24 June 2026

This week, ASMIRT and Allied Health Professions Australia (AHPA) joined with students and parliamentarians in Canberra to submit over 43,000 signatures from Australians calling to end student placement poverty for Medical Radiation Science (MRS) and Allied Health students.

Tabling this powerful petition in parliament marks a significant step to include MRS students in the Commonwealth Practice Payments scheme – giving them the vital support they need.

ASMIRT President Naomi Gibson was delighted to see the MRS and Allied Health communities reach such a significant milestone. 

“Todays MRS students are tomorrows clinicians, and our healthcare sectors need them now more than ever.” Naomi said. 

“Staff shortages are adding strain onto existing clinics and MRP’s to provide the life altering care they do day-in-day-out - and without a flow of fresh graduates to fill the talent pool – that strain will only continue getting worse and worse.”

“This weeks tabling of such a powerful petition in parliament is a fantastic milestone towards alleviating the squeeze of staff shortages, by assisting students to bid goodbye to the burden of placement poverty and complete their placement.” 

“Since the launch of ASMIRT’s street poster campaign, over 50,000 signatures have been collected and counting, so sign up today and let’s keep the monumental momentum moving!”

Supported by parliamentarians such as Helen Haines MP, Senator David Pocock and Dr Monique Ryan, the dialogue around placement poverty is dialling up in volume for legislative change.

“New data shows how serious this is.” Helen Haines MP told parliament yesterday evening.

“The solution is clear: expand the Commonwealth prac payments to include medical and allied health students.”

“No community should miss out on care because future health workers were priced out of their training.”

Dr Monique Ryan MP, Senator David Pocock and Helen Haines MP joined students with ASMIRT and AHPA in a press conference inside Parliament House.

“We’re giving Australian students a cost of learning crisis” Dr Monique Ryan MP explained.

“We need psychologists, occupational therapists, physios, medical imaging specialists. They’re all subspecialists that we need actively in our daily living, but we are not caring for the young people that are going to care for us once they’ve graduated.”

“It’s a false economy not to support young people to get the skills that we need them to have to care for us in the future.”

Tabled yesterday in the House of Representatives and Senate, the petition continues to grow in signatures and strength: