(Cth) Extend Commonwealth Prac Payment Eligibility to Allied Health Students

Ishika Das, Zehra Yamac, Irene Jophy, Helene Opsahl, Emily Lennard, Zoe Kromar & Jacinda Dixon-Rielly
22 hours ago
8 min read

Author: Ishika Das, Zehra Yamac, Irene Jophy, Helene Opsahl, Emily Lennard, Zoe Kromar & Jacinda Dixon-Rielly | Publish date: 19/5/2026

P: In Australia, allied health students undertaking mandatory placements are not eligible for the Commonwealth Prac Payment (CPP).
S: The Minister for Education should amend Section 41-10(1) Item 15 of the Higher Education Support Act 2003 (Cth) to expand the CPP to include all allied health disciplines.
E: Health Students Alliance (HSA) and Health Services Union (HSU): ‘calling … to expand Commonwealth Prac Payments to allied health students as a matter of urgency’.

Problem Identification:

Section 41-10(1) Item 15 of the Higher Education Support Act 2003 (Cth) establishes the CPP, which provides ‘payments to students who are undertaking mandatory practicums [placements] as part of their course of study’, such as nursing, midwifery or social work. However, allied health students are excluded from the CPP.

According to Allied Health Professionals Australia (AHPA), this means that many allied health students are experiencing ‘severe financial hardship’ due to lost income and increased living costs during placement.

Context:

According to the Department of Education, the CPP is intended to provide a ‘meaningful payment’ to students who are ‘financially most disadvantaged due to limitations on their ability to undertake paid work during placement’. They further stated the CPP for 2026 was $338.60 per week, which is annually benchmarked to the single Austudy rate.

According to the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing, allied health professionals are university-trained in practices to ‘prevent, diagnose and treat’ patients. They include ‘a range of health experts’ such as dietitians, physiotherapists and psychologists, among others, who are not doctors, nurses or dentists.

Student placements refer to 'supervised practical experience … that must be completed' to obtain a qualification. Universities Australia noted allied health students must ‘complete the qualifications needed to proceed to professional registration.’ A 2026 HSA survey highlighted that 81% of allied health students ‘took unpaid leave’ and ‘78% struggled to pay bills due to placement’. Lambert et al. additionally reported 70% of students suffered from food insecurity as a result of the imposition of mandatory placements.

Arguments:

AHPA stated that ‘many allied health students report significant hardship while on placement, including loss of income, housing insecurity [and] food insecurity’. They reported that allied health degrees require ‘between 500 and 1,000 hours of mandatory unpaid placements’, often in full-time blocks that may result in ‘significant lost income due to inability to work’. In a 2024 ABC interview, physiotherapy student Bree Harris shared that ‘in the lead-up to placement, [she] was working three jobs’ to save up as much as possible, but her family was ‘feeling the pinch’. The 2026 National Placement Poverty Survey reported that 82% of students needed financial aid due to placement, and 42% went hungry during it. An allied health student noted that financial stress ‘negatively influenced [their] basic wellbeing … [and] led to poor nutrition, with regular, balanced meals becoming a rarity.’ Students also reported delaying or forgoing medical care as they could not afford the costs.

The Australian Council of Deans of Health Sciences (ACDHS) stated that excluding allied health students from the CPP limits the public's ‘access to allied health services as a result of … workforce shortage[s].’ The Pharmaceutical Society of Australia National President Fei Sim noted students ‘struggle to make ends meet, and worryingly, drop out of their degrees altogether.’ The 2026 National Placement Poverty Survey found ‘53% [of allied health students] considered leaving their degree due to the burden of placement’. The ACDHS reported the ‘estimated shortfall in the allied health workforce facing the Australian aged care system will be approximately 25,000 by 2033.’ They further highlighted ‘training places and graduates would need to increase by 3.5 times current levels by 2030 to address this gap.’ Bronwyn Morris-Donovan, CEO of AHPA, stated that ‘our future workforce is being held back by financial barriers that have nothing to do with capability and everything to do with affordability.’

Advice/Solution Identification:

The HSU, HSA, ACDHS and AHPA have called for allied health students to be included in the CPP. AHPA emphasised that ‘expanding the program to include all allied health and medical students would help reduce placement poverty and support a sustainable health workforce.'

Precedent:

There is international precedent for providing financial support to allied health students undertaking mandatory placements. In the UK, the National Health Service Learning Support Fund provides financial support to allied health students, including payments for placement-related costs.

Public Support:

This list reflects publicly stated positions and should not necessarily be taken as endorsement of this specific brief.

