WA Country Health Service - Medical practitioner salaries and benefits

Medical practitioner salaries and benefits

Medical practitioners employed at WA Country Health Service, receive benefits stipulated in the WA Health System – Medical Practitioners - Australian Medical Association (AMA) Industrial Agreement (The Agreement). The Agreement outlines doctors’ employment provisions including but not limited to, salaries, allowances, hours of work, leave entitlements, professional development, and dispute resolution.

Under the Agreement, medical practitioners may be eligible to receive the following benefits in accordance with the WA Health System Medical Practitioners AMA Industrial Agreement 2022:

Incentive	Description	Reference
Competitive salary arrangements	Full-time annual salary for senior practitioners	South of 26-degree South Latitude 1, Table 2 Senior Practitioners – Arrangement A Salary page 75. North of 26-degree South Latitude, Table 2 Senior Practitioners – Arrangement A page 92.
Competitive salary arrangements	Full-time annual salary for junior practitioners	South of 26-degree South Latitude 1, Table 1 Doctor in Training – page 74. North of 26-degree South Latitude 1, Table 1 Doctor in Training – page 92.
Salary packaging	$19,000 standard, meals card, annual electronic devices, novated vehicle leasing	WA Health Salary Packaging Policy(external site)
Superannuation	11.5 per cent from 1 July 2024 – 30 June 2025 12 per cent from 1 July 2025 – 30 June 2026	Government Employees Superannuation Board (external site)
Annual leave	160 hours/4 weeks Additional one week for those who regularly participate in on-call arrangements (eight hours accrual for every 120 hours rostered on-call)	Clause 34, page 41
Annual leave travel concession	This policy aims to facilitate annual leave travel for practitioners stationed in remote areas, offering them and their dependents cost-effective travel options and flexibility in how they use their travel concessions.	Schedule 2, Clause 10, page 88
Long service leave	13 weeks upon completion of 10 years of continuous service. A further 13 weeks after each additional seven years of continuous service.	Clause 38, page 47
Sick leave	80 hours per annum	Clause 36(2), page 45
Bereavement leave	3 days on each occasion	Clause 39(2),page 50
Family and domestic violence leave	10 non-cumulative days per annum	Clause 40, page 51
Cultural leave for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples	40 hours per annum	Clause 41, page 54
Donor leave	Five days on each occasion	Clause 42, page 54
Special leave with or without pay	Up to 24 months with election to retain accrued leave entitlements	Clause 18(7), page 16 and Clause 47,page 63
Parental leave	14 weeks on each occasion and unpaid parental leave or unpaid partner leave for birth or adoption, with the possibility of extending the period of leave without pay for up to two years, for primary care giver. (Superannuation paid on the first 12 weeks of unpaid parental leave taken by a practitioner).	Clause 43, page 54
Professional development leave	Maximum of three weeks paid leave per year.	Clause 30(1), page 33
Professional development overseas	After five years' continuous service (five weeks) additional overseas paid professional development leave of five weeks per year accrues. This may be taken wholly or partly in Australia by agreement with the Employer.	Clause 30(2), page 33
Professional development allowance – senior	Arrangement A, pro-rata allowance of $31,926. Payable fortnightly from the first pay period.	Schedule 2 – Clause 5 (6)(a), page 82
Professional development allowance – junior	Amount in accordance with Clause 12 (7)(a). Payable pro rata fortnightly form the first pay period.	Clause 12 (7)(a), page 11
Penalty rates	Penalty rates are paid for shift, weekend and public holidays. Weekday hours worked between 6pm and midnight – 20 per cent loading. Weekday hours worked between midnight and 8am – 25 per cent loading. Saturday – 50 per cent loading. Midnight Sunday to 8am Monday – 75 per cent. Public Holiday – 150 per cent or 50 per cent in addition to a day off in lieu.	Clause 32, page 36
On call	(South of 26-degree South Latitude only) For Doctors in Training, rostered on call will be paid an hourly on call rate of $12.22. For Senior Practitioners, rostered on call will be paid an hourly on call rate of $23.25.	Clause 33(1), page 36
Recall	(South of 26-degree South Latitude only) Provisions depending on whether attendance is required or not and the specific Arrangement (A or B) governs the hourly rates and penalties.	Clause 33, page 36-39
Meal allowance	A practitioner who works 10 hours (exclusive of rest breaks); or who is required to work overtime which necessitates taking a meal away from home, will be paid a meal allowance as per clause 52.	Clause 52 (1) and (2), page 64-65
Indemnity against Malpractice and/or Negligence claims	Subject to the Terms and Conditions	Medical indemnity(external site)
Super Concessional Contributions (cap)	Salary sacrifice arrangement can be used to make voluntary super contributions. The concessional contributions cap is the maximum amount of before-tax contributions you can contribute to your super each year without contributions being subject to extra tax. From 1 July 2021, the concessional contributions cap is $27,500.	Concessional contributions cap \| Australian Taxation Office (ato.gov.au) Understanding concessional and non-concessional contributions \| Australian Taxation Office (ato.gov.au)

