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MEDICAL PROFESSIONALS
Obtaining medical registration in Australia and New Zealand is a
detailed and lengthy process. The registration process can also be quite expensive, which is why MZ Migration can
initially offer services in determining eligibility of overseas trained doctors before submitting any applications.
Following confirmation of registration eligibility, we can assist our clients in collating, completing and
submitting applications correctly and liaising with the appropriate medical licensing authorities. Using one
of our agents will ensure that you avoid the stress of incorrect submissions & application delays and the incurrence
of unnecessary fees. MZ Migration will also give advice and representation with the appropriate visa needed
to work and live in Australia and New Zealand.
Even though medical qualifications between Australia and New
Zealand are considered fully comparable and eligibility requirements are similar, the application processes are quite different
in each country. MZ Migration can offer full assistance in the registration/licensure application process, or you can
also utilise our Online Query Service if you just have a few questions. We can answer queries in all areas of registration including time frames, application
completion and questions surrounding the Australian Medical Council, New Zealand Medical Council, Specialty Colleges, Medical
Boards, Medicare, and Work Visas. We are also happy to provide the required forms.
Please read
below for a brief overview of the processes for Australia and New Zealand:
AUSTRALIA
General
Practitioners
To obtain registration in Australia to work as a general practitioner, there are 3 viable pathways:
Reciprocal Fellowship –
If you hold Fellowship of the Royal College of General Practitioners in the United Kingdom or Ireland, you may qualify for
Eundum Gratum status (Reciprocal Fellowship) with the Royal Australasian College of General Practitioners (RACGP). If
you are granted Fellowship by RACGP through Eundum Gratum, you are eligible to apply to the the AUS Health Practitioner Regulation
Agency (AHPRA) for full medical registration to practice as a General Practitioner.
Competent Authority – You must qualify under one of the AMC Competent Authority pathways A-F to obtain general registration. You will then be granted Advanced Standing towards the AMC Certificate,
which will allow you to obtain registration with AHPRA to work under supervision for the standard required 12 months.
Following satisfactory supervision reports from the 12 month supervision period, you may then be eligible for granting of
the AMC Certificate and obtain full general registration to practice unsupervised.
Australian Medical Council MCQ exam – If you do not qualify under
one of the above registration categories, then it will be required that you sit and pass the AMC MCQ exams to obtain general
registration in Australia. This is because it must be determined that your qualifications and experience are comparable
to that of an Australian trained doctor, and this is how the AMC regulates the quality of overseas doctor's level
of education before working in Australia. You can find upcoming dates and worldwide locations that the exams are offered
on AMC-MCQ .
Specialist Level Doctors
The majority of overseas trained specialists coming to work in Australia
will initially obtain registration through the Area of Need (AON) pathway, then progress through Fellowship with their corresponding
specialty college. This is because there tends to be exams or peer review involved in obtaining Fellowship
(which can take many months), as you are being assessed for comparability to an Australian trained specialist to ultimately
work unsupervised.
AON registration requires the employing hospital to be certified as an 'in need' location,
meaning that due to a lack of local doctors, they have been unable to fill the position with an Australian trained physician. This
means that you would be sponsored by an AON employer to work in an approved position under supervision, only at specified
locations. AON applications are prioritized, and in most cases are significantly quicker than specialist assessment
for Fellowship.
The AON registration process takes approximately 4-6 months, depending on specialty
and accuracy of paperwork. You will need to apply to the Australian Medical Council, Royal Specialty College, AHPRA,
Department of Immigration, and Medicare. Please be aware that you will also need to undergo an interview with your
specialty college, and these interviews vary in availability and can be offered face to face or by video conference depending
on the assessing specialty college.
