Negotiated policy spaces: Identifying tensions for rural professionals in delivering their statutory responsibilities

This paper provides a deeper understanding of the nature of tensions in work-life balance for professionals with statutory responsibilities living in the rural and remote communities they serve. Both qualitative and quantitative methods are used to map the terrain of rural and remote statutory work and to investigate the nature of the relationships among professionals and between them and their local communities. Responses to an online survey involving 801 practitioners from a range of professional disciplines such as police, teachers, social workers, medical practitioners, nurses, paramedics and other professions are analysed. At the time of the survey, 612 of the participants (76%) lived within a rural or remote area, and 22% had graduated within the previous 5 years. The majority (69%) worked in some capacity within the State Government, 5% in private practice and 12% in Non-Government Organisations (NGOs). The discussion in this paper allows a greater awareness not only of constraints on the effectiveness with which legislative requirements can be implemented in such settings, but also of multi-disciplinary perspective can assist in addressing issues faced by all professional groups.