Benefits and incentives for North of 26-degree South Latitude only

Incentive	Description	Reference
On call commuted allowance	Senior Practitioners who are required to participate in an on-call roster, shall be paid, pro rata with salary an annual commuted allowance of 39.5 per cent for hospital-based practitioners. 8.2 per cent for non-hospital-based practitioners.	Clause 12 (1) (c) (i)
Gratuity payment	After the first three years of continuous service, a practitioner shall be paid a lump sum equivalent to twelve weeks’ salary as preserved in Table 2 – Senior Practitioners arrangement B Salary in AMA agreement. After each subsequent year of service, a practitioner shall be paid a lump sum equivalent to four weeks’ salary as prescribed in Table 3 – Senior Practitioners arrangement B Salary in AMA agreement. Payments for above will be made in the first pay period on or after the date the entitlement falls. Payment is based upon the senior practitioner's arrangement B salary at the time that the payment is made.	Schedule 3 – WACHS North of the 26-degree South Latitude; Clause 6, page 94.

Other benefits

You may also be eligible for the following State and Commonwealth Government benefits:

Benefit	Description	Reference
Air-conditioning subsidies	Policy developed by the Department of Housing whereby those located in towns situated North of the 26-degree south latitude or of high heat discomfort. Funds are reimbursed retrospectively with a subsidy form to be submitted.	Can I request air-conditioning? (external site) Government housing air-conditioning policy (external site)
Deferred salary scheme/purchase leave	There are two main types of purchased leave arrangements: 42/52 arrangements and deferred salary arrangements. A 42/52 salary arrangement enables eligible employees to purchase up to ten additional weeks of leave per year by receiving a reduced salary rate over 52 weeks of the year. deferred salary arrangement allows employees to reduce their salary by 20 per cent over four years and take paid leave in the fifth year at 80 per cent of their salary.	Circular – purchased leave guidelines (PDF)
District allowance	The district allowance is a sum of money for members located in some (not all) regional areas, paid in addition to their base salary. It is monetary compensation that recognises the increased cost of living in regional WA, as well as isolation and climate factors.	Circular – district allowance rates (PDF)
Home Ownership Subsidy Scheme	The Department of Communities (Communities) works in partnership with the private, Government and not-for-profit sectors to provide housing options and assistance across Perth and in regional and remote WA. There are a range of Government products and initiatives available to assist you into home ownership.	Housing (external website)
Workforce Incentive Program – Rural Advanced Skills for General Practitioners and Rural Generalists	The Program is for General Practitioners and Rural Generalists working in rural and remote communities, categorised as MMM 3-7 locations. Payments are across two streams of activity: Stream 1: Emergency Medicine is for the provision of emergency care services. Stream 2: Advanced Skills is for the provision of care in one of the following advanced skills: adult internal medicine, anaesthesia, First Nations health, mental health, obstetrics and gynaecology, paediatrics and child health, palliative care, remote medicine, or surgery. The payment streams each range from an annual amount of $4,000 to $10,500, depending on the number of rosters worked across the previous 12-month period and remoteness of location.	Rural Health West – Financial Support (external site) Federal guidelines and fact sheets (external website)
Training for Rural and Remote Procedural GPs program	The General Practitioner Procedural Training Support Program (GPPTSP) aims to improve maternity services for women living in rural and remote areas. It supports general practitioners (GPs) in those areas to gain procedural skills in anaesthetics and obstetrics.	General Practitioner Procedural Training Support Program (external website)
Zone or special area tax offset	You may be able to claim a zone tax offset if your usual place of residence is in a remote or isolated area of Australia Remote areas in Australia are divided into two zones; Zone A and Zone B. There are also special areas within the Australian zone list.	Zone tax offsets (external site)
North-West Leave	Additional five days of annual leave.	Circular – Government wages employees in the north of the state - annual leave (PDF)
Spectacle allowance	The subsidy equals fifty per cent of your out-of-pocket expenses up to $220 every two years. An authorised reimbursement of expenses form (AP2) for processing of your reimbursement.	Revised eyesight screening and testing policy (PDF)
Higher Education Loan Program (HELP)	This initiative reduces outstanding HELP debt for eligible doctors and nurse practitioners who live and work in a rural, remote, or very remote areas of Australia. Please note, the HELP Debt Reduction for Health Practitioners Program has not yet commenced. We encourage you to monitor the Department’s website as more information about how to apply will become available soon.	HELP for Rural Doctors and Nurse Practitioners \| Australian Government Department of Health and Aged Care(external website) Modified Monash Model fact sheet (PDF)
Private health fund discounts	As a WA Country Health Service employee, you are entitled to discounts across some private health care funds.	Private health fund benefits Bupa Corporate HCF Corporate Medibank

*It is important to note, not all benefits and incentives are explicitly outlined in your contract. Additionally, your classification level will be evaluated based on but not limited to factors such as your qualifications, experience, type of medical registration, skills and experience.

Last Updated: 01/07/2024