Allied health care and allied health practitioners play a vital role in the health care of rural communities across Victoria.
The Rural Workforce Agency Victoria (RWAV) has engaged and worked to support the allied health sector for many years. We understand and recognise the importance and the urgent need for Allied Health in rural Victoria and have developed a new RWAV Allied Health Strategy.
This Allied Health Strategy is a blueprint for RWAV to deliver increased engagement with and support for the allied health industry. The strategy underpins RWAV’s vision of contemporary workforce development strategies that advance rural, regional and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples access to high-quality health care.
Despite an enthusiastic and dedicated Allied Health workforce, rural communities have many barriers to receiving quality allied health services.
Social, professional and infrastructure barriers combined with underrepresentation in decision-making and a historical lack of recognition form just the tip of a series of systemic problems.
The allied health industry includes over 25 professions, with more than 42,500 practitioners in Victoria. However, the workforce distribution across metro vs rural dramatically disadvantages rural and remote communities. (RWAV, 2022)
Allied health practitioners support broad geographic catchments and deliver an extensive scope of appropriate services to diverse population groups across the age spectrum. Their tireless efforts significantly improve the rural communities that rely on their services.
The allied health industry is deserving of increased workforce support and resources.
RWAV remains committed to realising the value of rural allied health care in practice by supporting and fostering the positions discussed in the new Allied Health Position Paper.
Find out more about Allied Health Position Paper here.
