Any doctor who has worked for more than a few months in Australia will likely have worked alongside a UK doctor who has decided to work in Australia. Whether this is for a short-term working holiday or a permanent move. Although you may graduate with a medical degree from the United Kingdom, you may not want to work there for your entire career (or ever!). For UK doctors it is certainly worth considering what your options are in Australia.
Can a UK doctor work in Australia?
The short answer is, yes. The United Kingdom provides the largest source of overseas doctors or International Medical Graduates (IMGs) working in Australia. This is because the undergraduate and postgraduate training systems between the UK and Australia are quite similar which makes transferring between the two a relatively simple process. At least on the Australia end of the transfer.
UK doctors have good success coming to Australia. For the years 2016-2021, 1261 UK specialists were approved to work in Australia under what is called the specialist pathway (which includes 2 years heavily affected by COVID-19). And many more UK trainee doctors made the move to Australia during that time via what is called the competent authority pathway.
So the prospects for working in Australia as a UK doctor are extremely good. UK medical qualifications are recognised by the Australian Medical Council and Medical Board in Australia as being of high quality. However, there are a number of processes and requirements that need to be met in order for registration to be granted.
In order to give you the detail you need. I have highlighted that there are two main options for getting registered. So we will talk about these first and then go into some other common questions.
Step 1 For Any UK Doctor Wanting to Work in Australia. Work Out Your Pathway.
The Competent Authority Pathway. The Option For Trainee UK Doctors Australia.
If you are a trainee doctor in the UK. Then you are looking at the competent authority pathway for working in Australia.
The competent authority pathway assigns a preferential status to any doctor who has completed their primary medical training in one of the following countries: the United Kingdom, Canada, the United States, and the Republic of Ireland.
There is largely
New Zealand is not included in the list above as its medical schools are accredited by the same body as Australian medical schools, the Australian Medical Council. So doctors from New Zealand in Australia are generally treated identically as those from Australia.
If you are an international medical graduate and you have achieved general registration in the United States, Canada, or the United Kingdom (but not the Republic of Ireland) you are also eligible for the competent authority pathway.
What are the steps involved in the competent authority pathway?
You can find out more about the competent authority pathway on the Medical Board of Australia website.
The key steps for the competent authority pathway are as follows:
- Securing an employment offer.
- Applying to the Australian Medical Council for primary source verification.
- Applying for registration to the Medical Board of Australia.
- Completing 12 months of supervised practice.
- Applying again to the Medical Board of Australia for general registration.
Eligibility for Competent Authority
You can do a “self-assessment of your eligibility for the competent authority pathway on the Medical Board of Australia website here.
The essential requirements are:
You need to be a graduate of a medical course conducted by a medical school in the United Kingdom which is accredited by the General Medical Council
AND
Successfully complete Foundation Year 1, or complete 12 months of supervised training (internship equivalent) in the United Kingdom, or complete 12 months of supervised training (internship equivalent) in another Medical Board of Australia approved competent authority country, which is also approved by the GMC.
OR if you are an IMG who has been working in the United Kingdom you need to
Successfully complete the Professional and Linguistic Assessments Board (PLAB) test
AND
Successfully complete the Foundation Year 1, or 12 months supervised training (internship equivalent) in the United Kingdom, or 12 months supervised training (internship equivalent) completed in another Medical Board Australia approved competent authority country, approved by the GMC.
For this reason, doctors who have completed medical school in another European Union country are often unable to get registered in Australia via working in the United Kingdom as they are often not required to complete the PLAB.
How Do I Prove My Supervised Training? What Evidence is Required?

From the Medical Board of Australia, current at the time of posting – please do your own checks.
As per above the requirement to prove 12 months of supervised training is fairly liberal and essentially requires you to demonstrate that you have practised at an FY1 level or superior for the minimum of 12 months.
What types of jobs can I apply for as a UK Trainee?
You can pretty much apply for any sort of trainee job. There are often a number of postgraduate year 2 or 3 general jobs on offer. They are generally termed Resident Medical Officers in most States and Territories, but may also be called House Officers or Hospital Medical Officers in some places.
