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About the AHRG Pathway
A multi-jurisdictional strategy to advance the concept of an Allied Health Rural Generalist Pathway (AHRGP) has been under development since 2013. The collaboration involved in developing the AHRGP brings together health and education sector partners from across Australia.
Rural Generalism
The term rural generalist refers to a service, or to a position or practitioner delivering services, that respond to the broad range of healthcare needs of a rural or remote community. This includes delivering services to people with a wide range of clinical presentations from across the age spectrum and in a variety of clinical settings (inpatient, ambulatory care, community). The primary aim of rural generalist service models is to deliver high quality, safe, effective and efficient services as close to the client’s community as possible.
The AHRG Pathway

Queensland Health started developing a rural generalist pathway for the allied health professions in 2013 and continues to inform and align to national work in this area. More information on the development of the AHRG Pathway can be found here.


The Allied Health Rural Generalist Pathway aims to support:

  • the growth, sustainability and value generated by the rural and remote allied health workforce and
  • the proliferation of rural generalist service models that deliver accessible, safe, effective and efficient health services for rural and remote consumers

Since commencement AHRG trainees have been implemented in state health services QLD, NSW, NT, TAS and SA. The Allied Health Rural Generalist Pathway is part of the Queensland Health Allied Health

Services for Australian Rural and Remote Allied Health (SARRAH) has been involved in the development of the Allied Health Rural Generalist (AHRG) Pathway since 2013. In 2017 SARRAH received seed funding from QLD Health to implement a national expansion of the AHRG Pathway. This project was finalised in June 2019.

In 2019, SARRAH initiated this project to continue expansion of the AHRG Pathway into other non-state health sectors. SARRAH submitted the Allied Health Rural Generalist Workforce and Employment Scheme (AHRGWES) project proposal to the Commonwealth Department of Health Rural Workforce branch. The proposal was accepted by the Department of Health and launched by the Minister for Regional Service, Decentralisation and Local Government (Commonwealth Department of Health) in November 2019.

The AHRG Professional

A rural generalist is an allied health professional who has had the capacity and cability - gained through education and training, support and experience - to delivery a high quality, safe, effective service that meets the broad range of needs presenting in their rural and remote community.

A rural generalist is not a “generic allied health worker” without a primary health professional qualification. There is no such worker in Australia and this is not an output of the Allied Health Rural Generalist Pathway.

Rural generalists practice under the regulatory instruments of their specific allied health profession and the policies of their employer.

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Acknowledgements

The Allied Health Rural Generalist Pathway initiative is a collaboration between the Allied Health Professions’ Office of Queensland (AHPOQ), New South Wales Ministry of Health, Northern Territory Department of Health, Western Australia Country Health Service and Department of Health Western Australia, Rural Support Service, SA Health, Tasmanian Health Service, Victorian Department of Health and Human Services, James Cook University, Queensland University of Technology and Services for Australian Rural and Remote Allied Health (SARRAH).


The current expansion of the AHRG Pathway in the private and non-government sectors is being supported by funding provided by the Commonwealth Department of Health. For more information, see our TAHRGETS page.



Further Information on the allied health rural generalist pathway and initiatives


Please contact SARRAH if you require more information on the allied health rural generalist pathway.


Email: [email protected]

Phone: 1800 338 061