Medical Graduates Earning Six-Figure Salaries in Remote Australian RegionsMedical Graduates Earning Six-Figure Salaries in Remote Australian Regions University graduates in medicine are now earning salaries of over $100,000 in their first year of practice, if they are willing to relocate to remote parts of Australia. Dr. Brooke Mackie, a 24-year-old doctor, recently moved to Mount Isa after completing her medical studies at James Cook University. Despite only six months of experience as a physician, Dr. Mackie earns a base salary of $87,000 as a first-year resident at Mount Isa Hospital. With weekend stipends and other benefits, her annual salary exceeds $134,500. The Queensland Government also offers incentives of up to $34,500 for healthcare professionals in inaccessible areas. Dr. Mackie is motivated by the shortage of healthcare providers in rural regions and the opportunity to provide specialized care. She plans to specialize in obstetrics and gynecology, addressing the lack of birth centers and the need for safe childbirth in remote areas. Despite the distance from family, Dr. Mackie enjoys the sense of community in Mount Isa and the outdoor activities available in the area. She encourages other graduates to consider the benefits of rural practice, emphasizing the opportunities for experience and the impact they can make in underserved communities. Across Australia, GPs earn an average taxable income of $163,360 with government subsidies. Queensland offers $187,000 in benefits for rural areas, including inaccessibility allowances, recruitment schemes, and professional development incentives.
University graduates are now earning six-figure salaries in the first year of their careers, if they are willing to leave Australia’s cities and move to a remote part of the country.
Brooke Mackie, 24, recently moved to Mount Isa in north-west Queensland after studying medicine at James Cook University in Townsville.
“Personally, I really like the dynamics of small mining towns,” she told Daily Mail Australia.
‘You do have a nice sense of community. They are usually quite hard-working communities and the feeling of – as a doctor – treating the people you know is quite nice.’
As a first-year resident at Mount Isa Hospital, Dr Mackie earns a base salary of $87,000 despite having worked full-time as a physician for only six months.
But that adds up to more than $100,000, including weekend stipends, because as a junior doctor you intern in emergency medicine, obstetrics, surgery and pediatrics.
Some weeks she works eleven days in a row, although she usually works half days on weekends as well.
And then there are the Queensland Government’s incentives, including a $34,500 grant for those who are inaccessible.
Brooke Mackie, 24, recently moved to Mount Isa in north-west Queensland after studying medicine at James Cook University in Townsville (she is pictured left with her fiancé Taylor Tomlinson)
That brings her salary to a conservative $134,500. Her job also includes free housing and relocation, as Australia faces a housing and rental crisis.
Starting next year, she will be eligible for a $21,500 professional development stipend and a $40,000 cash incentive to train as a rural family doctor.
Dr Mackie grew up in the mining towns of Weipa and Mackay in north Queensland, so Mount Isa is not all that different, except for the four-degree winter temperatures far inland.
“It’s quite similar to a lot of the towns I grew up in. The only difference is there’s both a Coles and a Woolies store, so it’s the big city,” she said.
Dr Mackie’s ambition is to become a gynaecologist in a hospital and also work as a general practitioner, as she has seen her mother being forced to travel long distances to give birth safely.
“There is a huge shortage of midwives in rural Queensland. Many birth centres have closed, leaving women travelling for hours to get somewhere to give birth,” she said.
‘In terms of employability, it’s really good. From my personal perspective, as a rural dweller, my mother has been in that situation where she had to travel hours and hours to be with my brothers, sisters and me.
“It’s so important that you can give birth where you are, where you have support, and where you can receive prenatal care in your own community. That’s why I’m so interested in it.”
Dr Mackie challenged the idea that there was nothing to do in Mount Isa, saying the area hosted rodeos and multicultural festivals and was close to great camping and off-roading sites.
“Sure, I’m more of a country girl at heart,” she said.
As a first-year resident at Mount Isa Hospital, Dr Mackie earns a base salary of $87,000 after just six months of full-time practice. With benefits and an inaccessibility allowance, that increases to $134,500.
‘If people are worried about going out into the bush – “there’s nothing to do” – there’s something to do almost every weekend.’
She regretted being so far away from her relatives who lived in Townsville, Brisbane and Gladstone.
“Sometimes I find it difficult. If you want to visit your family, you have to pay an arm and a leg for a flight,” she said.
Despite the distance, the young doctor is considering one day moving to an even more remote part of Queensland, on Cape York Peninsula, where she can care for indigenous patients who need extra medical attention.
“You’re dealing with a whole range of intergenerational traumas in indigenous patients and sometimes distrust of Western or white medicine. Dealing with those social factors and dealing with very complex patients makes medicine very interesting and offers you a lot of learning opportunities as a junior doctor,” she said.
Dr Mackie’s ambition is to become a gynaecologist in a hospital and also work as a general practitioner. She has seen her mother forced to travel long distances to give birth safely.
Her fiancé Taylor Tomlinson works in Mount Isa as a maths and science teacher.
Across Australia, GPs earn an average of $133,386, but the average taxable income swells to $163,360 with government subsidies.
Queensland is offering $187,000 in benefits for rural and remote areas, including a $34,500 inaccessibility allowance, a two-year $70,000 staff recruitment incentive scheme, a $21,000 motor vehicle allowance, a $21,500 professional development allowance and $40,000 cash incentives for 500 junior doctors to train as general practitioners.
