Our History

In early 2016, discussions between The University of Queensland (UQ), University of Southern Queensland (UniSQ), Darling Downs Health and South West Hospital and Health Service identified the need to build and improve the rural health workforce in Southern Queensland. In late 2017, Southern Queensland Rural Health was established through a formal joint venture between the four organisations and funded by the Australian Government under the Rural Health Multi-Disciplinary Training (RHMT) Program.

Through the strong collaboration between UQ (one of the top 50 universities in the world), UniSQ (known for their long history of providing regional health education across Southern Queensland), and two highly respected regional and rural health services, SQRH is well placed to develop a true rural health workforce pipeline from university to employment.

Since 2017, we have worked tirelessly to build a strong reputation in rural health education and training, engaging with numerous valued stakeholders across the region. Starting from a single office in the Toowoomba Hospital, SQRH has grown to:

• Cover 13 local government areas spanning across 400,090 square kilometres,
• Employ over 40 staff across the region,
• Support over 1,400 nursing, midwifery, and allied health student placements per year,
• Establish two clinical training facilities located in Toowoomba and Charleville,
• Supply over 60 rooms for student accommodation across the region to students on placement and
• Establish the student-led Health and Wellness Clinic in Toowoomba
• Establish two clinical education centres in Toowoomba and Charleville and two education hubs in St George and Chinchilla