Above these sorts of posts, come the specialty training positions. Australia’s specialty training system is fairly much in parallel with the United Kingdom. So you tend to enter specialty training around postgraduate year 3. These positions are generally referred to as Registrar positions. But you might also see advertised as Senior House Officer or Trainee or Advanced Trainee.
One key thing to look out for is that most of these jobs will not accept an overseas applicant.
A key thing to look for is the phrase “eligible for registration” in the selection criteria.
It is very important to try and secure an employment offer. Whilst you can apply to the Australian Medical Council to check your primary medical degree at any stage. You won’t be able to gain registration until you have an offer of employment. This is because the Medical Board needs to see a supervision plan from your employer.
Outside of general practice, the majority of employment opportunities for trainee doctors occur within public hospitals. So your best places for finding suitable job postings are on the State and Territory health department recruitment sites. We have a listing of these on our international doctors’ resource page.
What Type of Supervision Do I Need Or Get?
The Medical Board of Australia is very vigilant around supervision standards for IMG doctors. What sort of supervision you receive will depend on a number of factors, including:
- your qualifications
- your previous experience, especially in the type of position for which you have applied
- whether you have practised recently and the scope of your recent practice
- the requirements of the position including the type of skills required for the position
- the position itself, including the level of risk, the location of the hospital or practice and the availability of supports (supervisors)
- the seniority of the position, for a hospital position
In general, you will either be approved for Level 1 or Level 2 Supervision. There are 4 Levels and the higher up you go the less direct oversight you require.
Level 1 Supervision.
Level 1 Supervision requires your supervisor (or alternative supervisor) to be present in the hospital or practice with you at all times and you must consult with them about all patients. Remote supervision (for e.g. by telephone) is not permitted. This type of supervision is generally recommended when you are very junior yourself or entering a junior role with which you are not very familiar with. In Australian major public hospitals, there are many layers of other doctors from who you can get supervision from. So Level 1 is not too much of an issue in these circumstances.
Level 2 Supervision.
Level 2 Supervision, which is what most UK trainees approved to work in Australia will normally be approved for is a step up from Level 1 Supervision. Supervision must primarily be in person but your supervisor can leave you to do work on your own and you can discuss by phone. You should discuss with them on a regular (daily) basis what you have been doing with patients. But do not need to discuss every case.
Level 3 Supervision.
Level 3 Supervision, is what you might receive if you are working in an Advanced Trainee role in the UK and transferring to something similar in Australia. In this case, you have much more primary responsibility for the patient. Your supervisor needs to make regular contact with you but can be working elsewhere and available by phone or video.
What happens after I commence my position?
Once you are approved for registration and you have your visa issues sorted you will be able to commence work. Generally, your employer helps you out with all these things. You will be working under what is called “provisional registration” by the Medical Board of Australia.
Generally, all you need to do for these 12 months is to pay attention, show that you can learn and grow and get regular feedback from your supervisors. Your supervisors will need to complete regular reports for the Medical Board of Australia and it is your responsibility, not theirs to see that they are completed and returned on time. If all the reports go well you will be able to be recommended at the end of the 12 months for general registration.
You will probably be starting to look for another job or negotiating an extension around this time. With general registration, you may be able to apply for a skilled visa, as well as be looking at applying for permanent residency.
Permanent residency is crucial for applying for most specialty training programs. See below.
The Specialist Pathway. The Option For UK Specialists
For UK specialists your option for working in Australia is what is called the Specialist Pathway.
Once again this starts with becoming verified as a doctor with the Australian Medical Council and should again coincide with an active search for a position.
You may be lucky enough to be in a targeted specialty area where you might successfully be approved for what is called an Area of Need position, in which case the employer or recruitment agent will provide you with a lot of support and will likely pick up the costs of being assessed.
For most International Doctor specialists however these days you will be approaching the college directly to be assessed for specialist recognition. This is not something to be trifled with. The paperwork requirements and the cost (generally around $10,000 AUD or more) are considerable.
On the plus side, the colleges all have reasonably helpful information on their websites, including the application forms and a little bit about their criteria for assessment.
The Key Steps for the Specialist Pathway Are As Follows:
- Apply to the Australian Medical Council for primary degree and postgraduate degree source verification
- Apply to the relevant college for a comparability assessment.
- Apply for a suitable job offer.
- Apply for registration with the Medical Board of Australia.
