{"id":"F2023L01130","name":"HELP Debtor Guidelines (Health Practitioners) 2023","slug":"help-debtor-guidelines-health-practitioners-2023","collection":"legislative_instrument","jurisdiction":"commonwealth","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":null,"makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":442045,"registerId":"F2023L01130-fast-fetch-1775957169513","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-12","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"HELP Debtor Guidelines (Health Practitioners) 2023","content":"---\nmeta-content-style-type: text/css\nmeta-content-type: application/xhtml+xml; charset=utf-8\n---\n\n![Commonwealth Coat of Arms of Australia](image.001.jpeg)\n\n \n\nHELP Debtor Guidelines (Health Practitioners) 2023\n\nI, Jason Clare, Minister for Education, make the following guidelines.\n\nDated  21 August 2023  \n\nJason Clare\n\nMinister for Education\n\n \n\n \n\n \n\nContents\n\nPart 1 – Preliminary\n\n1  Name\n\n2  Commencement\n\n3  Authority\n\n4  Definitions\n\nPart 2 – Meaning of location-preferred HELP debtor (health practitioner)\n\n5  Registration or accreditation of health practitioner\n\n6  Work carried out by the health practitioner\n\n7  Rural, remote or very remote areas\n\n8  Minimum hours of work for a health practitioner\n\n9  Eligible courses of study\n\nPart 3 – Reducing accumulated HELP debts\n\n10  Requirements for the reduction of accumulated HELP debts\n\n \n\nPart 1 – Preliminary\n\n1  Name\n\n  This instrument is the HELP Debtor Guidelines (Health Practitioners) 2023.\n\n2  Commencement\n\n  This instrument commences on the day after this instrument is registered on the Federal Register of Legislation.\n\n3  Authority\n\n  This instrument is made under section 238-10 of the Higher Education Support Act 2003.\n\n4  Definitions\n\nNote: A number of expressions used in this instrument are defined in the Act, including the following:\n\n(a) ABS Remoteness Structure;\n\n(b) accumulated HELP debt;\n\n(c) course of study;\n\n(d) course of study in medicine;\n\n(e) location-preferred HELP debtor (health practitioner); and\n\n(f) postgraduate course of study.\n\n  In this instrument:\n\nAct means the Higher Education Support Act 2003.\n\ngeneral practice means the totality of a medical practice as an organisation including any medical practitioners, nurse practitioners and other health care professionals that may work at the practice doing the following:\n\n (a) managing undifferentiated acute and chronic health problems across the lifespan in an unreferred patient population;\n\n (b) providing continuing care for individuals with chronic conditions; and\n\n (c) undertaking preventive health activities such as screening, immunisation, and health education.\n\nHealth Department is the Department of State of the Commonwealth that is administered by the Minister administering the Health Insurance Act 1973.\n\nmedical practitioner has the same meaning as in section 3 of the Health Insurance Act 1973.\n\nNote: Section 3 of the Health Insurance Act 1973 provides that a medical practitioner means a person who is registered under the National Law (as defined in section 3 of that Act) in the medical profession.\n\nModified Monash Model (MMM) means the geographical classification system managed by the Health Department that categorises metropolitan, regional, rural and remote areas by reference to the ABS Remoteness Structure.\n\nnurse practitioner has the same meaning as in section 3 of the Health Insurance Act 1973.\n\nNote: Section 3 of the Health Insurance Act 1973 provides that a nurse practitioner means a person who is registered under the National Law (as defined in section 3 of that Act) in the nursing profession as a nurse practitioner.\n\n\n\n\nPart 2 – Meaning of location-preferred HELP debtor (health practitioner)\n\n5  Registration or accreditation of health practitioner\n\n (1) For the purposes of paragraph 144-1(1)(d) of the Act, a person holds the registration or accreditation as a health practitioner where the person has completed a course of study in medicine leading to their registration as a medical practitioner.\n\n (2) For the purposes of paragraph 144-1(1)(d) of the Act, a person holds the registration or accreditation as a health practitioner, that is a nurse practitioner, where the person has completed all relevant postgraduate courses of study in nursing required for registration as a nurse practitioner.