The funding will create student training and placements across the two shires, bringing educators and supervisors to our towns and securing a four-bedroom house in Forbes for students.

Federal Member for Riverina Michael McCormack made the announcement with Charles Sturt's Professor Megan Smith, Executive Dean Faculty and Science and Health and Christine Howard, Director of Three Rivers Department of Rural Health.

Charles Sturt's Executive Dean Science and Health Professor Megan Smith says this is an extension of a federally-funded program already running in other regions.

New jobs will be created in Parkes and Forbes, under The Three Rivers Department of Rural Health, including:

Charles Sturt intends to run an average of five weeks' placements per year per student for roughly 53 students, totalling approximately 265 placement weeks annually.

"One of the most important factors that determines where a student ends up working is actually where they've had the opportunity to study and learn, and the best experience they can have is with a local practitioner," Professor Smith said.

"For us to achieve that we need a combination of things and one of them is people who will supervise them in their work, so part of the investment in building capacity is building some people in to supervise our students."

Professor Smith says they have to have a "build approach" with capacity growing over time - the funding is for two years - but they hope to create consistent, full-time roles that people will move here to take up.

"There's a range of things we've learned that make a difference to recruiting and retaining allied health professionals," Professor Smith said.

"Most of the evidence shows that why it's difficult to attract an allied health professional is that we put fractional positions together: the hospital has a .4 the Primary Health Network has a .2...if we can make them whole jobs people come for them.

"The other thing we do is to wrap around support and network with them with so they have opportunities for professional development, colleagues to work with, a feeling of belonging to a community."

CSU will work with local placement providers - local health district, primary healthcare network, Aboriginal medical services - and funding providers to place the students.

The long-term goal of the project is to bring more allied health professionals to our communities, the concept celebrated by Forbes Mayor Phyllis Miller OAM and Parkes Mayor Ken Keith OAM.

"People you train in the region tend to make their lifelong ambitions to be in the region, recognise the wonderful lifestyle that regional communities have to offer," he said.

"Between Parkes and Forbes we've nearly got 40,000 people we're a population base in ourselves and we need to be able to have medical services.

"Allied health is essential. It's one of the areas that we're understaffed and under resourced at the moment."

Mayor Keith is also looking forward to seeing what flows from the NSW parliamentary inquiry into regional healthcare, which he addressed last year.

"The health inquiry in NSW has really highlighted the shortfall of services in NSW and I trust out of that inquiry we'll get some action," he said.

"It shouldn't depend on geography whether you get great health service in NSW it should depend on the health system delivering good health outcomes for everyone in the State."

"Having accommodation for students to come out into regional areas to be able to study is terribly important," Forbes Mayor Phyllis said.

"We've struggled out in rural and regional areas for so long.

"Of course you can't run hospitals or medical centres without allied health professionals so I'm very very excited and hopefully we see the fruits of the labour in about 12 months time."

Professor Smith said the need in this region was a big consideration for choosing Parkes and Forbes for the program.

"It's also a community of opportunity: the size of the community, the chance for us to have a network of health professionals of volume to warrant bringing our students here, the fact there are two towns close together," she said.

"But at the end of the day it's also need.

"We need the whole health workforce.

"If you've broken your leg or had a serious accident it's the allied health professional who gets your back on your feet; it's the allied health professional who supports the child with a disability so the family continues to function."

Approximately $500,000 has been allocated to purchasing a house, with the balance funding the growth of clinical placements and support of students.

CSU has also committed some additional funding to support looking at accommodation options in Parkes as well.

Professor Smith said most CSU placements begin in April or May, and they hope to have the program up and running by the second half of the year.

Parkes Country Universities Centre hosted the dignitaries for the announcement: the CUC providing support and a venue for rural students to pursue their tertiary studies locally.

All three levels of government are backing the program, with State Member for Orange Phil Donato also welcoming the news.

"Allied health professionals ... are in such short supply in the bush and under such high demand in the bush," he said.

"This will go a long way to rectifying that problem.

"To be able to provide training, education, support, work placement for trainees, students to be able tot live here in reliable, affordable, safe accommodation while they're doing their studies is so important."

Send a letter to the editor by filling out the online form below.