- Complete 12 to 24 months of supervised practice +/- examinations.
- Applying again to the Medical Board of Australia for specialist registration.
Finding Out What You Need To Do.
We have saved you the trouble of finding those pages by putting them on our International Doctors resource page here.
The majority of UK specialties (but not all) map to a similar college or specialty in Australia. So working out which specialty goes into which Australian college is generally not too confusing. We have put together a summary of the Australian specialist medical colleges here.
After you go through your specialist assessment you are given an outcome.
In the majority of cases for UK specialists, you will be deemed substantially comparable. This essentially means that you will need to work under some form of peer review for up to 12 months and so long as your reports are satisfactory you will be recommended for specialist registration at the end.
Occasionally UK specialists are deemed to be partially comparable (a situation where this may occur is if you have just recently finished specialty training but have not worked as a specialist for very long). In this
Rarely are UK specialists deemed not to be comparable by the college. This only happened to 6 out of 409 UK doctors in 2017 (less than 1%). If you are deemed to be not comparable, this means you cannot directly become a specialist in Australia. You will probably have to go through the competent authority route and re-enter training in Australia.
How to Maximize Your Chances of Getting a Substantially Comparable Outcome.
To ensure that you are seen as substantially comparable by the relevant college I would recommend the following:
- You should have your Certificate of Completion of Training and relevant college Fellowship
- You should ideally have worked substantively at a Consultant level in your field for 3 years or more
- You should be able to demonstrate good standing with the GMC and your employers
- You should be able to demonstrate ongoing continuing professional development
- You should prepare for your interview with the college as if it were an important job interview
Can you enter training in Australia if you are a UK doctor?
To undertake formal specialty training in Australia you need to be accepted into a college training program. In all circumstances, you will need general registration and in many cases permanent residency or citizenship.
After receiving your general registration UK doctors can apply for specialty training in the same way that Australian-trained doctors do. And if accepted will go through the exact training program and experience. Some colleges may offer recognition of prior learning for any UK training you have done already. But this is often quite limited and may at best normally shave one year off of your training.
Can you do your internship in Australia as a UK doctor?
Basically no. Internship in Australia is a provisional year that only applies to medical graduates from medical schools in Australia and New Zealand. There is a “loophole” that only applies to doctors who have not been able to complete an internship or equivalent in their own country. But the Medical Board warns that this is not a great option and is only granted in limited cases. You are far better off applying for the Foundation Program in the UK and completing at least Foundation Year 1.
How many UK doctors are working in Australia?
There is no one public data source to tell us how many UK doctors are currently working in Australia.
From data collected by the Australian Government, we know that for UK trainee doctors for 2018 (latest available year):
- 639 applications were made for provisional registration via the competent authority pathway by UK doctors with 623 granted provisional registration
- An additional 36 applications were made for provisional registration via the competent authority pathway by doctors who had completed the PLAB in the UK, with most of these also being granted provisional registration
We also now know that for the year 2021 40 UK-trained specialists applied to work in Australia with all being deemed comparable.
2021 was not a very indicative year however as it was strongly affected by COVID-19
In 2019, 249 UK specialists applied for comparability in Australia with 240 being granted approval.
In 2017, 430 UK specialists applied for comparability in Australia with 418 being granted approval.
How hard is it to become a specialist in Australia if you are from the UK?
Specialist doctors from the United Kingdom are not automatically granted specialist recognition. However, most are. As you can see from above in 2019 there were 430 applications made for specialist assessment to the Australian colleges by UK doctors and of these, the majority were deemed substantially comparable.
UK doctors tend to get a very
We hope that you found this summary about how UK doctors can work in Australia useful. If you have any questions or queries or just want to relate your experience. Please feel free to leave a comment below. We would love to hear from UK doctors who have made the journey to Australia.
Are there any particular specialties that are easier to apply for?
The majority of specialties have some vacancies and will provide opportunities for the UK and other IMG doctors from time to time. This is particularly the case if you are prepared to go outside of the major cities. Some areas of medicine are more popular and so finding jobs in areas such as most surgical fields, as well as other fields such as cardiology can be quite difficult.
On the other end of the spectrum general practice, psychiatry and most parts of critical care medicine are often always looking for doctors.
