A Single Employer Model trial for Victoria
The Victorian Government is testing a new way to boost the number of rural generalists working in rural and regional Victoria.
Victoria will soon be trialling a Single Employer Model, where rural generalist trainees will have the opportunity to be employed by a single health service while undertaking primary care training placements in rural and regional Victoria.
Up to 15 Single Employer Model trainee positions will be offered across Bairnsdale Regional Health Service, Grampians Health and Mildura Base Public Hospital.
Information for primary care providers
Victoria's Single Employer Model trial is an opportunity to attract more junior doctors into rural generalist training and bring more doctors to communities that need them.
Single employer models may reduce the administrative overheads of managing pay and conditions, and build enduring connections with health services and the wider rural health community.
Victoria has committed to no financial disadvantage to practices, trainees and health services compared to current state for participants in the trial.
How you can participate as a primary care provider
All rural Victorian primary care providers accredited to provide GP training are eligible to take part.
A list of interested practices will be submitted to the Australian Government Department of Health and Aged Care to access exemptions under Section 19(2) of the Health Insurance Act 1973, allowing practices to continue to bill the Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS) while the trainee receives a salary.
Signing up for the exemption is easy. You only need to provide your business details and address. No other information is required.
Signing up for the exemption gives you the option to participate in the trial. Signing up does not require you to take a Single Employer Model trainee. Likewise, signing up does not guarantee that your practice will receive a trainee.
Note, primary care providers that already have Section 19(2) Directions in place do not need to sign up for the exemption. Instead, register your interest and state that you already have a Direction in place.
Registrations of interest for primary care providers is now closed.
Hosting a Single Employer Model trainee
- You get to decide which trainees join your practice - there will be no change to your existing recruitment and selection processes or timelines.
- Your supervision, training responsibilities and engagement with the general practice training college will remain unchanged.
- You will approve leave and timesheets for the Single Employer Model trainee so they can be accurately paid by the employing health service.
- You continue to undertake normal processes for billing for professional services provided by the Single Employer Model trainee.
- You will provide advice to the employing health service on the billings and clinic sessions of the Single Employer Model trainee and make a partial reimbursement to the health service for the trainee salary costs.
Information for trainees
Single Employer Models offer certainty of income and working conditions and a more seamless transition between rural hospital and primary care placements.
Trainees on the trial will retain employment benefits, like long service and parental leave, as they progress through training placements.
How you can participate as a trainee
The Single Employer Model trial will be available to full or part-time trainees who are:
- registered with the Victorian Rural Generalist (VRGP)
- enrolled in the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) or the Australian College of Rural and Remote Medicine (ACRRM) (or a stated intention to enrol) and on a rural generalist training pathway
- planning to undertake entering a primary care placement in 2025 or 2026.
Relevant health services will be notified of their interest and can select trainees for the trial.
The Single Employer Model supports place-based training. Trainees who intend to live and work in the VRGP region of the health service will be prioritised. Find out more about the VRGP .
Trainees in any region of Victoria can apply to one of the participating health services for a position on the trial.
Participation in the Single Employer Model is optional and trainees can choose to leave the trial without this impacting their training.
Registration for the February 2025 training year has now closed.
How Victoria's Single Employer Model will work
While undertaking a primary care placement, participating trainees will be under the care and supervision of the primary care training provider, but will remain an employee of the employing health service. Trainees can also be seconded to other health services to undertake consolidation of skills or advanced skills training in other health services while remaining on the one contract.
The participating health services will be responsible for employing trainees under the Victorian Public Health Sector (AMA Victoria - Doctors in Training Enterprise Agreement 2022-2026).
The trainee will be able to undertake training at any primary care provider participating in the trial and approved by the relevant GP training college and employing health service.
Primary care providers will be responsible for rostering and leave while the trainee is completing their primary care placement and will provide this information to health services.
The Australian Government supports the Single Employer Model trial by granting exemptions to Section 19(2) of the Health Insurance Act 1973. This allows participating trainees to bill Medicare and charge out-of-pocket fees and private billings while receiving a public health service salary. The trainee's gross billings will be assigned to the primary care provider. The health service will invoice the primary care provider for 50% of the trainee's billings, minus a retainer of the first $100 of billings per half-day session. The department will make a payment to the health service to cover remaining net costs for the participating trainees for the duration of the trial.
The Single Employer Model is a change to employment arrangements only. The progress of a trainee along their college training path will remain unchanged. All existing incentives and payments to the trainee, supervisor and practice associated with providing primary care training will continue to apply under the Single Employer Model.
The Victorian Rural Generalist Program
Rural generalists play an essential role in our rural and regional healthcare system by providing primary care, emergency care and other medical specialist care in both hospital and community settings.
The Victorian Rural Generalist Program is a state-wide end-to-end rural generalist training program that supports the future rural generalist workforce to train, work and live in rural and regional Victoria.
The Victorian Rural Generalist Program is managing the Single Employer Model trial. Regional Coordinators assist trainees to navigate their training pathways and provide career support throughout their training journey and into employment in rural generalist positions in their region.
For more information, see Victorian Rural Generalist .
Reviewed 25 October 2024