News from the Department of Rural Health
Across rural and regional Victoria, the Department of Rural Health brings together people, programs and partnerships to support healthier communities and a stronger rural health workforce. Led by Interim Head of Department Professor Jane Tomnay and Deputy Head, Professor Martin Schultz, staff and students work alongside local health services and partners to deliver education, create pathways into rural careers and undertake research shaped by the priorities of rural communities.
Pictured: Professor Jane Tomnay AM, Interim Head of the Department of Rural Health.
At the heart of this work is a shared ambition: to create opportunities for people to learn, train and build their careers in rural health, while keeping education and research closely connected to rural communities.
In 2025, that journey reached an important milestone with the graduation of the first cohort of Doctor of Medicine (Rural Pathway) students, following seven years of regional study and training through the partnership between the University of Melbourne and La Trobe University. Across the Rural Clinical School and Going Rural Health programs, medical, nursing and allied health students continue to gain valuable experience in rural settings, helping strengthen the future rural health workforce.
The Department is also home to the University Department of Rural Health (UDRH), part of the Australian Government’s Rural Health Multidisciplinary Training Program, with a focus on student placements, Aboriginal health and research. The Goulburn Valley Regional Training Hub further supports pathways into postgraduate training and regional careers through clinical skills development, mentoring, career planning and wellbeing.
Beyond her interim leadership of the Department, Professor Tomnay is the Director of the Centre for Excellence in Rural Sexual Health (CERSH), the only centre of excellence dedicated to rural sexual health in Australia. CERSH is funded by the Victorian Department of Health and works to improve sexual and reproductive health and wellbeing for all rural Victorians through workforce development, collaboration and sustainable, community-led solutions.
Partnerships with communities are creating new possibilities too. In 2024, the Indigenous-led Munarra Centre for Regional Excellence opened on Yorta Yorta Country, with the University as a founding partner. That commitment to community-led initiatives is also reflected in the annual Ngar-wu Wanyarra Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Conference, which brings together First Nations voices and knowledge to share insights on health and wellbeing, celebrate strengths and successes, and support truth-telling.
With so much happening across Rural Health, what continues to stand out is the strength of the connections behind it – between our staff and students, our partners and health services, and the rural communities at the heart of our work.