Media Release

Addressing placement poverty for all health professional students including dietitians.

Student dietitians are currently grappling with the challenge of placement poverty.  Placement poverty describes the financial stress faced by students who are unable to maintain part-time jobs or cope with the additional expenses to complete mandatory professional placements as part of their education. A recent survey of nearly 100 student dietitians found that the cost associated with placement determined where students were able to go for placement and that three quarters of students were working casually or not at all.

Many students will be encouraged to travel to placements in rural areas and the government wants to see services grow in these areas. Yet this can impose a twin financial strain on the students as they forgo income and cope with maintaining accommodation in both city and rural areas where the placement is located. Placements can be a particularly stressful time for students and are often points where they report burn out, and financial issues may worsen the situation. This is illustrated by a student in the recent survey indicating “I suffered from panic attacks in the middle of the night because I was stressed about how I was going to pay for rent and bills whilst completing my placement.”

The Commonwealth Government has just announced the "Commonwealth Prac Payment" scheme [1] where those who are studying to be a teacher, nurse, midwife or social worker may be eligible to receive A$319.50 per week while on placement and the payment will be means-tested to target students who need it the most.

The Council of Deans of Nutrition and Dietetics, the peak representative body for all Australian universities providing dietetic education programs, commends the establishment of the “Commonwealth Prac Payment” initiative. 

Professor Margaret Allman-Farinelli, Chair of the Council says “We welcome the announcement of a weekly payment however, the Council urges that student dietitians, who must complete 100 days of placement to qualify for the Accredited Practising Dietitian status, should also be included within the scope of this financial support scheme”.

A diverse workforce in dietetics is critical to meet the needs of our Australian society as the population ages, becomes more multicultural, disadvantage increases, and prevalence of chronic diseases rises. The Council firmly believes that all young people should have the opportunity to study dietetics regardless of financial background and they should be supported throughout all stages of their educational journey including placement. Students are also concerned about what this means for the profession as a student commented in the recent survey “Without a wage [during professional placement], an education becomes elitist, and we really need to think about that as a society.”  Students from lower socioeconomic backgrounds are particularly vulnerable and warrant Government support.

1 -https://www.education.gov.au/higher-education/commonwealth-prac-payment- Last accessed 7th May 2024

Contacts:

Professor Margaret Allman-Farinelli 

University of Sydney

Chair, Council of Deans of Nutrition and Dietetics 

margaret.allman-farinelli@sydney.edu.au

Assoc. Professor Andrea Begley

Curtin University

Council of Deans of Nutrition and Dietetics 

a.begley@curtin.edu.au