\n\n6  Work carried out by the health practitioner\n\n  For the purposes of paragraph 144-1(1)(e) of the Act, a person carries out work as a health practitioner in circumstances where the person carries out work as a medical practitioner or nurse practitioner within a general practice.\n\n7  Rural, remote or very remote areas\n\n (1) For the purposes of paragraph 144-1(1)(f) of the Act, a rural area is an area that conforms to MMM 3 to MMM 5 in the Modified Monash Model.\n\n (2) For the purposes of paragraph 144-1(1)(f) of the Act, a remote area is an area that conforms to MMM 6 in the Modified Monash Model.\n\n (3) For the purposes of paragraph 144-1(1)(f) of the Act, a very remote area is an area that conforms to MMM 7 in the Modified Monash Model.\n\n8  Minimum hours of work for a health practitioner\n\n  For the purposes of paragraph 144-1(1)(g) of the Act, the minimum number of hours that a health practitioner must carry out work as the kind of health practitioner specified in section 6 is 24 hours per week.\n\n9  Post-registration experience requirement for medical practitioners\n\n  For the purposes of paragraph 144-1(1)(h) of the Act, a person who is a medical practitioner is a location‑preferred HELP debtor (health practitioner) if they have been a medical practitioner for a cumulative period of at least 36 months.\n\n10  Eligible courses of study\n\n (1) For the purposes of paragraph 144-1(2)(a) of the Act, an eligible course of study is a course of study specified in subsection 5(1).\n\n   (2) For the purposes of subparagraph 144-1(2)(b)(ii) of the Act, an eligible course of study is a course of study specified in subsection 5(2).\n\nPart 3 – Reducing indexation of accumulated HELP debts\n\n11  Requirements for the reduction of the indexation of accumulated HELP debts\n\n  For the purposes of subparagraph 144-5(1)(b)(ii) of the Act, the other requirement that a person must meet, for the purposes of determining that the indexation of their accumulated HELP debt for a course of study is to be reduced in relation to a financial year, is that the person resides in a rural, remote or very remote area as defined in section 7.\n\n\n\n\nPart 4 – Reducing accumulated HELP debts\n\n12  Requirements for the reduction of accumulated HELP debts\n\n (1) For the purposes of paragraph 144-10(1)(a) of the Act, the minimum period for which a person must have been a location-preferred HELP debtor (health practitioner) is either:\n\n (a) a quarter of the period of the duration of the course of study, specified in section 5, that was completed by the person, if the person has carried out work in a remote or very remote area as defined in subsections 7(2) and 7(3); or\n\n (b) half the period of the duration of the course of study, specified in section 5, that was completed by the person, if the person has carried out work in a rural area as defined in subsection 7(1).\n\nNote: Under subsection 144-10(1) of the Act, the Secretary has discretion to determine the amount by which a person’s accumulated HELP debt may be reduced, as long as the amount by which the debt is reduced does not exceed the amounts specified in subsection 144-10(2). Where a person has only been a location-preferred HELP debtor (health practitioner) for the minimum period specified in subsection 12(1), the Secretary will reduce the person’s accumulated HELP debt by 50 per cent. If the person has been a location-preferred HELP debtor (health practitioner) for a period equivalent to double the minimum period specified in subsection 12(1), the Secretary will reduce the person’s accumulated HELP debt by 100 per cent.\n\n (2) For the purposes of paragraph 144-10(1)(b) of the Act, the other requirements that a person must meet, for the purposes of determining whether their accumulated HELP debt for a course of study is to be reduced, are that the person:\n\n (a) has an accumulated HELP debt for all or part of their completed courses of study specified in section 5; and\n\n (b) resides in a rural, remote or very remote area as defined in section 7.\n\n (3) The courses of study specified for the purposes of subparagraph 144-10(2)(a)(i) of the Act, are the courses of study specified in section 5.\n\n \n\n \n","sortOrder":0}],"analysis":{"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":3,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The instrument remains tightly scoped to its original purpose: implementing the 'location-preferred HELP debtor' scheme for health practitioners as established by amendments to the Higher Education Support Act 2003. It does not expand beyond the specific policy of debt reduction/indexation relief for medical practitioners and nurse practitioners working in general practice in rural/remote areas."