Standard pathway

The standard pathway for specialist assessment is for overseas trained specialists (OTSs) who wish to practise independently/unsupervised in Australia.

Although the State and Territory Medical Boards are responsible for the registration of doctors, application for the recognition of your specialist qualifications must be made through the Australian Medical Council (AMC). The AMC will make an assessment of your documentation to ensure you are eligible to proceed to assessment by verifying your:

• identity,
• English proficiency,
• primary medical and specialist qualifications, and
• making sure that all required documentation has been provided (Note: incomplete or inaccurate documentation is the major cause of delay in processing applications).

If deemed eligible for assessment, the AMC will forward the application to the appropriate Australian Specialist Medical College for assessment of your specialist qualifications.

The Australian Specialist Colleges adopt a rigorous process to assess whether an OTS’s training and professional experience---for the full range of specialist medical services identified in the relevant college training syllabus---is equivalent to that of an Australian trained specialist currently entering the workforce.

Once an assessment has been made by the Australian College, they notify the AMC, which then informs the applicant regarding the outcome of the College's assessment.

If an applicant is assessed as ‘not equivalent’, or the College requires them to undertake further training and assessment before being eligible for registration to practise independently/unsupervised, there are other options they may pursue to practise medicine in Australia. An OTS may apply to:

• to be assessed under the Area of Need pathway for work as a specialist in an Area of Need position;
• work as a hospital non-specialist in the public hospital system (Please note: an OTS may not provide unsupervised specialist medical services in either the public hospital or private system without registration to practise in that specialty); or
• undertake postgraduate training; or
• the relevant Medical Board may grant restricted registration for an OTS to work under supervision in order to complete College requirements for specialist recognition.

You will find a summary of the various training and examination requirements of the Specialist Medical Colleges on the AMC’s website. You should also check the requirements of the relevant Specialist Medical Colleges through their websites.

If the OTS will be treating private patients in the position, he/she will need to understand Medicare provider number restrictions and obtain specialist recognition for Medicare billing purposes.