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Our Region

Our Region

A diverse landscape of training and life experience.

Our Region

The Northern Queensland training region

Trainees in northern Queensland have access to a wide range of hospital and health settings of varying sizes and capabilities, all offering a diverse case mix and hands-on opportunities.

Our focus is NQ’s six health services: Cairns and Hinterland, Central West, Mackay, North West, Torres and Cape, and Townsville.

Northern Queensland has a vivid and diverse mix of people and landscapes, from beaches, mountains, spectacular rainforests, farmland, savannah country and wilderness to the red soil of the Australian Outback. Discover more about the northern Queensland region:

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Cairns region

The Cairns region provides an extensive range of health services to a population of approximately 250,000. The area spans over 142,900 square kilometres, from Cairns to Tully in the south, Cow Bay in the north and Croydon in the west. More than 20% of the population is aged over 60, which is one third higher than the national average. Tourism is a key industry and contributes to a relatively high transient population. It is estimated that 14% of the population are Indigenous Australian, compared to 3.5% for Queensland as a whole.

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Cairns region
Central West region

The Central West region spans 396,650 square kilometres and includes the communities of remote central western Queensland from Tambo, in the south-east, to Boulia in the northwest.
The Central West Hospital and Health Service serve a population of approximately 12,400 persons with the addition of a range of visitors during the winter months.

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Central West region
Mackay region

The Mackay region provides extensive health services in a range of regional, community and rural settings, to a population of approximately 180,000 people.

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Mackay region
North West region

The North West Hospital and Health Service covers an area of over 300,000 square kilometres and services the rural and remote communities within North Western Queensland and the Gulf of Carpentaria. The region includes the city of Mount Isa and the towns and areas of Burketown, Camooweal, Cloncurry, Dajarra, Doomadgee, Julia Creek, Karumba, Normanton and Mornington Island.

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North West region
Torres and Cape region

The Torres and Cape Hospital Health and Service  delivers health services to more than 25,000 people who are located across Cape York, the Northern Peninsula area and the Torres Strait Islands. 60 per cent of the population in the Torres and Cape Hospital and Health Service region identify as Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander.

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Torres and Cape region
Townsville region

The Townsville region has a geographic footprint of 148,000 square kilometres and is home to approximately 238,614 people. The region covers from Cardwell in the north, Richmond in the west and Ayr and Home Hill in the south.

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Townsville region

Explore medical training in northern Queensland

NQRTH is an initiative of the Australian Government's Integrated Rural Training Pipeline (IRTP) and is facilitated by James Cook University in partnership with public and private hospitals, Queensland Aboriginal and Islander Health Council (QAIHC), health services, Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisations (ACCHOs) and GP clinics.

Cairns region
(07) 4226 8187

Central West region
(07) 4764 1547

Mackay region
(07) 4885 7122

North West region
(07) 4764 1547

Torres and Cape region
(07) 4095 6103

Townsville region
(07) 4781 3424