Fast track pathway to specialist registration opens 21 October

14 Oct 2024

Australia’s health ministers have approved the registration standard that paves the way for a range of specialist international medical graduate (SIMG) reforms.

A new fast-track pathway to specialist registration for eligible internationally qualified medical specialists will open on 21 October 2024.

The new Expedited Specialist pathway will allow well credentialled international medical specialists from similar health systems to see Australian patients sooner. It is designed to remove unnecessary regulatory barriers and increase the number of SIMGs seeing patients in Australia, while maintaining high standards.

The gateway to the Expedited Specialist pathway is a list of pre-approved qualifications.

Medical specialists with a qualification on the Board’s Expedited specialist pathway: accepted qualifications list can apply directly to the Medical Board/Ahpra for specialist registration, rather than be assessed individually by a specialist college.

Specialist GPs with one of the following accepted qualifications will be eligible to apply through the new pathway from 21 October:

• Membership of the Irish College of General Practitioners (MICGP) from 2009 and a Certificate of Satisfactory Completion of Specialist Training (CSCST)
• Fellowship of the Royal New Zealand College of General Practitioners (FRNZCGP) from 2012
• Membership of the Royal College of General Practitioners (United Kingdom) from 2007 and a Certificate of Completion of Training (CCT).

Specific specialist qualifications in anaesthetics, obstetrics and gynaecology, psychiatry will be added to the accepted list in December 2024, after a rigorous qualifications assessment process.

Jurisdictions are choosing the next specialties for the Expedited Specialist pathway, based on workforce priorities.

Rigorous qualifications assessment

A rigorous qualifications assessment process underpins the Expedited Specialist pathway:

• Specialist colleges are asked to nominate international specialist qualifications that they have generally accepted as substantially comparable to approved qualifications, through the existing Specialist pathway
• The Australian Medical Council (AMC), in consultation with specialist colleges, exhaustively assesses each proposed international specialist qualification against an established qualifications assessment framework and recommends specific qualifications to the Medical Board
• The Medical Board decides which international specialist qualifications will be included on the Expedited Specialist pathway: accepted qualifications list.

All three qualifications on the accepted list were proposed by the specialist colleges (the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) and the Australian College of Rural and Remote Medicine (ACCRM)), assessed by the AMC against the assessment framework, and approved by the Medical Board as substantially equivalent or based on similar competencies to an approved qualification. (Approved qualifications are the qualifications awarded by the accredited Australasian specialist colleges.)

Safety checks and balances

There are additional strict safety checks and balances in place to make sure new specialists coming to Australia on this pathway are safe to practise.

Specialists on the Expedited Specialist pathway must meet the same registration standards as all other specialists and doctors – including English language, criminal history, recency of practice.

Each SIMG on the Expedited Specialist pathway will be supervised for six months by an Australian-registered specialist, have an orientation to Australia’s health system and do mandatory cultural safety education.

A national Medical Board committee, made up of doctors and community members, will make all registration decisions about individuals on the Expedited Specialist pathway.

Context

The Medical Board of Australia and Ahpra developed the Expedited Specialist pathway at the request of Australia’s health ministers, against ambitious timelines.

Developing the pathway was among the reform recommendations made by the independent Kruk Review into health practitioner regulatory settings.

The current Specialist pathway to registration will continue for SIMGs who are not eligible for the Expedited Specialist pathway. This will continue to involve an individual college assessment.

There are also transition arrangements in place for SIMGs who are on the Specialist Pathway who are eligible for the Expedited Specialist pathway.

The registration standard has been published on the Medical Board website as has the Ministerial Council directions and approvals.