Health Workforce Information

The Area of Need (AoN) Program is determined by NSW Health. It assists employers who are experiencing difficulty recruiting medical practitioners with specialist registration. It allows the recruitment of suitably qualified international medical graduates (IMGs) to vacant positions approved as an AoN. An AoN only applies to the particular position it was granted and does not apply to a specific geographic area.

A Distribution Priority Area (DPA) is a classification used to identify areas where there is reduced access to primary care services, particularly general practitioners (GPs). It replaced the District of Workforce Shortage (DWS) system for GPs and Bonded Doctors in 2019.

Section 19AB of the Health Insurance Act 1973 restricts access to Medicare benefits and requires overseas trained doctors (OTDs) and foreign graduates of accredited medical schools (FGAMS) to work in a Distribution Priority Area (DPA) for 10 years from their first Australian medical registration. This is commonly referred to as the 10-year moratorium.

OTDs and foreign graduates of an accredited medical school can access Medicare benefits if they work in certain locations and meet eligibility requirements under section 19AB of the Health Insurance Act 1973. To apply to access Medicare benefits while under the moratorium, OTDs need an exemption to get Medicare benefits at their practice location.

Our Workforce Support team can help you obtain 19AB DPA exemption if you decide to work in a DPA location within the Nepean Blue Mountains region. Most areas in our region are currently classified as DPA except Penrith, St Marys and McGraths Hill (as of Sep 2023).

A District of Workforce Shortage (DWS) is a classification used to identify areas where people have poor access to specialist (non-GP) medical services compared with the national average. In 2019, the Distribution Priority Area (DPA) classification system replaced the Districts of Workforce Shortage Assessment Areas for GPs and Bonded Doctors.

The Modified Monash Model (MMM) is a classification defines whether a location is metropolitan, rural, remote or very remote. It’s used in health workforce policy, especially for GP incentives, training placements and eligibility for programs like the Distribution Priority Area (DPA).

The MMM categorises every location in Australia into seven levels (MM 1–7) based on population size, remoteness and access to services. MM 1 being major cities and MM 7 being very remote communities. The Department and Health, Disability and Ageing offer various incentives and supports  for GPs and general practices depending on their MM location.

The Department of Health, Disability and Aged Care has developed the Health Workforce Locator to check the geographical classification of any location in Australia. The map can tell you if a location is classified as metropolitan, rural or remote and if it has been identified as an area of workforce shortage.

The locator shows the health workforce classification and geographical information of any area.

You can see the workforce classifications:

• Distribution Priority Area (DPA)
• District of Workforce Shortage (DWS)
• Modified Monash Model (MMM)
• The Australian Statistical Geography Standard – Remoteness Area
• The Australian Standard Geographical Classification – Remoteness Area
• Rural, Remote and Metropolitan Areas

Specialist registration requirements under section 19AA refer to the rules that apply to Australian‑trained doctors (not international medical graduates) who want to access Medicare benefits. It applies to all doctors first recognised as medical practitioners in Australia after 1 November 1996 who are not vocationally registered GPs or Fellows of the RACGP. All doctors affected by this section of the Act need to be enrolled in a program approved under Section 3GA of the Act to attract Medicare benefits.