What qualifications do you need to work as a GP in Australia?

The Australian Government introduced vocational registration program in 1989 to consider general practice as a specific specialty in its own right, to improve professional standards and to reward high-quality practice financially.

 

Since mid- 2010, the Fellowship of the Royal Australian and College of General Practitioners (RACGP) or Fellowship of the Australian College of Rural and Remote Medicine (ACRRM) are the Specialist qualifications required to be vocationally recognised as a GP in Australia.

The Australian College of Rural and Remote Medicine (ACCRM) has a range of pathways with a focus on rural and remote practice.

Most International General Practice/Family medicine specialist qualifications are deemed eligible for RACGP comparability assessment; however, some may require an initial qualification eligibility assessment by the RACGP.

If your specialist qualification is deemed eligible, you can apply for a comparability assessment and will receive an outcome of Substantially/Partially or not comparable.  Substantially comparable doctors are eligible for Fellowship ad eundem gradum. Partially comparable doctors are required to complete further education and examinations and will be expected to obtain fellowship within 24 months.

The following qualifications are generally deemed substantially comparable subject to meeting the recency/continuity of practice and CPD requirements:

  • Membership of the Royal College of General Practitioners – UK (except for MRCGP – Int)
  • Membership of the Irish College of General Practitioners – Ireland
  • Fellowship of the Royal New Zealand College of General Practitioners – New Zealand
  • Certification in The College of Family Physicians of Canada - Canada

Benefit from our in-house Regulatory and Migration team expertise. All our Doctors have access to expert advice on immigration visas and applications for AHPRA and Medicare.


What qualifications do you need to work as a GP in New Zealand?

The two main pathways for medical registration in New Zealand are as follows:

Competent Authority pathway

To be eligible to apply for this pathway you must:

  • hold a primary medical degree from a university medical school accredited by the UK or Ireland; and
  • hold full or general registration in the UK or Ireland, or
  • have completed your internship within the UK or Irish jurisdictions; and satisfy Council’s English language requirements.

Comparable Health

To be eligible to apply for this pathway you must:

  • have worked in a comparable health system for a minimum of 30 hours per week for at least 33 out of the last 48 months (for at least 30 hours per week); and
  • hold full or general registration in the comparable health system; and
  • have proposed employment in New Zealand in the same or a similar area of medicine and at a similar level of responsibility to the work you have been doing in a comparable health system* for the last 33 out of 48 months.

*The following countries are deemed to be in a comparable health system:

Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Israel, Italy, Norway, Portugal, Republic of Ireland, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, The Netherlands, United Kingdom, United States of America.

Both pathways lead to the attainment of provisional general registration with the Medical Council of New Zealand, which requires you to work under the supervision of a registered GP for at least the first 6 months before you can progress to a general scope of practice.

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