Requirements to practise for Medical practitioners

International Medical Graduates (IMGs) who are not eligible for General or Specialist Registration with the MBA are to be registered pursuant to the Limited Registration provision of the Health Practitioner Regulation National Law Act 2009.

The Scheme consists of a Ministerial Council, an independent Australian Health Workforce Advisory Council, a national agency with an Agency Management Committee, national profession specific boards (e.g.Medical Board of Australia -(MBA), committees of the boards, and a national office to support the operations of the Scheme (Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency -AHPRA).

• accreditation of medical education and training in Australia; and
• assessment and recognition of qualifications of medical graduates trained outside Australia and New Zealand for the purpose of registration.

The AMC administers two national examinations for non specialist doctors wishing to progress to eligibility for general registration in the state where they are practising. These two examinations are designed to assess for registration purposes the medical knowledge and clinical skills for IMGs. The exams are run multiple times during the calendar year and in a number of Australian states.

The Board has a range of policies and guidelines and these can be found on the AMC website.

• Competent Authority
• Standard Pathway
• Specialist Pathway

• General registration
• Specialist registration
• Provisional registration
• Limited registration
• Non-practising registration

The Board can also grant student registration to medical students undertaking an approved program of study.

Registration standards define the requirements that applicants, registrants or students need to meet to be registered. The Medical Board of Australia has developed the following registration standards:

• Continuing Professional Development Registration Standard (322 KB,PDF)
• Criminal History Registration Standard (321 KB,PDF)
• English Language Skills Registration Standard (325 KB,PDF)
• Limited registration for area of need Registration Standard (434 KB,PDF)
• Limited registration for postgraduate training (supervised practice) Registration Standard (377 KB,PDF)
• List of specialties, fields and related titles Registration Standard (426 KB,PDF)
• Professional Indemnity Insurance Registration Standard (321 KB,PDF)
• Recency of Practice Registration Standard (218 KB,PDF)
• Limited Registration for Teaching or Research Registration Standard (259 KB,PDF)

• A Queensland Health PESCI is one of the assessments of clinical knowledge and skills which an IMG must undergo as part of the nationally consistent assessment process.  A PESCI is an assessment of clinical knowledge and experience using a set of structured questions and scenarios, in an interview situation. More specific information can be found by clicking here.

English Language Skills

• All internationally qualified applicants for medical registration, or applicants who qualified for medical registration in Australia but did not complete their secondary education in English, must demonstrate that they have the necessary English language skills for registration purposes.