This journey map captures both the challenges and opportunities in the journey of international medical graduates seeking to work as medical practitioners in the Australian health system.

Experience the journey of international medical graduates in Australia

Advanced clinical skills

Application for extension

Career Change

Career Disruption

Competent  Authority Pathway

Emergency Medicine

English Standards

Ethical Recruitment

Family Disharmony

Family Reunion

Family Separation

Financial Burden

Hospital

Indigenous Health

Knowledge Gaps

Learning Differences

Mentoring

Moratorium

Multiple Exam Attempts

New Graduate

Observership

Outside Australia

Provisional Registration

Recency of Practice

Registration - General

Registration - Limited

Registration - None

Registration - Specialist

Return to home country

Rural Health

Short-term training

Specialist Pathway

Standard Pathway

Successful Career

Supervision

Supervisor

Unaccredited Training

Underserved Metropolitan

Work - Australia None

Work - UK Experience

Work Challenges

Work-Based Assessment

Preparing for Immigration and Work as a Medical Practitioner in Australia

Competent Authority Pathway

Meeting standards for qualification, training, verification and assessment requirements

Navigating registration requirements

Ensuring work readiness for safe and quality care

Working and living in rural and remote areas and underserved metropolitan communities

Working with Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander patients and communities to provide culturally safe care

Committing to continuous improvements at an individual and system

Short-term Training in a Medical Speciality Pathway

Una, an Irish-trained doctor on a two-year gap year in Australia, is gaining diverse medical experience while making a meaningful impact in rural healthcare.

Una has moved to Australia for a short-term stay only and has no plans to immigrate.

Una has gained very positive feedback on her performance from her supervisor.

Una had a fairly straightforward experience navigating registration requirements as an international medical graduate.

Una has effectively bridged her knowledge gaps, including tropical diseases, the Australian health system, and Indigenous health.

Una is working in a rural Queensland hospital but would prefer to live in a metropolitan beachside area for the social and city life.

Una is committed to supporting Stolen Generation patients in her health service. She has collaborated with hospital leaders to develop a program that enables aged Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander patients to receive treatment on country, rather than traveling to metropolitan hospitals where they may lack family support and feel distress due to past institutional trauma.

Rohan, a UK-trained emergency physician and former ED Director, faces challenges with racism and distance in Australia.

Rohan, a highly experienced UK emergency physician, seamlessly fits into the Australian healthcare system.

Upon immigrating to Australia, Rohan gained provisional registration via the competent authority pathway and was later recognized as comparable to an Australian-trained emergency physician through the specialist pathway.

Rohan has general registration and specialist registration as an emergency medicine physician.

Rohan has experience working with multicultural communities from his UK background but needs to learn Australian work practices, protocols, and cultural safety for Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander communities.

Rohan works in an outer-metropolitan area in Australia and has encountered racism.

The outer-metropolitan area where Rohan works has a large Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander population, with diverse nations, languages, and cultural practices. Rohan found working with the Aboriginal health worker staff at the hospital essential for deepening his understanding of the complexities within the local communities.

Rohan has adapted well to working in Australian hospitals but has struggled to navigate the Australian health system. Learning specific protocols, work practices, and communication strategies are key areas of focus for his continuous learning.

Rohan

Jemma, a Caribbean-trained doctor with UK PLAB experience, is seeking an intern position in Australia.

Jemma is an Australian-born doctor who studied medicine overseas.

Upon returning to Australia, Jemma undertook the Competent Authority Pathway and found it challenging to her identity, being Australian but perceived as foreign due to her overseas training.

Jemma didn’t realize that training overseas would result in different registration requirements and opportunities compared to her friends who trained in Australia. She was surprised to learn she would be subject to a 10-year moratorium on access to a Medicare provider number.

Jemma is currently seeking a junior doctor position in Australia.

Jemma’s education on Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander communities was limited, with little focus on their lived experiences. Although she lived in a suburb with a large Aboriginal community and had Aboriginal school friends, Jemma realized through cultural safety training that she still has significant knowledge gaps and recognizes it as an ongoing learning journey.

Jemma’s next step is to undergo prevocational training in Australia.

Jemma

Divya, from India, plans to marry her Australian partner, take the AMC exam online, and navigate the 10-year moratorium with guidance.

Divya is planning on getting married. She recently graduated from a prestigious Indian medical school. Her English is very good. She wants a better life, and is coming to Australia for love to reunite with an Australian partner (employed as a business analyst in a corporate IT company and lives in metro Brisbane) whom she met while he was on a work trip in India. They aim to start a family in Australia.

