Areas of specialty in the healthcare system

In order to practise as a specialist in Australia, you must have completed postgraduate qualifications and have gained appropriate clinical experience in one of the medical specialties recognised by the Australian Medical Council (AMC).

The AMC has a list of the recognised fields of specialist practice in Australia. You should also contact the appropriate Specialist Medical Colleges for further information.

Please note that while general practice (family medicine) is listed as a field of specialist practice by the AMC, not all State and Territory Medical Boards recognise it as such.

You should also be aware that some States and Territories use different terminology to describe specialties, although differences tend to be minor. While these differences are unlikely to cause problems, it would be wise to check with the Medical Board in the State or Territory in which you wish to work in to find out how they describe your field of medical expertise.

If you do not have qualifications in one of the recognised fields of specialist practice in Australia, you should also contact the Medical Boards to see if you might be eligible to practise with conditional registration in certain positions of employment (i.e. in a prevocational position).