Medical Training Review Panel 19th Report

International Supply of Medical Practitioners

Overseas trained medical practitioners form a key part of the medical workforce in Australia, not only in rural and remote areas, but in metropolitan and regional areas.

In 2014-15, there were 2,820 visas granted to medical practitioners across the main subclasses – 422, 457, 442/402. Over two-fifths (40.3%) of visas under the main classes were granted to applicants from the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland. Just 5.2% and 2.3% of the medical practitioners granted visas came from Canada and the United States of America respectively. More recently, larger numbers of international recruits have come from a number of Asian countries. In 2014-15, roughly one-third (29.3%) of all applications were granted to medical practitioners from Malaysia (8.6%), India (7.7%), Sri Lanka (4.7%), Singapore (3.7%), Iran (2.3%), and Pakistan (2.3%).

During 2012, the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Health and Ageing published Lost in the Labyrinth, a report on the inquiry into registration processes and support for overseas trained doctors. In response to this report, the Australian Medical Council (AMC) together with the Medical Board of Australia (MBA) and the specialist medical colleges reviewed the processing of applications for assessment under the Competent Authority and Specialist pathways to remove any unnecessary obstacles or impediments to the efficient processing of assessments leading to registration. As a result, new procedures were implemented from 1 July 2014 with assessments through the Competent Authority Pathway processed by the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA) directly, while applications for specialist assessment are processed by the medical colleges directly with the AMC undertaking the primary source verification of qualifications only.

Data for the period from 1 January 2014 to 30 June 2014 were provided by the AMC and for the period from 1 July 2014 to 31 December 2014 by the AHPRA. Data for the two six month periods are presented separately for the AMC and the AHPRA because of the differences in approaches to collection.

Competent Authority Pathway

Through the Competent Authority Pathway, from 1 January 2014 to 30 June 2014, the Australian Medical Council issued 503 AMC Certificates. The majority of Certificates were granted to international medical graduates from the United Kingdom (75.7%). Graduates from Ireland represented the next highest group (12.1%), followed by graduates from India (4.8%).

From 1 July 2014 to 31 December 2014, the AHPRA granted provisional registration to 440 competent authority pathway applicants. Of the international medical graduates who were granted provisional registration, 329 international medical graduates were from the United Kingdom (74.8%) and 49 from Ireland (11.1%).

Standard Pathway

Doctors who are not eligible for either the Competent Authority or Specialist pathways are assessed through the Standard Pathway. In 2014, a total of 1,379 applicants passed the Multiple Choice Questionnaire and 697 applicants passed the clinical AMC examinations.

Specialist Pathway

Under the Specialist Pathway, from 1 January 2014 to 30 June 2014, a total of 1,708 overseas trained specialists applied for recognition as a specialist in Australia through the AMC. A total 571 applicants were deemed to be substantially comparable and therefore had their application approved. The majority of approved applicants were trained in the United Kingdom and Ireland. An additional 162 applicants were deemed to be partially comparable requiring further training and/or examinations to gain an approval.

For the period of 1 July 2014 to 31 December 2014, 637 overseas trained specialists applied for recognition as a specialist in Australia. During this period, 219 overseas trained specialists were recognised as substantially comparable, with a further 172 considered partially comparable through the assessment process administered directly by the specialist colleges and reported to the MBA/AHPRA.

Overseas Trained Doctors with Section 19AB Exemptions

As of 30 June 2015, there were a total of 12,495 overseas trained doctors with section 19AB exemptions restricting their practice to Districts of Workforce Shortage in order to access Medicare benefits for the services they provide. This represents a 12.2% increase from the 11,138 overseas trained doctors with section 19AB exemptions at 30 June 2014.