," Dr Lewandowski said.
"Like with anything, when you roll something out, you don't always see down the field how it's going to play in with other things.
"We tend to get a little bit of tunnel vision - we don't think about how to tie it to others or make it more visible."
The calculator doesn't currently cover incentives offered by the state governments, but the RDAA is hopeful it may be able to do so in the future.
The organisation also intends to update the calculator with future changes to federal incentives and programs.
There's hope the tool could encourage young doctors to consider a move to the regions, despite the added cost pressures of running a practice in a country town.
"If you're planning on going out it gives you an idea of what you might expect, and if you're already there it tells you what you might be missing," Dr Lewandowki said.
"It also really highlights to junior doctors that, when coupled with state-based payments and income from private general practice or rural generalist practice, a career in rural medicine can be as financially rewarding as it is professionally rewarding."
New and existing members can access the calculator for free at the RDAA website.
