Fast track registration pathway expanded

20 Dec 2024

Pathway opens to psychiatrists and anaesthetists relocating from similar health systems 

Well-credentialled internationally trained psychiatrists and anaesthetists from similar health systems will be able to access a new fast track registration pathway so Australian patients can access their services sooner. 

The expedited specialist pathway – a fast track to specialist medical registration that opened to specialist general practitioners in October this year – will be extended to eligible internationally qualified psychiatrists and anaesthetists this month. 

Under the expanded pathway, Specialist International Medical Graduates (SIMGs) with the following qualifications will be able to apply for registration directly to Ahpra and the Medical Board of Australia from 23 December:

Anaesthesia:

• Ireland: Fellowship of the College of Anaesthesiologists of Ireland (CAI), together with a Certificate of Satisfactory Completion of Specialist Training (CSCST), awarded under any CAI curriculum from July 2012 to date following satisfactory completion of a Specialist Anaesthesiology Training Programme (SAT) in Ireland.
  
  
• United Kingdom: Fellowship of the Royal College of Anaesthetists (RCoA) and a Certificate of Completion of Training (CCT) issued by the General Medical Council or the Postgraduate Medical Education and Training Board, awarded under any RCoA curriculum from August 2007 to date following satisfactory completion of a General Medical Council or Postgraduate Medical Education and Training Board approved specialist training program (in the United Kingdom).
  
  
• All applicants will be required to successfully complete an Effective Management of Anaesthetic Crisis (EMAC) course as recommended by ANZCA, in line with the requirement for all other trainees and SIMGs undertaking anaesthetics training. 

Psychiatry:

• United Kingdom: Membership of the Royal College of Psychiatrists (MRCPsych) and a Certificate of Completion of Training (CCT), awarded under any RCPsych curriculum from August 2007 to date following satisfactory completion of a General Medical Council or Postgraduate Medical Education and Training Board approved specialty training program in psychiatry in the United Kingdom.

Eligible internationally qualified specialist obstetricians and gynaecologists will be able to access the pathway from early 2025, after the Australian Medical Council (AMC) has completed the required, robust qualifications assessment process and the Medical Board of Australia has approved specific qualifications.

The gateway to the pathway is a list of pre-approved qualifications (the Expedited Specialist Pathway: accepted qualifications list). The qualifications on the list have been proposed by the specialist medical colleges, assessed by the Australian Medical Council (AMC) and approved by the Medical Board of Australia for the accepted qualifications list.

It opened for eligible internationally qualified GPs on 21 October 2024 and by 17 December 2024 96 GPs had applied through the pathway. Five GPs are already registered and the rest are in the pipeline, most of them gathering the necessary evidence. Around 80% of applicants are from the United Kingdom.

Ahpra is currently receiving between 10 and 15 applications each week from GPs, with most applications waiting on additional evidence or information from candidates.

Jurisdictions have confirmed that general medicine, general paediatrics and diagnostic radiology will be the next priorities for the Expedited specialist pathway in 2025.

The qualifications assessment process for these specialties, involving the Medical Board, the AMC and whenever possible the specialist colleges for these specialties, will begin in early 2025.

Contact us

• Media enquiries: (03) 8708 9200 or media@ahpra.gov.au