Skill Assessment for Doctors in Australia: What Are Your Options?

Doctors in Australia

Australia is short on doctors, especially general practitioners. The growing population and the decreasing number of GPs are posing a challenge for the healthcare industry. To overcome this, Australia actively invites doctors to practice in the country. 

As a foreign doctor, you will have to be assessed before you can be granted your license to practice, as well as your visa. This assessment is done to test your competency, skills, and knowledge. This helps maintain the standard of healthcare in the country and helps in providing the best care to its people. 

Skill assessment for doctors in Australia can be done through different pathways depending on your experience, degree, etc.

Skill Assessment: What are the ways?

The immigration and citizenship policies of the Australian government have mandated the skill assessments of various skilled workers in order to obtain a visa. 

There are three different pathways for skill assessments for doctors, namely:

• Standard Pathway
• Competent Authority Pathway
• Specialist Pathway

You can select the pathway most appropriate to your case after looking at their eligibility criteria.

The time required and cost for the skill assessment vary significantly for different pathways. Ensure you learn all about your before proceeding.

Competent Authority Pathway:

Medical graduates who have been assessed by the authorities and are deemed competent by the Medical Board of Australia can go for this pathway. These are for students who have completed their medical education in the USA, UK, Canada, Ireland, or New Zealand. The competent authorities are listed here:

• National Board of Osteopathic Medical Examiners (USA)
• Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates of the United States (USA)
• General Medical Council, United Kingdom 
• Medical Council of Canada
• Medical Council of New Zealand
• Medical Council of Ireland

In this case, your skill assessment will consist of a 12-month supervised work period. After this, you can get your skill assessment certificate and apply for registration.

Specialist Pathway

This pathway is for specialists who have gained their specialist education outside of Australia. This assessment is done by the Australian Specialist Medical College in the relevant field, and the application is directly submitted there.

You can either apply for general recognition, apply to work in an area of need recognized by the Australian government, or apply for short-term training in Australia in your field of specialization. 

You can find more information for this pathway on our blog detailing all your options as an overseas-trained medical specialist. 

Standard Pathway

The Australian Medical Council is responsible for organising the skill assessment test for doctors who are eligible for the standard pathway. These tests are:

• AMC CAT MCQ Exam (AMC Exam 1)
• AMC Clinical Exam (AMC Exam 2)
• Workplace-Based Assessment Program (Alternative to AMC Exam 2)

Related Read: AMC Exam Process

Documentation Requirements for Skill Assessment

The documentation required for your skill assessment will differ as per your pathway selection. Below is a list of some of the general documents that you should have if you’re applying for any type of skill assessment:

1. Personal Identification (Passport, National ID, with clear photograph)
2. Medical Qualifications (Degrees, certificates, diplomas, etc.)
3. Transcript (Details on your course)
4. English Language Proficiency (IELTS or OET certificate with required score)
5. Third-party authorisation form (if applicable)
6. Professional Qualifications (previous work experience, if applicable)

What’s The Process for Skill Assessment of Doctors?

As a doctor or an international medical graduate (IMGs), here are some basic steps you need to follow to register for your skill assessment:

1. Check the eligibility of your degree and institute on the AMC portal and through the WDoMS site.
2. Create an EPIC account and perform the primary source verification of all your documents, as well as identification confirmation.
3. Ensure that you nominate the correct body to receive the report of the verification based on the pathway you have selected, for example, nominate AMC to get the reports if you are going for the standard pathway assessment.
4. Create an AMC account and then create your AMC portfolio.
5. Apply for the relevant skill assessment based on the pathway you’ve selected.

Skill Assessment Fees in Australia

Let’s see the basic fees for the different skill assessment pathways for doctors in Australia:

1. Competent Authority Pathway: The fee will vary depending on the organisation where you will do your supervised practice. 

You will need to pay for the AMC account and portfolio, and the EPIC services for primary source verification.

*Subject to change as per the currency exchange rate.

This cost will go up with every qualification. 

2. Standard Pathway: The fees for the skill assessment under the standard pathway consist of the creation of the AMC portfolio and EPIC account, in addition to the exam fees.

3. Specialist Pathway: The skill assessment fees here will also vary depending on the specialist college of medicine you’re associated with. For example, the Royal Australasian College for Surgeons’ fees for skill assessment start from $10,650 (INR 5,85,750). The fees can range from AUD 1500 (INR 82,500) to AUD 12,000 (INR 6,60,000).

Skill Assessment in Australia: Processing Time

The processing time for the skill assessment is largely dependent on the assessment pathway and the assessment exam.

• For the Specialist and Competent Authority pathway, the assessment usually lasts from 12 months to 24 months of supervised work.
• For the Standard pathway, the AMC exams 1 and 2 are 3.5 hours and 8 hours, respectively. You can get your results within 1 month of the exam.
• The Workplace-based assessment is a period of supervised work in a clinical setting. It can be anywhere from 6 to 12 months long.

Skill Assessment Exemption: 482 Visa Subclass

As we discussed earlier, Australia is experiencing a shortage of doctors. To deal with this, the Department of Home Affairs, Government of Australia, has modified requirements for skill assessment for some visa types held by foreign skilled workers.

The Temporary Skill Shortage or Skills in Demand visa (subclass 482) outlines a few cases in which a doctor can forgo skills assessment:

1. Already holds registration (full or provisional) with the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA).
2. Holds a TSS (subclass 482) or Temporary Work Skilled (Subclass 457) visa.
3. Already hold a position or are nominated by a recognised healthcare provider (hospital/clinic, etc.)
4. They are earning a high salary, upwards of $180,000.

To be eligible for this, you need to have the relevant qualifications, have your English proficiency certificate, and be nominated for the job by an approved sponsor. 

You can get more information on this on the official site of the Government of Australia.

Skill Assessment is the most important part of your move to Australia as a doctor. The assessment is thorough to maintain the standard of healthcare that Australia offers. Ensure that you are well prepared for this test with our immaculately curated and well-researched courses taught by experts in the field. 

And if you have any questions or confusion, you can consult our experts for free.