If the AON position you are offered is long term (or permanent),
then generally you will be expected to take steps to apply for Fellowship after you begin work in Australia, which will lead
to a more permanent registration and visa. Specialty colleges are also now conducting dual assessments, which means you
can be assessed for both AON and Fellowship pathways with one application and interview. ** Note: You cannot apply under
AON unless you have secured an employment offer, so without a sponsoring employer you may only submit a Specialist Assessment
application. **
NEW ZEALAND
All applications for New Zealand medical registration are processed through the Medical Council
of New Zealand (MCNZ), and subsequently sent through the corresponding specialty college if necessary. Most applications
may initially be submitted by fax or e-mail, however Vocational (specialist) applications require certified copies of documentation
to be processed.
Comparable Health (Provisional General)
Comparable Health / Provisional General is a pathway to General registration. After 2 years you become eligible
to transfer to Full General Registration following satisfactory supervision reports from sponsored New Zealand employment.
This registration is designed for general
practitioners, however in some cases specialist level doctors may apply down this pathway. It is not specialist registration
so the registered doctor will not be recognised by the MCNZ as a specialist, but an employer can appoint a doctor at a specialist
level with adequate supervision for up to 12 months under this registration.
Comparable Health registration may be obtained by doctors that
have worked in a comparable health system with full unconditional registration for 30 hours per week, for 36 out of the past
48 months immediately before submitting the application. Comparable health countries include: Australia, Austria, Belgium,
Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, Iceland, Israel, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Republic of Ireland,
Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom, and USA. This application takes approximately 1-2 months for processing
and specialist level doctors also have the option to apply for Vocational registration simultaneously.
Competent Authority
The Competent Authority Model pathway is only
available to doctors that obtained their primary medical degree from the UK or Ireland. Through the Competent Authority
Model, doctors are obtaining Provisional General registration, but there are less requirements to fulfill through this pathway,
such as: there is not the requirement of working 30 hours per week for 36 out of 48 months and they do not have to provide
proof of work in a comparable country. The applying doctor is just required to have at least 1 year experience in their field
and be fully registered in a UK or Irish jurisdiction.
The Competent Authority pathway is useful for doctors that possibly
cannot fulfill the requirements of Comparable Health because they have not been working for the required timeframes in a comparable
country or hold one of the limited specialist qualifications for Locum Tenens. However, doctors will not get approved
if they have been completely retired for an extended period, they must have been in recent clinical practice for at least
a few hours per week to qualify. All other requirements for Provisional General / Comparable Health registration
apply.
Locum Tenens
Locum Tenens is short term specialist registration
granted for a maximum period of 6 months during any 12 month period. The doctor must apply for Vocational registration
simultaneously if their contract is longer than 6 months, as MCNZ will not process a Locum Tenens application for a contract
over 6 months unless an application for Vocational has already been received. This registration is only available to specialist
level doctors who hold particular specialist qualifications from the United States, Canada, UK, Ireland and South
Africa.
You can check your eligibility for Locum Tenens registration on the MCNZ website Special Purpose Scope. Additionally, eligibility for Locum Tenens requires that the applicant doctor must
have been in clinical practice for a minimum of 20-30 hours per week for 24 out of the last 36 months. This application takes
approximately 1-2 months to process.
Please note: an equivalent of a United Kingdom CCT means that the doctor
did not actually complete any post-graduate training in the UK. Therefore, this does not meet the requirements and is
not accepted under the Locum Tenens pathway.
Vocational
Vocational registration is full specialist registration,
which thoroughly assesses the doctor’s qualifications in comparison to a NZ trained doctor through the corresponding
specialty college. You can check your eligibility to apply for Vocational registration on the MCNZ website VOC Eligibility Checklist .
A Vocational application takes approximately 4-6 months for processing, so it is possible to apply simultaneously
under Locum Tenens or Provisional General to obtain registration in the interim while the Vocational application is processing.
A face to face interview is always required by the specialty college to determine if a doctor is substantially, partially
or not comparable to a NZ trained doctor. If a doctor is found substantially comparable, Provisional Vocational registration
will be granted for the doctor to complete a 12 month supervision period, after which they can be granted full vocational
registration upon supervisors submitting satisfactory work reports. It is also possible that the Specialty College
imposes requirements that need to be fulfilled such as exams or a period of peer review; potential college requirements can
usually be determined after completing the Vocational Eligibility Checklist.
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