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The Australian medical profession is based on high standards of education and training for all medical personnel. The Australian Medical Council, together with the specialist medical colleges, ensures that every doctor coming to work here from outside Australia has been trained to equivalent standards.

As a general rule, if you trained in one of the following countries you will be eligible to apply for registration in either Australia or New Zealand:

• United Kingdom
• Republic of Ireland
• Western Europe i.e. Germany, Austria, Scandinavia, Italy, Belgium, Spain, Netherlands, Switzerland, France
• Canada
• United States of America
• Hong Kong
• Singapore

The more experience you have in your speciality, the better your chances are of securing a specialist post and achieving either Full or Conditional Registration with the State or Territory Medical Boards (for more details of Full and Conditional Registration see "Assessment by the AMC" below).

Also junior doctors from the above countries have an excellent chance of securing a "Resident" or "Intern" job.

Plexus Medical Recruitment is an ethical company and strongly supports the "Commonwealth of Nations Code of Practice for the International Recruitment of Health Workers."

As an overseas trained Doctor (OTD) wishing to work in Australia, you will fall into one of the following four categories:

• Specialist
• GP/Family Doctor
• Hospital non-specialist
• Postgraduate/Trainee Doctor

OTD's can apply for medical registration via one of two Pathways:-

• 1. The Standard Pathway
• 2. The Area Of Need (AON) Pathway

Please contact us to discuss your individual situation. We will be able to advise you on whether your application should best be submitted through the Standard Pathway or the AON Pathway. Once this has been decided, we will guide you through every step of the application process.

You can apply for either Full Registration or Conditional Registration. The application for each is similar, and consists of:-

• 1. An assessment by the Australian Medical Council (AMC), followed by
• 2. An assessment by the Specialist Colleges

The AMC will assess the following:

• Identity
• Ensuring that all required documentation has been provided
• English Proficiency. If you do not come from an English speaking country, then you are required to show proficiency in English by taking and passing the IELTS exam. More information can be found in FAQ 1.
• Basic Medical Qualification. If your Basic Medical Qualification is from a university recognised by the World Health Organisation (WHO), then you are eligible for registration.

Your application can be for either Full Registration or Conditional Registration:-

• Full Registration. This applies to:-
  • Graduates from Australian or New Zealand Medical Schools who have completed a period of intern training
  • Overseas Trained Doctors who have passed the AMC exam, and have completed supervised training approved by the relevant Australian State or Territory


• Conditional Registration. This applies to for Doctors who are not eligible for full registration. These Doctors may be eligible for the following categories:-
  • Postgraduate training
  • Supervised Training
  • Teaching and Research
  • Area Of Need
  • Overseas Trained Specialists

Following the assessment by the AMC, your application will be passed to the relevant specialist college, for assessment of your specialist training.

This process is similar whether you are applying through the Standard Pathway or the Area of Need Pathway (see "The Pathways Through Which You Can Apply for Registration", above).

Each college has developed its own set of guidelines about the assessment of OTD's.   Further, each case is assessed on an individual basis.

Generally, the college assessment will ensure that the training you have undergone is of an equivalent standard to the training of your Australian contemporaries.

If you apply through the Area Of Need Pathway, this process of Assessment by the Specialist Colleges is more focused on the qualifications and skills needed for the specific post for which you have applied. You may therefore be more likely to achieve registration via the Area Of Need Pathway.

For more information about the specialist colleges, please follow the links below. If your college is not yet represented, then please check here again, as we are constantly adding new information as it becomes available. The majority of specialist colleges are undergoing a review of their OTD assessment processes, and the information on this site changes frequently.

» Royal Australian College of General Practitioners
» Australian and New Zealand College of Anaesthetists
» Royal College of Pathologists of Australasia
» Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Radiologists
» Royal Australian College of Surgeons
» Royal Australian College of Physicians

Australian and New Zealand College of Anaesthetists has recently agreed to recognise fellowship of the Royal College of Anaesthetists (UK) or the College of Anaesthetists (Ireland) as equivalent fellowships and therefore if you hold either of these you will be accepted for specialist recognition.

Follow the ANZCA link for more information.