Upcoming

  • TBD

Current

  • Round 2: 1 April 2018 to 28 February 2019
  • Round 3: 1 November 2018 to 31 December 2019
  • Round 4: 1 June 2019 to 30 June 2020 (applications are currently open)

Previous

  • Round 1: 17 April 2017 to 28 February 2018

Eligibility Criteria

The following medical practitioners are eligible to apply for SRSA funding:

  • Fellow of a Specialist Medical College* or their Faculty;
  • Staff specialist;
  • Specialist practitioner in an Area of Need position; or
  • International Medical Graduates undertaking SMC College requirements for specialist recognition via the Australian Medical Council Specialist Assessment Pathway;

*ACD, ACEM, ACSEP, ANZCA, CICM, RACMA, RACP, RACS, RCPA, RANZCO, RANZCOG, RANZCP, RANZCR.

Eligible applicants must:

  • live and work in areas determined using the Modified Monash Model (MMM) system categories MM2 to MM7;
  • have previously worked in rural / remote locations for at least 12 months.

Medical specialists who are Fly-in/Fly-out (FIFO) are eligible to apply and will be considered for funding on a case by case basis.

Fly-in/Fly-out (FIFO) applicants will be considered the lowest priority, irrespective of the applicant’s total time practicing in rural locations, rurality/remoteness rating of practice location, and the type of CPD activity requested.

Please note: General Practitioners (ACRRM and RACGP) are ineligible to apply for funding under the Program, as CPD for these practitioners is funded through other Australian Government programs.

Application Criteria

The following application requirements should be considered when preparing a funding submission:

  • Individuals must demonstrate that the proposed activity meets a specific learning need;
  • The CPD event must be:
    • directly relevant to the applicant’s current employment in a rural or remote area of an Australian state or territory;
    • undertaken in Australia and must take place within the time frame specified in the Application Form;
    • have specific and explicit learning objectives and contain specific learning activities planned according to the educational objectives.
  • Courses and/or education activities nominated must be accredited by the relevant professional body;
  • Courses and/or education activities must include a minimum of 6 hours of face-to-face learning per individual;
  • The Assessment Panel prioritises clinical attachments, peer review, mentorships, workshops and courses over Annual Scientific Meetings and Conferences;
  • The application must clearly document the outcomes of learning and implications for practice and outline a clear process for monitoring the achievement of learning objectives.

Selection Criteria

Individual CPD grant applications will be assessed against the following selection criteria:

  • Demonstration of identified need at ‘local’ level with respect to identified healthcare needs in context of individual educational needs.
  • Location; rural and remote focus.
  • Demonstration of appropriate educational principles to enable key knowledge/skills attainment and transfer.
  • Ability to integrate learning to a wider context and to demonstrate sustainable changes in practice.
  • Relative ‘cost effectiveness’ / ‘value’.
  • Ability to reduce isolation.
  • Demonstrated hardship or difficulty in participating in approved CPD activities.

Funding Round Process

Application window

Applicants:

  • Review the relevant Funding Round guidelines to ensure eligibility.
  • Ensure that their proposed CPD activity will be completed within Australia within the designated Funding Round completion window.
  • Complete the online grant application form for submission to the SRSA Program Management Unit (PMU).

Assessment and selection

  • The PMU establish a cross Specialist Medical College assessment panel to review all individual CPD grant applications against the selection criteria.
  • The assessment panel determine the final list of approved individual CPD grant recipients.

Notification of outcomes

  • Successful and unsuccessful grant applicants will be informed of the outcome of their application via email.
  • Successful grant recipients will be sent the SRSA Terms and Conditions to be electronically signed and emailed back to the PMU.
  • Countersigned copies of the Terms and Conditions document will be returned via email.

Completion of CPD

  • Grant recipients complete / attend their approved CPD activity or event within the designated Funding Round time frame.
  • Grant recipients ensure they keep records of receipts/invoices of all expenditure related to their approved CPD activity.

Evaluation and reimbursement

  • Once grant recipients have completed their CPD activity they will complete the online evaluation survey.
  • Grant recipients submit copies of all their records / receipts to the CPD expenditure to the PMU.
  • PMU verifies the receipts and approves funds to be reimbursed to the grant recipient’s nominated bank account.