News Coverage:

ABC News - “Allied health professionals are in demand but students have been excluded from ‘placement poverty’ solution”. This article reported on the financial hardship experienced by allied health students following their exclusion from the Commonwealth Prac Payment scheme. By: Lottie Twyford | 20 August 2024 - Read the article here.
The Conversation - “A new ‘prac payment’ has just kicked in. But it ignores many uni students”. This article reported on the introduction of the Commonwealth Prac Payment and noted that several student cohorts undertaking mandatory placements were not included in the eligibility criteria. By: Kelly Lambert and Scott William | 1 July 2025 - Read the article here.
The Sydney Morning Herald - “Laura’s studies will help fix the health skills shortage. But she can’t afford the unpaid work her degree requires”. This article reported on the financial pressures faced by students undertaking mandatory unpaid placements in allied health degrees, noting that some students struggled to cover basic living costs during these periods. By: Nick Newling | 9 February 2026 - Read the article here.
The Guardian - “Why have we been excluded? The students left out of Labor’s promised placement payments”. This article reported on concerns raised by students in allied health and other placement-heavy disciplines regarding exclusion from the Commonwealth Prac Payment. By: Caitlin Cassidy | 8 May 2024 - Read the article here.
The Border Mail - “‘Very reasonable’: number put on cost to fix medical student placement poverty”. This article reported on estimates of the cost of expanding financial support for medical and allied health students undertaking mandatory placements. By: Anthony Bunn | 9 February 2026 - Read the article here.
Region Canberra - “Independents call for prac payments to include medical and health students”. This article reported on crossbench support for expanding Commonwealth Prac Payment eligibility to include medical and allied health students undertaking mandatory placements. By: Chris Johnson | 11 February 2026 - Read the article here.

Where to go to learn more:

(2025) A call for the inclusion of allied health professions in the Commonwealth Prac Payment program | Australian Council of Deans of Health Sciences (ACDHS) - The report advocated for expanding Commonwealth Prac Payments (CPP) to all allied health disciplines to alleviate student financial hardship during mandatory clinical placements. View the report here.
(2025) Pre-Budget Submission 2026–27 | Allied Health Professions Australia - The submission highlighted priorities for targeted investment in allied health workforce development, including expanding the Commonwealth Prac Placement Program to all allied health professions. View the submission here.
(2024) Report on placement poverty among Australasian health and teaching students | University of Wollongong’s Faculty of Science, Medicine and Health - The paper examined the personal and financial impacts that mandatory unpaid placements impose on Australasian allied health and teaching students. View the paper here.
(2026) Towards a financially inclusive higher education system | Australian Centre for Student Equity and Success (ACSES) - The report highlighted the prevalence of financial hardship experienced by university students through personal testimonies and current data, including the widespread food insecurity faced by students undertaking placements. View the report here.
(2024) 2024–25 Budget: New Commonwealth Prac Payment Fact Sheet | Australian Government Department of Education - The fact sheet outlined the government investment into CPP to support eligible teaching, nursing and midwifery, and social work students, and its benefits. Read the full document here.
Higher Education Support Act 2003 (Cth) - Read the full Act here.

Human Perspective:

Maya was in the final year of her physiotherapy degree, involving weeks of unpaid clinical placements – mandatory, full-time hospital rotations. During placement, she spent long days at the hospital without pay, while rent, transport, parking and other living costs continued. Before each placement period, she took extra shifts at her three retail jobs, trying to save enough to cover weeks without income. However, the savings rarely lasted. Maya’s most recent placement required her to leave home and relocate temporarily to a regional town. She had to rely on her family and paid childcare to help look after her young child, adding to the emotional strain. Over time, unpaid hours, financial pressure and caregiving responsibilities became increasingly difficult to manage. Maya became exhausted, resentful of her work, which she once chose with purpose, and worn down by burnout. Throughout the year, she faced a difficult question: not whether she was capable, but whether she could afford, financially, emotionally and physically, to continue.

To protect the anonymity of those involved, this is a fictionalised account drawn from an amalgamation of real-life stories, experiences and testimonials gathered during the research process for this brief. Any resemblance to actual individuals is purely coincidental.

Conflict of interest/acknowledgment statement:

N/A

Support

If your organisation would like to add your support to this paper or suggest amendments, please email Info@foreaustralia.com.

Disclaimers

Please review all FORE disclaimers here.