Costs of Moving To Australia and Working As a Doctor.
There are lots of costs to consider when thinking about moving to Australia to work as a doctor.
There are some direct costs to consider. Most of which relate to the bureaucratic process of being assessed and gaining registration.
Some of the costs you may be up for, include:
AUD (unless otherwise noted) | |
Establish a Portfolio with the Australian Medical Council | $500 |
Registering with EPIC and having one primary degree checked | $125 USD + $80 USD |
Medical Board Application Fee for Provisional Registration | $382 |
Medical Board Application Fee for Specialist or General Registration | $764 |
Medical Board Provisional Registration Fee | $382 |
Medical Board General or Specialist Registration Fee | $764 |
College Specialist Assessment Fees | $6,000-$11,000 |
College Placement Fees (for a period of supervision) | $8,000-$24,000 |
Further, if you are required to undertake further exams there will be a cost for this as well. As an example, RACS charges an exam fee is $8,495.
The Cost of Your Time and Effort.
To all of this cost, you will need to factor in the cost of your own time. It takes a lot of effort and persistence to deal with the paperwork and track down the records you need.
In addition, you are probably going to have to pay costs in your own country for things like records of schooling and certificates of good standing.
There are also visa costs.
And then there is the cost of airfares and transporting your belongings halfway across the world.
Depending on where you work in Australia you may find that the cost of living is higher or lower than you are used to. House prices and therefore house rental rates have gone through the roof in Australia in the last decade or so but are starting to come down.
You will probably have to factor in some initial extra hotel or short-term rental charges whilst settling in and you may find if you have children that you have to pay to enrol them in school as public schooling is only generally free if you are a citizen or permanent resident.
If you are lucky and in one of the specialty areas of demand your employer may offer to pay for some of these costs. It’s certainly worth asking about it.

Related Questions.
Question: Why do UK doctors move to Australia?
Compared to the United Kingdom, Australia generally offers improved quality of life, work-life balance, finances, and weather. For these reasons, Australia is a popular destination for doctors around the world. In addition, the UK medical degree and specialty qualifications are well recognised by the Australian Medical Council, Medical Board of Australia and Australian specialty colleges, which makes the transfer easier than for most other countries.
Question: Are there any other options for working as a UK doctor in Australia?
Answer. The Competent Authority Pathway and the Specialist Pathway are the only two pathways for UK doctors to work in Australia.
Question: Should I use a medical recruitment company if I am considering working in Australia?
Answer. It is possible to deal directly with employers in Australia as a UK doctor. In general, however, when moving from one country to another most doctors find it useful to engage with a medical recruitment company as they can tend to take some of the stress out of the planning for you and help with all the paperwork and negotiating with prospective employers. Some medical recruitment companies also provide migration services and relocation services as well. We have written more on this subject here. And a list of medical recruitment companies is available here.
Question: How much do doctors earn in Australia?
For many, this is the most important question. And the reason that UK doctors seek to work in Australia. Generally, doctors are paid better in Australia compared to the UK but finances are more complicated than just salaries because you obviously need to consider other factors such as taxes, housing, insurance, schooling, and transportation (Australia is a big place) which can vary.
The cost of living in Australia is generally on a par with that of living in the United Kingdom.
Salaries also differ in Australia depending on the state or territory. But generally, an intern (PGY1 or FY1) earns between $70,000 and $80,000 AUD baseline salary in Australia. After completing the internship your salary will vary somewhere between $80,000 to $160,000 AUD as you progress through your training.
Consultant salaries in Australia can be quite considerable. GPs earn the least but still generally manage to earn over $200,000 AUD if they work full time and some specialties can earn as much as $600,000 AUD on average.
A key difference between the UK and Australia is the opportunity to earn considerably as a private practitioner.
You’re saying that UK doctor can apply for permanent residency after general registration and apply for a specialty training course. However, permanent residency will maybe has not been issued yet. Can I take the specialty training course after general registration right away?
(I think you are saying that I need permanent residency to do the specialty course.)
No. I said once you have general registration you can usually start the process of applying for permanent residency. You should speak to a migration agent/lawyer for proper advice.
What are the options after having completed the royal exams and IMT training ?
