Anne Guthrie arrived bright and early for her occupational therapy appointment at Rockhampton's new Allied Health Clinic, located at CQUniversity. As workers put the finishing touches on some external features, she was welcomed as the 'first client' for the facility.

The Clinic has been established to cater for up to 160 patients each day. Queensland Health professionals located on campus are also providing clinical placements for students (about 200 placements annually at an average length of 6.2 weeks) to train the next generation of local health workers.

Anne Guthrie breaks into a smile after finding she's the first client for the new Allied Health Clinic on Rockhampton Campus

CQUniversity Vice-Chancellor Professor Scott Bowman said Allied Health students will not only learn their own specialty at the clinic; they'll also get used to working alongside their counterparts from other health areas.

"The end result will be well-rounded students who, because they've been trained in a regional setting, will be more likely to seek professional roles in rural and regional areas after graduating," Professor Bowman said.

Stage 1 services open to the public will include occupational therapy, speech pathology, oral health, physiotherapy, podiatry and nutrition.

Health Workforce Australia provided almost $12 million to the University, comprising $6 million toward the building of the clinic and its fit-out and equipment, and a further $6 million for, among other things, clinical placements for health students. The University is chipping in another $3 million towards equipment and courses.

The Federal Government has earmarked another $16 million for Stage 2 of the project as part of CQUniversity's proposed merger with Central Queensland Institute of TAFE, to become a dual-sector institution.

Principal contractor Murphy Builders Queensland completed the Clinic, which was project-managed by Shirley Hynes from the Directorate of Facilities Management (DFM).