AM VaultPathway guide / The steps
The AMC pathway, step by step
Seven steps from your degree to your first job in Australia, in the order most doctors on the standard pathway take them. Each one says what it involves, what it costs, how long it takes and what to watch for.
Naira amounts are estimates: they allow 10% either side of the rates on 22 October 2026 (₦960 to A$1, ₦1,340 to US$1) and move with the exchange rate.
1Get your medical degree verified
Australia needs proof, straight from your medical school, that your degree is genuine. ECFMG (part of Intealth) does this through its MyIntealth platform, and the AMC uses the result. First check on the AMC website that your school, degree title and graduation year are eligible, then create your MyIntealth account and an EPIC portfolio and submit your final medical diploma.
- Submit your final medical diploma if you can. If you send a transcript or another graduation document instead, the Medical Board may later ask for the diploma, which means paying the AMC and ECFMG again.
- Make sure your name appears the same way on your passport and every document, or explain any difference before you submit.
- Start this early. Everything else waits for it, and some schools are slow to reply.
Official: AMC: primary source verification · ECFMG fees
2Open your AMC account and initial portfolio
With your MyIntealth ID in hand, create an AMC account and establish your initial portfolio. This is where the AMC confirms that your degree makes you eligible, and where your exam bookings and results will live. Add only your primary medical degree, plus any specialist qualifications you need assessed.
- Create your MyIntealth account and EPIC portfolio first. The AMC cannot set up your initial portfolio without your MyIntealth ID.
- Do not add things the AMC does not assess, such as internship certificates, registrations, PhDs or short courses. They attract an administration fee and do not appear in your account.
- If you made an AMC account before 1 October 2015, you need a new one.
Official: AMC: how to apply
3Choose your pathway
Most doctors trained outside Australia's competent authority countries take the standard pathway: the AMC MCQ, then the clinical exam or a workplace-based assessment. If you trained or passed exams under the UK's GMC (including PLAB), the Medical Council of Canada, the US ECFMG or NBOME, the Medical Council of New Zealand or the Medical Council of Ireland, you may qualify for the competent authority pathway, which has no AMC exams. Overseas-trained specialists have their own specialist pathways.
Each competent authority has detailed categories and experience rules. Read the Medical Board's criteria carefully before you rule it in or out. Compare the pathways.
Official: Standard pathway · Competent authority pathway
4Book and sit the AMC CAT MCQ
The MCQ tests your medical knowledge across adult medicine and surgery, women's health, child health, mental health, and population health and ethics. It is 150 single best answer questions in three and a half hours, delivered by computer. It is adaptive, so the questions you get depend on how you are doing, and you cannot go back to a question once you have answered it. You must pass it before you can apply for registration on the standard pathway.
You pay the AMC for an exam authorisation, then book your seat with Pearson VUE once they email to confirm it. Seats go first come, first served. Once you have your authorisation, the AMC gives you 210 free official practice questions.
- Book as soon as you have chosen a date. Popular sessions fill up.
- You can reschedule or cancel up to 21 days before the exam if a seat is free. After that, you lose the authorisation and the fee.
- If you will sit in another city or country, allow time for travel and any visa. The AMC's placement letter can help with a visa application.
- A resit costs the full fee again, so sit when you are ready, with a plan that covers the whole syllabus.
Official: AMC examinations and assessment · Pearson VUE: AMC scheduling
Getting ready for the MCQ? Try the free readiness check, practice questions and six-month timetable.
5Pass the clinical exam, or a workplace-based assessment
After the MCQ, you show your clinical skills in one of two ways. The AMC clinical exam is a circuit of timed stations covering medicine, surgery, obstetrics and gynaecology, paediatrics and psychiatry, and how you communicate with patients, families and colleagues. You can sit it in person in Australia or online, and before or after you are registered. A workplace-based assessment (WBA) assesses you on the job instead, with an AMC-accredited provider, but only once you are registered and working in an approved position. Places are limited.
Passing either one completes your AMC certificate.
Some doctors pass the clinical exam first, so they can apply for provisional registration with both exams done. Others take a job on limited registration first and complete the clinical exam or a WBA while working. The Board's standard pathway page explains both routes.
Official: AMC examinations and assessment · AMC fees
6Register with Ahpra
To work, you need registration from the Medical Board of Australia, applied for through Ahpra. Before you apply, line up a position in a hospital or general practice and a supervisor the Board will approve. If both AMC exams are done, you apply for provisional registration; if you will finish the clinical exam or a WBA while working, you apply for limited registration. You must also meet the English, recency of practice and criminal history standards.
English test scores, for tests taken on or after 23 April 2026
| Test | Overall | Listening | Reading | Writing | Speaking |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| IELTS Academic | 7 | 7 | 7 | 6.5 | 7 |
| OET | None | 350 | 360 | 350 | 360 |
| PTE Academic | 63 | 58 | 59 | 60 | 76 |
| TOEFL iBT | 91 | 22 | 22 | 23 | 24 |
Results are generally valid for two years before you apply. You can combine two sittings of the same test taken within 12 months, with lower minimums for each part; Ahpra's page has the details.
- Book your English test with enough time to resit before your results would expire.
- Use the Board's document checklist. Ahpra's online form is still being updated, so the checklist is the main guide.
- If you will work in general practice, you will usually need a PESCI (a pre-employment structured clinical interview) too.
Official: Medical Board: standard pathway · Ahpra: English tests · Fees
7Start work and get your visa
Once your registration is granted, apply for your visa. Doctors moving for a job often use an employer-sponsored visa, such as the Skills in Demand (subclass 482) visa, which your employer nominates you for. When you arrive, you complete an orientation, then 12 months of supervised practice (at least 47 weeks full time), with reports to the Board along the way. After that, you apply for general registration.
- Apply for your visa only after Ahpra grants your registration. Your employer gives you the reference number a sponsored visa needs.
- You can ask for your registration to start up to 90 days after it is decided, which helps if your visa takes time.
- If you want to work in general practice and bill Medicare, read about the 10-year moratorium before you accept a role.
Official: Medical Board: standard pathway · The 10-year moratorium · Department of Home Affairs: visas
Keep track of every step
The free planner turns this page into a checklist you can tick off, with a cost estimate at today's exchange rate and a rough timeline.
Get the free plannerFor step 4, AM Vault gives you a six-month plan of short lessons, flashcards and exam-format questions. See how it works.
General information to help you plan, not immigration or legal advice. The official AMC, Medical Board, Ahpra and Department of Home Affairs pages always come first, and fees and rules change. AM Vault is independent and is not affiliated with or endorsed by the Australian Medical Council, the Medical Board of Australia or Ahpra.