},"complexity_factors":["Short instrument: only 12 sections across 4 Parts","Minimal defined terms: 6 definitions in section 4, plus 5 terms defined by reference to the parent Act","Simple conditional structure: binary tests (rural vs remote/very remote) with clear time-based thresholds","Heavy reliance on external frameworks: MMM classifications and ABS Remoteness Structure defined elsewhere, not within this instrument","No nested exceptions or recursive definitions","Clear mathematical formulas for debt reduction percentages (50% and 100% thresholds)","Single cross-reference density: almost every operative provision references the Higher Education Support Act 2003"],"plain_english_summary":"This bill creates a student-debt reduction scheme that wipes or reduces HELP debts for medical practitioners and nurse practitioners who live and work at least 24 hours/week in general practices in rural and remote Australia (MMM 3–7). Debt relief scale depends on remoteness and length of service, and indexation on those debts is reduced while they serve. It targets experienced doctors and nurse practitioners to financially incentivise placements in underserved communities."},"flash_summary_failed":{"failed":true,"reason":"A positive credit balance is required for all requests, including BYOK, so fallback providers remain available. Add credits at https://vercel.com/d?to=%2F%5Bteam%5D%2F%7E%2Fai%3Fmodal%3Dtop-up to continue.","source":"analysis-cron"},"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":4,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The instrument does not assert any expansion or contraction of statutory scope; it specifies criteria and definitions to implement the Act's existing provisions (paragraphs of section 144 and related provisions). Its text confines changes to operational eligibility rules (registration, work type, location, hours, service duration) without altering the Act's substantive reach."},"complexity_factors":["Multiple cross-references to the Higher Education Support Act 2003 (paragraphs 144-1(1)(d)–(h), 144-5(1)(b)(ii), 144-10) increase legal interdependence with the Act.","Eligibility depends on external geographic classification (Modified Monash Model MMM3–7) and the ABS Remoteness Structure (see section 7).","Registration definitions rely on the Health Insurance Act 1973 / National Law for 'medical practitioner' and 'nurse practitioner' (see section 4 notes and section 5(1)–(2)).","Service thresholds are numeric and proportional: 24 hours/week minimum (section 8), 36 months cumulative post-registration for doctors (section 9), and minimum service periods expressed as fractions of course duration determining 50%–100% reductions (section 12 and its note).","Distinct but related outcomes: reduction of indexation (section 11) versus reduction of accumulated HELP debt (section 12), requiring separate eligibility checks.","Administrative burden to verify continuous residence, hours worked in a general practice, cumulative service periods, and course durations for benefit calculations (sections 6–9, 12).","Secretary discretion over reduction amounts under the Act (noted in the explanatory note to section 12), creating case-by-case decision-making despite statutory caps."],"plain_english_summary":"These guidelines set the rules for when medical and nurse practitioners qualify as a `location-preferred` HELP debtor and the conditions under which their HELP debt or its indexation can be reduced. They define eligibility by registration, work in a general practice, residence in specified Modified Monash Model areas (MMM3–7), a 24-hour weekly minimum, a 36-month post-registration threshold for medical practitioners, and minimum service periods tied to course length that determine 50%–100% debt reductions."}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/help-debtor-guidelines-health-practitioners-2023","history":"/api/acts/help-debtor-guidelines-health-practitioners-2023/history","analysis":"/api/acts/help-debtor-guidelines-health-practitioners-2023/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/help-debtor-guidelines-health-practitioners-2023/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/help-debtor-guidelines-health-practitioners-2023/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/help-debtor-guidelines-health-practitioners-2023/documents"}}