RELOCATION & RETENTION

Relocation and retention are often viewed as activities that occur after recruitment, when in reality they are critical workforce strategies that determine whether recruitment efforts translate into a sustainable workforce presence.

This is particularly important in pathways that span multiple years, organisations, or geographical locations, where trainees may need to relocate repeatedly. Systems that support seamless transitions, maintain connections across sites, and provide consistent experiences are more likely to keep trainees engaged with both the pathway and the region over the long term.

Relocation

Relocation is more than moving from one place to another; it is a transition into a new professional, organisational, and social environment.

This can be particularly challenging for trainees entering unfamiliar clinical settings, relocating away from established support networks, or moving to communities they have never lived in before. Effective relocation support therefore extends beyond logistics, ensuring trainees are properly inducted, connected, and integrated into both the workplace and the broader community they are joining.

Retention

Retention operates over a longer timeframe than relocation, although the two are closely linked. Importantly, decisions about whether to stay in a place are often made early in a training pathway, with trainees forming impressions of both the service and the community within the first weeks. As a result, the quality of the immediate experience, including orientation, supervision, workplace culture, and community connection, plays a significant role in long-term retention.

Trainees are more likely to remain in a region when they can see a viable future there, including opportunities for career progression, meaningful work, and alignment with their professional goals. Where future opportunities are unclear or disconnected from local workforce models, trainees may leave despite otherwise positive training experiences. For this reason, the expected duration of appointments, contractual arrangements, and the structure of the broader training pathway should be clearly communicated from the outset, allowing trainees to make informed decisions about their personal and professional future.

WORKFORCE AGENCIES

Not every regional training hub can provide this kind of service to their trainees, whether due to funding, staffing, or other factors. There are a range of agencies across the country (both nation-wide and state-specific) that can assist with this process.

New South Wales

There are a few available workforce agencies in NSW that are able to provide assistance with relocation and practical supports.

The NSW Rural Doctors Network (RDN) helps support rural recruitment, provides relocation grants, and can also provide practical support to help assist with transitioning into a rural NSW community.

The Welcome Experience is a regional NSW service that provides personalised "local connector" support. This helps essential workers and their families navigate housing, schools, childcare, employment opportunities, and community integration to improve long-term settlement outcomes.

NSW Rural Doctors Network (RDN)

The Welcome Experience

Northern Territory

There are a few agencies in the Northern Territory that helps support relocation of health practitioners.

The Primary Health Network of Northern Territory (NTPHN) can assist with coordinating recruitment to your local service, along with assisting with relocation. They provide scholarships and professional support for health professionals entering regional and remote NT practice.

The NT Remote Locum Program (NTRLP) facilitates culturally informed workforce placements in remote communities through community partnerships, workforce support, and orientation processes that strengthen local service sustainability.

Northern Territory Primary Health Network (NTPHN)

Northern Territory Remote Locum Program (NTRLP)

Tasmania

Tasmania have both government and non-government organisations that are designed to assist with relocation of health workers.

The People Project Tasmania offers support for doctors and students alike, providing scholarships, relocation support, community networks and workshops for professional development. They also provide support services and guidance for practices.

The Tasmanian Department of Health Relocation Services offer relocation assistance including travel, accommodation, relocation expenses, registration support, and settlement assistance for interstate and international health professionals.

The People Project Tasmania

Tasmanian Department of Health: Relocation Services

STARTING WELL

There are many steps involved in ensuring your trainees are properly oriented, inducted, and encouraged to stay long-term. Provided here are downloadable checklists for different aspects of relocation and retention of trainees.

Orientation Checklist

Relocation Strategy

TYPES OF ORIENTATION

Orientation is more than a one-off activity completed at the start of the trainee's pathway. Orientation can be a critical contributor to trainee experience, retention, and pathway success, shaping how trainees perceive both the service and the community they are joining.

Trainees often form lasting impressions within the first few weeks of starting in a new place or role, including whether they feel supported, whether they can see themselves returning to the region, and whether they would recommend the experience to others. Effective orientation should therefore extend beyond mandatory organisational requirements and be viewed as a structured process that supports integration into the workplace, training pathway, and local community.

The following types of orientation should be considered:

PRE-ARRIVAL

Effective orientation begins well before the trainee arrives at the site. Prior to the commencement of their training, trainees should receive contact details and practical information about their relocation, which can greatly reduce uncertainty about moving to their new home. Pre-arrival information may include: • Welcome information • Key contacts • Accommodation information • Rosters • Reporting arrangements • Maps / access information • Education opportunities • Local services / amenities • Childcare Where possible, trainees should have a direct point of contact who can answer questions and assist with transition into the service. The objective is to ensure that trainees arrive feeling prepared, rather than spending their first weeks trying to navigate basic logistical issues.

SITE-SPECIFIC

Multi-site training pathways should always involve orientation to each site the trainee will be working in. It can be frustrating for a trainee when differences between sites are not explained, and it should never be expected for them to "work it out" independently. Some differences can include: • Clinical workflows • Local policies • IT systems • Rostering • Escalation pathways • Education opportunities Site-specific orientation should include the following: Clinical orientation such as the scope of service that site provides and the processes that occur; Supervision orientation such as introduction to supervisors and team members, contact details for escalation pathways, and access to senior clinicians; Educational orientation such as available resources, teaching schedules, and opportunities for simulations and research, and; Practical orientation to the site facilities, parking, after-hours support, and local contacts.

COMMUNITY

Trainees also greatly benefit from being integrated into the community they will be living in. Orientation should include welcoming activities to the broader environment. This can include providing information about: • Community events • Local sports clubs • Partner and family support • Cultural orientation • Local services This is particularly important for trainees who have moved from a metropolitan area or from interstate, as they are more likely to be feeling isolated.

HEALTH SERVICE

All trainees should be formally orientated to the facility in which they will be working. This should include but not be dominated by compliance activities such as workplace health and safety. Orientation should also help trainees understand how clinical work is actually conducted within the organisation. Practical information often reported as most valuable included: • How referrals work • How to access senior support • Local workflows • After hours contacts • Key administrative contacts • Departmental expectations Trainees consistently valued information that helped them function safely and efficiently in their day-to-day role.

TRAINING PATHWAY

Alongside individual organisations, trainees should be oriented to the broader training network. Many reported that although they understood the position itself, they knew little about how it related to the rest of their training journey. Pathway orientation should explain the overall structure of the training pathway, along with: • Expected progression • Educational opportunities • Supervisory arrangements • Key contacts • Future options This allows trainees to understand where they are in their journey as a whole.

EARLY FOLLOW-UP

It can be overwhelming for trainees being inducted into a new position to retain all the information provided to them. An effective system should do frequent check-ins with their trainees to allow them to voice questions and concerns. These can include: • End of week one review • One month review • Three month review Orientation should be an ongoing process of following up with the trainee rather than a single event.