HECS Reimbursement Scheme Guidelines

All eligible medical graduates can participate in the scheme.

To be eligible, graduates must:

• have been an Australian or New Zealand citizen or permanent resident of Australia at the time they finished their degree
• have completed an accredited Australian medical course, leading to the award of a Bachelor of Medicine/Bachelor of Surgery degree (MBBS) or equivalent
• have completed their final year of study and obtained their medical degree in 2000 or later
• be undertaking training or providing medical services in ASGC-RA 2-5 locations.

Applicants need to provide appropriate evidence that their terms of employment meet the requirement to provide continuous service during the period in question. They must also provide evidence that their primary position of employment is in an eligible rural location.

Examples of appropriate documentary evidence include:

• copies of the relevant sections of employment contracts
• verification of the terms of employment supplied by the training provider
• statutory declarations.

1. Payments will only be made after an initial continuous 12-month period of training or service, on the basis of proof of employment.
2. Graduates who’ve received a bonded scholarship or a scholarship that covered HECS fees may not be eligible for the HECS Reimbursement Scheme. (See ‘Other scholarship schemes or incentive payments’.)
3. Full-fee paying medical students aren’t eligible for the HECS Reimbursement Scheme.

Applicants undertaking training or providing services part-time will be reimbursed on a pro-rata basis provided they work more than 10 hours per week.

To register for the scheme, complete an application form and forward it with the appropriate attachments to Medicare Australia (the administering agency).

Get an application form

The first payment under the scheme will be made at the completion of a continuous 12-month period of training or service provision. Subsequent payments will be made at the completion of every continuous 6-month period thereafter.

No pro-rata payments will be made for periods of less than 6 months. Payments will not be made for training or services provided in non-eligible locations.

HECS reimbursement will only be made if participants submit an approved claim for payment form (with relevant documentary evidence) within 12 months of completing an eligible block of service or training.

Verification documentation

Applicants have to provide appropriate official documents (see ‘Eligibility for HECS Reimbursement’) to verify their eligibility for the scheme, and to certify their HECS payment details. Providing false and misleading information is a serious offence.

Payments will not be made to participants until all relevant documentation has been received by Medicare Australia.

The completed application form is the first step in establishing eligibility for the scheme. It also provides the details through which HECS reimbursement will be made for the initial 12-month period.

The applicant has to provide:

• information about their medical course, including date of commencement and year of completion
• details about where they’re practising.

The application form must be endorsed by the applicant’s supervising doctor. If the supervisor can’t provide certification, the applicant must attach a statutory declaration giving details of location and periods of service completed.

Evidence of HECS debt

Applicants who’ve deferred all or part of their HECS debt must submit a statement from the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) as evidence of their debt. Statements must show amounts deferred per semester for the duration of the applicant’s degree.

Call the ATO Personal Tax Info line on 1300 650 225 for details.

Applicants must provide evidence of any up-front payments of their HECS fees .

Following completion of a 6-month block of training or service provision (after the initial 12-month period), participants will be sent a HECS Reimbursement Claim of Payment form by Medicare Australia.

Proof of employment

Participants in the scheme must submit proof of employment at the completion of each continuous period of service to ensure their ongoing eligibility.

Proof of employment must include

• the location’s name, state and postcode
• verification by the supervising doctor.

This information helps Medicare Australia determine area eligibility using the ASGC-RA classification.

Medicare Australia must be notified promptly of any change of address.

Reimbursements will be paid directly to the participant’s nominated bank account.

The initial HECS reimbursement under this scheme is dependent on completion of the continuous 12 month qualifying period.

Because of scaling of payments, the more remote the location where training or service took place, the faster the payment to participants in the scheme.

ASGC-RA CATEGORY	NO. OF YEARS TO RECEIVE FULL REIMBURSEMENT ENTITLEMENT	% OF HECS ENTITLEMENT REIMBURSED PER 12MTH PERIOD	% OF HECS ENTITLEMENT REIMBURSED FOR A SUBSEQUENT 6MTH PERIOD
2	5 years	20%	10%
3	4 years	25%	12.5%
4	3 years	33.3%	16.7%
5	2 years	50%	25%

Note: periods containing multiple ASGC-RA categories will be calculated pro-rata per location.