Reference list:

Allied Health Professions Australia. (2025, July 23). Allied health sector calls for Prac Payment reform to tackle placement poverty [Media release]. https://www.ahpa.com.au/news-updates/allied-health-sector-calls-for-prac-payment-reform-to-tackle-placement-poverty/

Allied Health Professions Australia. (2026, February 9). Allied health sector escalates call for Prac Payment reform with national petition [Media release]. https://www.ahpa.com.au/news-updates/allied-health-sector-escalates-call-for-prac-payment-reform-with-national-petition#:~:text=%E2%80%9CExtending%20the%20Prac%20Payment%20to%20allied%20health%20students%20is%20not%20optional%20%E2%80%93%20it%E2%80%99s%20essential

Braithwaite, V., Gunn, T., Rowntree, P., & Singleton, J. (2025). When work integrated learning costs too much: The hidden toll of clinical placements. Journal of Medical Radiation Sciences. https://doi.org/10.1002/jmrs.70032

Department of Education. (2026). Commonwealth Prac Payment (CPP) provider guidelines. Australian Government. https://www.education.gov.au/download/19213/commonwealth-prac-payment-provider-guidelines/44329/document/pdf

Department of Education. (2026, May 7). Commonwealth Prac Payment for students. Australian Government. https://www.education.gov.au/commonwealth-prac-payment-cpp/students

Department of Education. (2026, May 13). Commonwealth Prac Payment. Australian Government. https://www.education.gov.au/commonwealth-prac-payment-cpp#:~:text=The%20Commonwealth%20Prac%20Payment%20%28CPP%29%20offers%20%24338.60%20per%20week%20%28benchmarked%20to%20the%20single%20Austudy%20rate%20on%201%20January%20each%20year%29

Department of Health, Disability and Ageing. (2024, October 22). About allied health care. Australian Government. https://www.health.gov.au/topics/allied-health/aboutlanguage=en#:~:text=scope%20of%20practice.-,Types%20of%20allied%20health%20care,social%20work,-Learn%20more%20by

Department of Health, Disability and Ageing. (2025). Draft national allied health workforce strategy: Consultation draft – V2.0. Australian Government. https://consultations.health.gov.au/primary-care-mental-health-division/nahwsdraft/supporting_documents/Consultation%20Draft%20v2.0.pdf

Glyde, I. (2024, December 13). Why ‘placement poverty’ is a matter of urgency for our future workforce. University of Wollongong. https://www.uow.edu.au/media/2024/why-placement-poverty-is-a-matter-of-urgency-for-our-futureworkforce.php#:~:text=Dr%20Lambert%20said%20more,placement%20in%20these%20disciplines%3F%E2%80%9D

Health Services Union National. (n.d.). Extend paid placements for allied health students. https://hsu.net.au/extend-paid-placements/

Health Services Union National. (2025, July 3). Commonwealth Prac Payment must be extended to all allied health: HSU. https://hsu.net.au/portfolio/commonwealth-prac-payment-must-be-extended-to-all-allied-health-hsu/#:~:text=all%20allied%20health%20students%20are%20excluded%20from%20the%20scheme.

Health Students Alliance, & Health Services Union. (2025). Health Students Alliance and Health Services Union call for placement funding [Open letter]. https://hsu.net.au/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/HSA_HSU-Letter-to-Minister-071025-HSU-Signed-1.pdf

Higher Education Support Act 2003 (Cth). https://www.legislation.gov.au/C2004A01234/latest/text

Kolt, G. S. (2025). A call for the inclusion of allied health professions in the Commonwealth Prac Payment program. Report for Australian Council of Deans of Health Sciences Limited. Australian Council of Deans of Health Sciences. https://acdhs.edu.au/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/CPP-Allied-Health-ACDHS-Final-Report-20250721.pdf

Lambert, K., Austin, K., Charlton, K., Heins, R., Kennedy, M., Kent, K., Lutze, J., Nicholls, N., O'Flynn, G., Probst, Y., et al. (2024). Placement poverty has major implications for the future health and education workforce: A cross-sectional survey. Australian Health Review, 49(1), Article AH24233. https://doi.org/10.1071/AH24233

National Health Service Business Services Authority. (n.d.). NHS Learning Support Fund (LSF). https://www.nhsbsa.nhs.uk/nhs-learning-support-fund-lsf

New South Wales Ministry of Health. (2022). Student placements in NSW Health (Document number PD2022_049). https://www1.health.nsw.gov.au/pds/ActivePDSDocuments/PD2022_049.pdf

Parliamentary Budget Office. (2025). 2025 election commitments report (ECR-2025-6373). Australian Parliament. https://www.pbo.gov.au/sites/default/files/2025-05/PBO-ECR-2025-6373-Secure%20prac%20payments%20for%20allied%20health%20students%20%28including%20psychologists%29%20and%20medical%20students.pdf

Twyford, L. (2024, August 20). Allied health professions are in demand but students have been excluded from 'placement poverty' solution. ABC News. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-08-20/allied-health-students-placement-poverty-graduation/104243024