Project Funding

The Tasmanian Project is a Commonwealth initiative with the aim of supporting specialist fellowship training undertaken and completed in Tasmania and the retention of specialist doctors in the Tasmanian public health system.

The College administers 3 Tasmanian Project pathology posts, and receives some support funding to coordinate statewide education opportunities.

In 2015 the Department of Health began a consultation process with specialist medical colleges and other stakeholders to review the Program. The Department completed the review and the STP Review final report was published in 2017.

The Department of Health accepted the recommendations of the STP reviews announced several key reforms that Colleges were required to implement from 2018 onwards to ensure the Program continues to deliver the best possible outcomes.

A key reform of the STP review was to assess all funded training positions, reserve list training positions and legacy posts as at 2018 to determine alignment with the STP Operational Framework and the position still meets the aims and objectives of the Program. The Department provided Colleges with STP Review Guidelines and the RCPA carried out these reviews during 2018.

The key areas assessed were:

1. Contribution to the aims and objectives of the STP
2. Jurisdictional assessment of workforce need
3. Past performance of the training position (vacancy rates/reporting requirements/changes to the training position)
4. Alignment with RCPA targets (rural and remote and private setting targets to be met by 2020)

The RCPA were accepted by the Department in November 2018.

The Tasmanian Project review was completed in 2018, and the Department announced in September 2018 funding will continue until 2020.

Rural Support Loading (RSL) provides funding a range of funding based on the Australian Standard Geographical Classification - Remoteness Areas (ASGS-RA) status. The funding is made available to supplement the additional costs incurred by STP trainees located in regional and remote Australia. Remoteness Area status can be determined by visiting the DoctorConnect website.

The College administers an annual application process for funding. For how RSL funding can be spent and what the payment process is, view the College RSL Guidelines.

The aim of the PICS allowance is to support delivery of the Program in private sector settings. The Private Infrastructure and Clinical supervision (PICS) Program provides additional funding for STP posts.

The Program was managed for all posts by the Royal Australian College of Medical Administrators (RACMA) until 2017. From 2018 the College has been administering PICS payments for eligible STP training positions, in accordance with the PICS allowance guidelines.

The STP through the Department of Health designed and developed an online portal where Colleges can submit progress reports electronically and elect to receive Recipient Created Tax Invoices (RCTI) which provides a more streamlined and efficient payment process between the Department and the Colleges. The main purpose of the portal is to provide the Department with the most up to date and accurate information on STP funded training posts. The STP Portal was used for reporting by the RCPA for the first time in August 2018. The College enters post data from the progress reports submitted by each STP training setting.

There are no current EOI rounds open for Colleges to submit NEW STP applications eligible for funding. The previous EOI closed on 20 November 2018. Jurisdictions completed reviews of all EOI’s in December 2018 and now all specialist colleges have until 22 February 2019 to complete their assessments and outcomes on the STP portal. Due to the contract timeframe with the host setting, the portal will close after this date.

Colleges are required to provide an overview of their outcome (including information on their assessment and how many EOIs are recommended to form part of the reserve list) to the Department for consideration via email by 22 February 2019. The outcomes are to be provided by the Department by 15 March 2019.

To register your interest in future EOI please contact Specialist Training Program.