If you have received your CCT or CESR you can apply for the specialist pathway here. If you haven’t got these yet. You should get them.
Hi,
I am a medical student and want to move to Australia as a doctor in emergency medicine in the future. I wanted to know would it be easier to move to Australia after my Foundation years or after I specialise in emergency.
Thanks
Hi John if you are graduating from the UK you could either come after F1 or F2 or after completing your CCST. Either are fine. Coming midway through training is not ideal as you won’t be able to get all your training recognised.
Does One year in GP training program in UK count as 12 months of supervised practice?
Yes
Your website and videos have been very informative while researching a move to Australia.
I am a consultant in the UK and wanted to ask what kind if registration is granted by AHPRA after you have demonstrated substantial comparability with the relevant college? Will it be a specialist registration or provisional? If provisional, is this accepted when applying for a permanent residency visa eg 186 – employer nominated scheme?
Hello if you are a UK graduate it will be provisional registration. But only after you obtain a suitable position. You should talk to a migration agent or lawyer about PR. You normally need either general or specialist registration to be able to apply for PR.
Hello Dr. Llewellyn
Thank you very much for this informative blog post!
I am an international medical graduate from Indonesia. I have cleared my PLAB exams and am granted full GMC registration with a license to practice in the UK. I am working as a locum doctor in a designated UK hospital at the moment (*My first job in the UK). However, my goal is to work in Australia eventually.
According to my understanding from your blog, I can apply for a job as a doctor in Australia with my PLAB exam + 12 months of supervised NHS work experience.
– May I know if working as a supervised locum doctor for 12 months in a designated UK hospital is acceptable? Or, is it only restricted to 12 months of supervised permanent employment?
– Also, it isn’t specified whether or not these 12 months of supervised NHS work experience should be full time or part time. Can you kindly clarify this?
I would really appreciate it if you can shed some light on this.
Looking forward to hearing from you.
Not wishing to speak for the Medical Board which is the source of truth here. The requirement is essentially for an FY1 year or equivalent. So this would mean full time to the extent required for FY1 and anything better than it e.g. a house officer post.
The Medical Board provides a guide to the evidence required here: https://www.medicalboard.gov.au/documents/default.aspx?record=WD16%2f22113&dbid=AP&chksum=Ms91wmUR0c9MzjDjkc7RIA%3d%3d
Thank you for the explicit explanation. However, I am working in one of the private hospitals in the UK; I am a resident medical officer.
My work involves me attending to postoperative patients and I have minimal contacts with my consultants.
My question is will a 12-month experience of this kind of work suffice for “a minimum of 12 months practice in the UK”?
I have come across other doctors working privately who have been able to supply satisfactory evidence from the UK. But your description does make me doubtful.
From the MBA:
Evidence of ‘supervised training (internship equivalent)’
These explanatory notes are for IMGs who are applying for the competent authority pathway under
category B who:
• have never been granted full registration by the GMC or who cannot get a COGS from the GMC
confirming full registration, and
• do not have evidence of successfully completing the Foundation year 1 (FY1) in the UK (e.g.
Foundation Achievement of Competency Document or Certificate of Experience), and
• have completed ‘12 months supervised training (internship equivalent) in the UK’.
There are two ways in which you can demonstrate that you meet the ‘12 months supervised training
(internship equivalent) in the UK’ component of the eligibility criteria for category B (as per guidance initially
provided in August 2015):
1. Provide evidence of ‘12 months supervised practice/training in an Approved Practice Setting in the
UK’. Acceptable evidence would include:
a. confirmation in writing from the hospital(s) and/or employer(s) that you have satisfactorily
completed 12 months supervised practice/training in the UK, and
b. confirmation in writing from the hospital(s) and/or employer(s) that the practice setting is an
‘Approved Practice Setting’.1
OR
2. Provide evidence of ‘a minimum of 12 months practice in the UK’2. Acceptable evidence would
include:
a. confirmation in writing and/or certificate of service from the hospital(s) and/or employer(s)
that you have had a minimum of 12 months practice in the UK.
You will also need to provide evidence that you are a ‘Graduate of a United Kingdom medical program
quality assured by the General Medical Council, and for courses conducted wholly or partially outside the
UK, on a list published on the Medical Board of Australia’s website’