Basis of calculation for reimbursement

Under the scheme, reimbursements are only calculated on the HECS total for the standard fees of the years studied for the medical degree.
Participants in the scheme will not be reimbursed for:

• undergraduate degrees that qualify a student to take a graduate medical degree
• previous degrees that incurred HECS debts or payments
• HECS fees incurred for failed or incomplete units.

Students who’ve chosen to pay their HECS up-front receive a reduction from the ATO. Students who’ve deferred all or part of their HECS debt can make voluntary repayments to reduce their outstanding debt. If a voluntary repayment of $500 or more is made, the ATO reduces the debt. The HECS reimbursement will therefore be reduced consistent with ATO reductions.

Total HECS reimbursement

The HECS Reimbursement Scheme is designed to repay a medical graduate’s HECS debt or up-front HECS payments. Reimbursements under this scheme will be adjusted to reflect the differing HECS payments amounts. Medicare Australia will derive a Total HECS reimbursement amount for each participant, which will form the basis for all HECS reimbursements.

Participants will be advised by Medicare Australia of their Total HECS reimbursement amount by letter.

Request a review

Applicants may request a review of their eligibility or payment calculations. Applicants must apply in writing to Medicare Australia, including their name, information on the calculation they want reviewed and the grounds for requesting the review, within 28 days of notification.

Enquiries

Call Medicare Australia on 1800 010 550 with enquiries about the HECS Reimbursement Scheme eligibility or payments.

The scheme is subject to change or termination at any time, depending on government policy. Payments are made to participants in the HECS Reimbursement Scheme at the sole discretion of the Australian government. Participants do not have a legally enforceable entitlement to any payment.

The payments made under this scheme are subject to Pay As You Go (PAYG) income tax, which will be withheld at the time of payment. Payments will be increased to ensure that participants receive the full reimbursement calculated in the payment total. No GST applies to these payments.

Medicare Australia will provide a statement of earnings to each participant at the end of each financial year, showing the level of payment and the amount of taxation withheld.

Participants who temporarily cease practising in rural and regional Australia, for any reason, do not forfeit their right to claim further reimbursements of their HECS debt, provided they return within 15 years of completion of their medical degree.

Participants who take extended leave beyond normal leave provisions will not receive HECS reimbursement until the required period of continuous service (12 months initially and 6 thereafter) is completed.

Leave provisions

Normal leave provisions are 4 weeks annual leave plus 14 non-consecutive days of sick or family leave over a 12-month period.

Additional special purpose leave allocations (such as maternity leave) approved under the terms of a participant’s employment will be considered normal leave, provided documentary evidence is attached.

A pro-rata leave allocation will apply for 6-month periods of service. Participants may nominate to take longer periods of leave during 6-month blocks, provided written advice is submitted to Medicare Australia and the 12-month leave allocation is not exceeded.

All leave must be documented: This includes:

• sick leave
• annual leave
• family leave
• time practicing at another location (including location details).

HECS reimbursements are available for a 15-year period following completion of a medical degree.

Eligible locations are identified under the ASGC-RA classification system. ASGC-RA 2-5 locations are eligible for the HECS Reimbursement Scheme.

Go to the Remoteness Area Locator map.

Bonded scholarships

Recipients of any other bonded scholarship (for example, Australian Government Medical Rural Bonded scholarships (MRBS) and Australian Defence Force Scholarships) are not eligible for this scheme while they are completing their return of service obligation. Outside this contracted period, these scholarship holders may be eligible to participate in the scheme, provided they meet all other eligibility requirements.

Applicants for the scheme who have received a bonded scholarship are required to supply details with their application form.

Commonwealth scholarships

Recipients of a Commonwealth scholarship that exceeds the MRBS limit per annum for the year they received the scholarship are not eligible for the HECS Reimbursement Scheme.

Non-Commonwealth scholarships

Recipients of a non-Commonwealth scholarship may be eligible for the HECS Reimbursement Scheme, provided they meet all other eligibility requirements.

Other scholarships

Other scholarships or incentive payments, which don’t involve a contractual obligation to provide services in rural or remote areas, or don’t pay HECS fees, are unlikely to impact on eligibility for the HECS Reimbursement Scheme. Examples are the Rural Australia Medical Undergraduate Scholarship (RAMUS) Scheme and the John Flynn placement program.

Applicants who’ve received such a scholarship must supply details with their application form.