Medical Rural Bonded Scholarship Scheme

The Medical Rural Bonded Scholarship Scheme (MRBS) is an Australian government program designed to increase the availability of rural doctors.
Others take the view it is a concerted effort to ban access to Medicare, thus hiding a blow out in Medicare costs and lack of services. As part of the scheme doctors are required to work for 20 hours per week in an area classified as RA2-5 for 9 months of the year over 4-5.5 years, once they have attained Fellowship and commenced their return of service period. Where these doctors work for the rest of the time is up to them, the location they choose to work in also up to them although they are restricted to working in areas classified as RA2-5 for their return of service. Government documents obtained by Freedom of information indicate the Government is actually placing work restriction, on Doctors.

Government policy is to move population from areas of low work, generally rural to areas of high opportunity generally metropolitan centres.