Rural Resident Medical Officer Cadetships for Indigenous Medical Students

Rural Doctors Network, on behalf of the NSW Ministry of Health, is offering cadetships to Indigenous medical students with a strong intent to undertake a medical career in rural NSW.

Applications for the 2027 intake of the Rural Resident Medical Officer Cadetships for Indigenous Medical Students will open on 3 July 2026 and close on 27 July 2026.

Successful applicants receive up to $30,000 throughout their medical degree. In return, they agree to undertake two of the first three years of their hospital training in an eligible rural NSW hospital.

In their final year of study, cadets apply for an intern position through the Rural Preferential Recruitment (RPR) process or Aboriginal Medical Workforce pathway administered by the Health, Education and Training Institute (HETI).

Rural service can be undertaken in major NSW hospitals, including Tamworth, Dubbo, Orange, Taree, Wagga Wagga, Broken Hill and Albury.

Please note that: Students not honouring their commitment to undertake rural placements will be required to pay back all money granted to them.

There are two pathways for Indigenous student cadets:

Payments are spread across three years.
Students are paid in the last two years of their medical degree.

The return of service component for these two pathways is two years.