Divya studied for the AMC MCQ examination in India and passed on her second attempt. It was challenging to study for this examination overseas as she relied on access to online resources. She notes the AMC has newly developed a curated collection of examination preparation resources.

Completing assessments and understanding legislative requirements.

Still overseas and unsure about work location and whether she is exempt from moratorium requirements.

It was suggested to Divya that she will need to gain a deeper understanding of Australian health systems and health communities, including Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander peoples, through researching available resources.

Divya is planning to do the AMC clinical exam online as the next step, ideally while still in India. She has just learned that the moratorium is 10 years and is wondering how they will manage this as newlyweds, as they may need to live separately due to her partner's career not being transferable to a rural setting.

Divya

Struggled to pass the clinical (stopped at eight attempts), gaps in knowledge,  had limited registration and could not secure employment as a doctor.

Luis has studied for specialist pathway assessments, is currently working in a digital health role, and has failed multiple attempts of the standard pathway without plans to sit for further exams.

Luis was deemed non-comparable in the specialist pathway, then applied for the AMC standard pathway, struggling to pass the clinical AMC exam after eight attempts.

Luis had particular challenges with command of the English language. He had gaps in knowledge: health system, mental health, women's health, paediatrics, internal medicine, Indigenous health and diverse communities and cultural values.

Luis is currently working in a digital health role unrelated to medicine in Melbourne.

Luis is familiar with the challenges faced by Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander communities with digital health and is working actively to make improvements at a system and local level. Challenges include digital literacy gaps, cultural appropriateness of technology, equitable access to infrastructure and devices, and data security and privacy concerns.


Luis has given up and is bitter and disappointed that he is unable to work in medicine.

Luis

Fatimah worked in Iraq as a GP, and struggled to pass the clinical, unable to find employment and recency requirements.

Fatimah has studied on and off for the AMC examinations for years. She has engaged in various bridging course provider workshops and reached out to internet support groups particularly from her community in Iraq.

Fatimah had trouble passing the standard pathway exams but managed to get through after multiple attempts at the clinical exam.

Because Fatimah was unable to gain employment as a doctor, her registration has been impacted.

Fatimah struggled to get a job. She is a bit reserved and finds it difficult to advocate for herself.

Fatimah came to Australia as her husband had been offered an employment opportunity in Australia. She has applied for multiple positions but has not been successful at gaining employment.

Fatimah sought out volunteer work in a local health service. She encountered Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander patients and through those encounters learnt that there were specific communication skills she needed to develop. There were a number of times when Fatimah was required to engage with Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander families. She realised how effective this was in putting the patient at ease and to illicit a deeper understanding of some of the presenting issues for the patient.

Fatimah is seeking an Observership and CV support to help her gain employment. She would benefit from having a mentor to help her navigate the complexities of her situation.


Fatimah

Azar completed Medical Degree and employed in Iran as a Doctor. She had encountered racism and exploitation.

Azar is a refugee. Her reason for immigrating to Australia was to secure a better life for her children – she had worried about schooling her children in a rural setting and employment for her partner (who is an engineer but in a rural setting was a house father and struggled with his identity and culturally changing power dimensions in the family).


Impacting Azar’s recency of practice are three issues: it took significant time to secure visas in Australia; she had gaps in her medical work experience due to pregnancies and she was unable to secure employment as she was not able to get all relevant documents for her medical training and work experience as a doctor prior to leaving Iran.

She secured employment in a medical role in a rural setting after obtaining registration via the standard pathway.

She struggled with colloquial English, the culture and with supervision in a rural area – learning gaps in practice included cultural safety, communication, and understanding the health system.

Azar made contact with a mentor who recommended her for an Observership program which she excelled in.

Azar’s supervised practice included experiences with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander.

Azar’s supervised practice included experiences with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander patients. She felt woefully prepared for these consultations. Her supervisor suggested that she work with Aboriginal health workers to develop her skills.

She was keen to leave her rural position because she encountered racism and exploitation, particularly with unfair conditions which weren’t comparable with those of other colleagues who had been in Australia for longer.

Azar

Lin struggled to meet the requirements of the AMC standard pathway - colloquial and technical English is a challenge.

Lin has prepared for the AMC standard pathway assessments by attending a bridging course provider and self-study.

Lin is still working through the requirements of the AMC standard pathway - colloquial and technical English is a challenge and they are told by colleagues that their ‘bedside manner’ is abrupt. Lin failed the clinical exam on three attempts and plans to resit next year but has lost confidence in their abilities as a doctor. Their self-esteem has plummeted as a result of the exam failures. Lin sees their dream of resuming a medical career in Australia disappearing and is not holding out much hope of passing at the next attempt. Combined with other family circumstances and the intensive workload of a nursing career, Lin and family are experiencing a lot of financial and emotional pressure.

