Nursing and midwifery graduate sign-on bonus

As part of our commitment to strengthen Victoria’s nursing and midwifery workforce, a sign-on bonus of $5,000 is available to nursing and midwifery graduates.

To be eligible, you must graduate in 2022, 2023 or 2024 and start your career in a Victorian public health service, working for at least 2 years.

Timing of the sign-on bonus payment

The sign-on bonus is paid separately to your salary and you will be paid via a claims process in either April or September. Timing for your claims process is dependent on what time of year you commence your graduate program. Allow up to four weeks to receive your bonus after submitting your claim.

The bonus is split into 2 payments:

• Depending on when your graduate program start date is, the first $2,500 will be paid after submitting a claim in either the April or September claims round.
• The second $2,500 will be paid after you complete 2 full years of continuous employment with your eligible health service. This is calculated from your graduate program start date. You will receive a new invitation email to claim in the first available claims period after your two years is complete.

Eligibility criteria

To be eligible for the first sign-on bonus instalment you must:

• be currently registered as a nurse or midwife with the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia
• have graduated from an eligible Australian undergraduate (bachelor's degree) nursing, midwifery or double degree nursing/midwifery course or postgraduate midwifery course or postgraduate nursing course (entry-to-practice only) in 2022, 2023 or 2024
• have begun in an eligible nursing, mental health nursing or midwifery graduate program in a Victorian public health service
• are not in receipt of the Health Service Component payment of the Undergraduate (entry-to-practice) scholarship payment or EN to RN scholarship health service payment post course completion
• start the graduate program in the same calendar year or the calendar year immediately following course completion
• are an Australian or New Zealand citizen or an Australian permanent resident (see more information section below).

To be eligible for the second sign-on bonus instalment you must have:

• received the first sign-on bonus payment
• completed 2 full years of continuous employment within an eligible Victorian public health service from the commencement date of the graduate program
• (if casual) work regular shifts in an eligible health service in line with organisational policies regarding casuals

Who isn't eligible?

The sign-on bonus will not be available to nurses and midwives who:

• participate in a graduate program in a non-eligible health service
• did not graduate from an eligible Australian entry-to-practice nursing and/or midwifery course in 2022, 2023 or 2024
• are not eligible for the first sign-on bonus instalment
• work for less than 2 consecutive years in an eligible health service
• are a temporary resident
• have previously received a department sign-on bonus to start a graduate nursing or midwifery program
• have received the Health Service Component payment of the Undergraduate (entry-to-practice) scholarship payment or EN to RN scholarship health service payment post course completion.

How to apply

This program is funded through the Victorian Government Department of Health and is administered on behalf of the State of Victoria by its departments, including the Department of Government Services (DGS) and the Department of Jobs, Skills, Industry and Regions (DJSIR).

2024 nomination period

Health services can nominate eligible graduates between 2 September 2024 and 13 September 2024.

Your employer is responsible for nominating a list of eligible graduates to the DGS. If you think you're eligible but haven't received an email invitation to claim the bonus, please discuss this with your health service before contacting the Department of Health.

When your details have been submitted, you will be invited to login into the Sign-on Bonus Portal via an email from DGS. Your email invite will be sent on the first day of the claims period (see 2024 claims period key dates). Invitation to claim emails for the first instalment will be sent to your work email in either April or September (dependent on the commencement date of your grad program).

Once in the portal, you will need to confirm your details and sign a grant agreement to claim your payment. After the portal opens, you will have 4 weeks to sign the agreement and submit your claim. You will also be asked to provide a second email address. Future correspondence, including an invitation to claim the second instalment, will be sent to all email addresses provided. There may be circumstances where an email invite is sent to a personal email address.

2024 claims period key dates

For those invited into the September claims round, it will open on 23 September 2024 and close 18 October 2024.

Change of details after the first payment

If you change your place of employment to a new public health service from where you started your graduate program, or you change other personal or bank details, you should:

• Login to the program portal and update your personal details, bank details and/or new employer details.
• Provide your new Victorian public health service with evidence of your eligibility for the sign-on bonus (for example, a statement of employment from your previous Victorian public health service).

More information

‘Graduated’ relates to when you have successfully completed all required academic and clinical requirements of your course. It does not mean the graduation ceremony date, completion certificate date or issue of exam results date.

If you received the first payment of the sign-on bonus but withdraw later from the graduate program, you will not be required to repay the sign-on bonus.

Paid and unpaid parental leave is not considered and interruption to your 2-year commitment and won’t affect your claim for the second bonus payment. However you must return to work before receiving the second bonus payment.

Casual employees will need to demonstrate their commitment to their employer by maintaining regular work throughout their casual employment in accordance with the organisation's policies regarding casual work.

You can only claim the sign-on bonus once through one employer, not through multiple employers.

You may be liable to pay tax on your sign-on bonus payment/s. For more information, see information on bonus payments on the Australian Taxation Office website.

The department strongly recommends that recipients seek independent tax advice for their sign-on bonus payment/s.

Guidelines

These guidelines assist Victorian health services in determining the eligibility of nursing and midwifery graduates for the sign-on bonus.