The Rural Health Workforce Incentive Scheme (RHWIS) is an incentive package to attract, recruit and retain key health workers to rural and remote locations in hard-to-fill or critical vacancies.
RHWIS benefits are additional to award and industrial instrument entitlements and are provided to health workers if they are employed in an eligible location and role.
Starting your career in a rural or remote role means you contribute to the millions of ways NSW Health enriches the well-being of your new community every day.
Until 30 June 2026, NSW Health is offering an increased packaged incentive value of up to $20,000 for health workers commencing in a new role at rural and remote locations.
The RHWIS is available to health workers in an eligible location and role based on:
Health workers are defined by the scheme as an employee of the NSW Health Service, engaged under the Health Services Act. RHWIS incentives do not apply to contractors, locums, agency nurses, visiting medical officers or contingent workforce who are not paid through NSW Health payroll.
Health workers can only receive one state-funded incentive package at a time. Staff employed across multiple RHWIS eligible roles should discuss available incentives with their manager or local incentives team.
NSW Health regularly reviews the eligibility of roles and their incentives. Participating health workers are given 12 months’ notice if there are any changes to their incentive package.
NSW Health uses the Commonwealth Modified Monash Model (MM) to determine remoteness of a location.
An MM3 location is a large rural town with 15,000 to 50,000 people like Goulburn or Lismore.
Locations that are MM5 to MM7 are very remote communities far from regional centres, or offshore on nearby islands like Lord Howe Island or Lightning Ridge.
If you work at a job that is eligible for incentives, you could receive:
Health workers employed for less than full-time hours will have incentive packages paid pro-rata to reflect their ordinary contracted hours.
Incentives and benefits are based on remoteness of the facility and nature of the role.
Local health districts and specialty networks that have locations and roles eligible for the RHWIS will determine what incentives they will offer. Contact the recruiting team or hiring manager of a RHWIS eligible role to learn more about the incentives and benefits on offer.
Packaged incentives bundle multiple benefits up to the total amount offered for the role (eg. $20,000)
Packaged incentives can include:
Base incentives are the benefits not considered part of the packaged incentive. The value of the base incentive does not add to the total amount of your packaged incentive.
Base incentives can include:
Your new employer will advise final details of your package if you apply for and are offered an incentivised job under the RHWIS.
accommodation assistance.
Health workers who receive an RHWIS package will be required to make repayments if they leave their role within 18 months of their first payment.
Repayments will not be required for health workers who change relocate to a higher MM classification and to a role within the scheme.
Applicants are advised to consult a financial advisor before finalising their package.
NSW Health are unable to and do not provide advice on unique and individual financial and tax circumstances.
Local health districts and specialty networks are responsible for the application of appropriate taxation treatment of all incentive items provided. The incentive package paid to individual health workers is valued at its gross value. Any fringe benefit tax liability is not counted as part of the value of the package and the employing health agency is responsible for payment of any fringe benefit tax incurred.
Incentives offered that are reportable fringe benefits (where the health worker’s total taxable value of certain benefits exceed $2,000 a year) are required to be reported as a reportable fringe benefit amount (RFBA) on health worker income statements (previously known as payment summary). Total RFBA is not taxable income but is taken into consideration when assessing eligibility for certain government benefits and concessions such as Medicare Levy Surcharge, Higher Education Loan Payment (HELP), superannuation benefits, child support and family assistance.
Rural and remotes roles are regularly listed on NSW Health Jobs. Type #ruralhealthincentives into the search bar to see participating roles.
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