Practices registered for the Practice Stream must complete and submit a Quarterly Confirmation Statement (QCS) each quarter before the WIP Practice Stream payments can be released.
The Workforce Incentive Program (WIP) provides targeted financial incentives to encourage doctors to deliver services in rural and remote areas while also providing financial incentives to support general practices to engage the services of nurses, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Practitioners and Health Workers and eligible allied health professionals.
There are two streams under the WIP: the WIP Doctor Stream and the WIP Practice Stream.
The WIP Doctor Stream provides targeted financial incentives to encourage doctors to deliver eligible primary health care services in regional, rural or remote areas that have difficulty attracting and retaining doctors.
The WIP Practice Stream provides incentives to support all eligible general practices to engage the services of nurses, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health workers, health practitioners and a range of allied health professionals. A full list of the types of health practitioners and health workers who are eligible for WIP payments is available on the Department of Health website.
From early 2020, general practice and doctors participating in the Practice Nurse Incentive Program (PNIP) and the General Practice Rural Incentives Program (GPRIP) automatically transitioned to the WIP.
Practices registered for the WIP Practice Stream must complete and submit a Quarterly Confirmation Statement (QCS) each quarter before the WIP Practice Stream payments can be released. Human Services will send a QCS to all approved WIP Practice Stream practices each quarter, with the exception of the first quarter that the practice is approved for the program.
Practices with a Health Professional Online Services (HPOS) account will receive their QCS each quarter through HPOS. All other practices will receive their QCS by mail. Practices should receive their QCS by the 15th day of the month. If the QCS has not been received by the due date, practices should contact the incentive programs team.
Submission of the QCS is either:
- by HPOS by the relevant point-in-time date; or
- by fax to incentive programs for manual processing at least seven calendar days before the relevant date.
It’s a good idea to add the following dates into your 2021 calendar so you don’t miss submission deadlines.
| Payment quarter | Point in time assessment of eligibility | Fax submission (due 7 days before point in time date) | HPOS submission | Reference period |
| February | 31 January | 23 January | 31 January | 1 November – 31 January |
| May | 30 April | 23 April | 30 April | 1 Feb – 30 April |
| August | 31 July | 23 July | 31 July | 1 May – 31 July |
| November | 31 October | 23 October | 31 October | 1 Aug-31 Oct |
More information on the WIP and eligibility guidelines is available on the Services Australia training module.
