Competition or collaboration in regional Australia? A cross-border and multi-university approach to maximising rural health investments, community health and health workforce outcomes.

Aim: To describe the establishment of a cross-border and multi-university collaboration in rural Australia to mitigate potential competition, maximise Rural Health Multidisciplinary Training (RHMT) Programme investments and regional health workforce outcomes.

Context: Rural Health Multidisciplinary Training programme investments have enabled the establishment of 19 Australian University Departments of Rural Health (UDRH) and 17 Rural Clinical Schools. The importance of these investments is acknowledged.