International medical graduates (IMGs) who wish to practice as a
medical practitioner in Australia must have their overseas medical qualifications verified by relevant authorities
before they will be permitted to practice.
IMG medical qualifications must be verified by the Australian
Medical Council (AMC) prior to applying to register to practise medicine.
All doctors practising medicine within Australia must be able to be
registered with the Medical Board of Australia.
There are 4 pathways to medical registration for IMGs in Australia:
The AMC website contains comprehensive information for IMGs on the different assessment pathways for registration for IMGs (external site). They provide a self-assessment check (external site) to help IMGs clarify which pathway is relevant.
Competent Authority Pathway
- The Competent Authority pathway is for overseas-trained non-specialists, but is also available to
specialists, including general practitioners. This pathway leads to general registration.
- IMGs who have passed recognised examinations or have completed training through a Medical Board of Australia
approved competent authority, can apply for assessment under this pathway.
- IMGs applying for the Competent Authority pathway should apply directly to the Medical Board of Australia for
provisional registration.
International authorities competent to assess
- United Kingdom – General Medical Council (GMC) and Professional and Linguistics Assessment Board (PLAB)
examination or graduates of GMC-accredited medical courses in the UK
- Canada – Licentiate examinations of the Medical Council of Canada (LMCC)
- United States – United States Medical Licensing Examination of the Federation of State Medical Boards
(FSMB) and the National Board of Medical Examiners (NBME)
- New Zealand – Medical Council of New Zealand Registration EXamination (NZREX)
- Ireland – medical courses accredited by the Medical Council of Ireland.
The Medical Board of Australia provides further information about
the Competent
Authority Pathway (external site) and application process.
Specialist Pathway
The Specialist pathway is for the following IMGs:
- overseas-trained specialists applying for assessment of comparability to the standard of a specialist trained in
that specialty in Australia (specialist recognition), and
- overseas-trained specialists applying for an area of need specialist level position in Australia (area of need).
IMGs apply directly to the specialist medical college for the
Specialist pathway.
The Medical Board of Australia provides further information on the
Specialist
Pathway (external site).
Standard Pathway
The standard pathway (external site) is
for IMGs seeking general registration with the Medical Board of Australia who are not eligible for the Competent
Authority Pathway or the Specialist Pathway.
IMGs should apply directly to the
Australian Medical Council (AMC). There are a number of eligibility requirements. Visit the AMC
website for a full list of
requirements.
AMC Certificate
The AMC Certificate is a requirement to
apply for general registration with the Medical Board of Australia.
There are two ways to achieve AMC
Certificate under this pathway. Both ways require IMG applicants to successfully pass the AMC Computer Adaptive Test Multiple Choice Questionnaire
(external site) (AMC CAT MCQ). In addition to the AMC CAT MSQ, applicants will need to successfully pass
one of the following:
Successful completion of the pathway (AMC
CAT MCQ examination + Clinical Examination or AMC CAT MCQ examination + WBA) results in awarding of the AMC
Certificate.
Standard Pathway: AMC Clinical Examination
Most IMG applicants are assessed through
the AMC CAT MCQ and AMC Clinical Examination. The AMC website provides more information on the clinical examination process (external
website).
Workplace Based Assessment
Workplace-based assessment (WBA) is an assessment program; it is not a bridging or training course.
WBA programs assess an IMG’s clinical skills and knowledge at the level expected of an Australian
medical graduate at the end of the postgraduate year 1 (PGY1) or internship level. All WBA programs are
accredited
with the AMC. For a full list of current providers of Workplace Based Assessment across Australia visit the Australian
Medical Council website (external site).
A candidate who accepts a place in a WBA program cannot
apply for the AMC Clinical Exam during the 12-month period of the WBA Program. If a
candidate is already enrolled in the AMC Clinical Exam for the year of WBA commencement, they will need to
withdraw
to be accepted into the WBA program for that year.
It is the responsibility of each IMG
to:
- ensure they obtain sufficient experience across the six clinical areas of emergency
medicine, adult surgery, adult medicine, paediatrics, women’s health, and mental health
- complete all assessments in accordance with the AMC approved WBA requirements
- undertake pre-reading and appropriate clinical experience to develop skills in
preparation for assessments.
WA Health provides workplace-based assessment programs at:
Find out more about WBA Programs at WA Health.
*New Programs at Rockingham General Hospital and Armadale Health Service have limited places available for
IMGs without prior experience working in the WA health care system. IMGs in this category will need to
successfully complete a period of unpaid observership, generally 6-16 weeks in duration, depending on individual
knowledge and experience. Expressions of Interest for the IMG Observership Program are advertised on MedJobs (external site). Candidates who successfully complete the
requirements of the observership program may be invited to undertake a 12-month Workplace Based Assessment
Program at Rockingham General Hospital or Armadale Health Service. Completion of an unpaid observership
program is not a guarantee to entry in a WBA
Program.
Short-term training in a medical specialty pathway
The short term training in a medical specialty pathway is for IMGs
who are overseas-trained specialists or specialists-in-training wishing to undertake a short period (usually up to
24 months) of specialist or advanced training in Australia.
This pathway does not lead to registration as a specialist in
Australia. IMGs seeking to qualify for specialist registration apply for registration via the specialist pathway -
specialist recognition.
The Medical Board of Australia provides further information on Short
term training in a medical specialty pathway (external site).