Abstract: Inequitable access to psychiatric care has been highlighted as a significant shortcoming of the Australian mental health care system. The recent Productivity Commission Mental Health Inquiry Report highlighted that the number of psychiatrists per capita in Australia and New Zealand falls short of many developed countries, and that people living in regional, rural and remote areas are disproportionately affected by a lack of access to specialist mental health care. The commission recommended that a national plan be developed to increase the number of generalist psychiatrists practising outside major cities. Restructuring and reforming training pathways and addressing the undersupply of trainees in rural areas are also identified as priorities in the draft Australian Government National Medical Workforce Strategy released in January 2021.

The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists (RANZCP) have developed a “Rural Psychiatry Roadmap 2021 2031: A pathway to equitable and sustainable rural mental health services” following an extensive scoping project in 2020-21 outlining a pathway to developing a Binational Rural Psychiatry Training Pathway. This presentation identifies the postgraduate specialist medical education landscape across Australia, the impact on rural and remote medical specialist workforce and highlights the challenges and pitfalls in implementing workforce training and education reform in a federated and complex health system in Australia. The presentation will highlight jurisdictional successes and challenges, and provide an overview of
the role of rural and metropolitan advocates in developing and strengthening training pathways in rural and remote locations. The presentation will discuss the importance of rural recruitment, selection and onboarding of trainees, developing fit for purpose governance structures to support rural training, describe expanded training settings and embracing technology in the post-Covid era in addition to developing intersectoral partnerships for better rural and remote community health and mental health outcomes.