How to Land Rural Locum Assignments: Tips & Tricks

Working as a rural locum doctor in Australia can be one of the most rewarding career moves you make. Rural shifts often offer higher pay, flexible schedules, and the chance to make a real difference in communities that need help most. 

Here’s how to find and secure the best rural locum doctor jobs.

1. Keep Your Paperwork Ready

Hospitals in rural areas run on tight timelines. Have your AHPRA registration, police check, immunisation records, and references up to date and ready to go. A delay in documentation can mean missing out on a shift.

2. Be Clinically Flexible

Rural locums often cover multiple areas ED, wards, and on-call work. Showing confidence in emergency medicine and general ward cover increases your chances of being selected.

3. Tailor Your CV for Rural Work

Highlight any rural or regional hospital experience. Employers value doctors who understand resource limitations and can work independently in smaller teams.

4. Clarify Logistics Early

Before confirming, ask about travel reimbursements, accommodation, and roster details. Some hospitals offer on-site housing or fuel allowances, others don’t.

5. Build Long-Term Relationships

Professionalism matters. Hospitals often rebook doctors who are reliable, adaptable, and easy to work with. Strong relationships mean steady locum opportunities down the line. Also these rural hospitals talk to one-another, so make a difference in one, and you are a shew-in across the region.