Lin is challenged by the different cultural norms in the Australian health system and is struggling to understand power relationships.

While trying to navigate the medical pathway and to pay bills, they did a nursing degree and secured a job as a nurse in the Northern Territory, Darwin.


Lin is drawn to the LGBTIQA+ community and makes links with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples within this community. These are important relationships for they which make Lin feel more connected and improve their wellbeing.

Lin would benefit from a mentor and a medical English course. Given that Lin’s medical training was different to that in Australia, they would like further support to better understand Australian examination formats, better feedback on exam performance and an observership program to help learn new work practices and become familiar with cultural norms. They would also benefit from gaining feedback from their nurse managers to help with communication.

Musa was a practicing doctor in Nigeria. He found it challenging to choose how to prepare for his exams.

On arrival in Australia, he worked for a few
months as a wards person, a job he took to pay the bills while he navigated Australian medical registration
processes and his wife completed her accountancy practice requirements. He is now a medical officer.

He found it challenging to choose how to prepare for exams – bridging courses, Facebook groups and/or official resources.

Musa undertook the standard pathway. He had done the AMC MCQ and clinical online exams while in Nigeria. He passed both on second attempt.

He would like to see better inductions particularly for rural medical practice with modules on mental health and health systems.

Musa immigrated to Australia in 2022 to secure a better life for himself and his family and as a way of further supporting his extended family. He moved to a regional centre in rural Victoria and is currently working as a medical officer in a large rural
hospital. The town has a high proportion of migrants and a small but vibrant Nigerian community. He and his family integrated quickly. Musa has already established a leadership role in his new hometown - he is involved in running sporting events and a cultural exchange program. His wife is working as an accountant and his children are doing well at school.

Musa has worked with Aboriginal communities in his local area. He has participated in outreach programs to Aboriginal-controlled health organizations and learned that they have very strong approaches to patient-centred care, communication with families, and interprofessional care. He has learned a lot from these experiences and has incorporated these learnings into his current role as a medical officer in a large rural hospital in Regional Victoria.

Musa is keen to learn more and is committed to his CPD. He attends courses, conducts audits of his practice, and gives lectures at conferences on his experiences as an international medical graduate.

Musa

As trained cardiologists in India, neither he nor his wife have been able to secure specialist recognition as cardiologists.

Hassan and his wife had both been required to sit specialist assessments for specialist recognition in cardiology.

Hassan completed training in cardiology in India and studies in Public health in Australia. He had applied for specialist recognition in cardiology but was deemed non comparable.

Both Hassan and his wife are struggling with their mental health due to the immigration challenges and their identity of not being recognised in their trained medical specialty. They are on a working visa with lots of associated costs, including schooling of children, healthcare, etc.

Both Hassan and his wife have applied for specialist recognition in cardiology and have struggled to get recognition. Hassan has done further studies in Public Health to retrain and gain employment as a doctor in Australia.

Hassan currently works in a public health role at NSW Health in a large rural centre. His wife and children are living in Sydney.

Hassan’s public health qualification included a number of subjects on improving the health of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander peoples. He has also completed mandatory cultural safety training at NSW Health. He has taken the initiative to work on projects related to closing the gap.

Hassan has ongoing learning in rural health and for his public health role.

Hassan

As an experienced specialist, sourcing required paperwork for verification, generalist ophthalmology examinations and financial burden is challenging.

Initially studied for specialist pathway assessments in ophthalmology. Now studying to pass the AMC standard pathway examinations.

He was deemed partially comparable and required to sit specialist college exams which focused on general ophthalmic content. He was required to do some workplace-based assessments and supervised training to prepare for the advanced clinical examination but failed the specialist college exams on several occasions - struggled with generalist knowledge. The College allowed only one sitting of the exam. He has not given up on his plan to practice in Australia as a medical doctor and is currently studying for the AMC MCQ examination.

Mostafa did not have all the required paperwork for verification and had to return to his country of training to source relevant documents. He was lucky enough to connect with an old mentor in his home country who assisted with finding the relevant paperwork and helped him deal with administration.

Very experienced senior specialist with a strong research track record. He has the capacity to contribute to capability development in ophthalmic research with his Australian colleagues.

Not working. Applying for the AMC standard pathway MCQ examination.

Mostafa comes across resources on the prevalence of eye disease in many Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander communities. That triggered him to look more broadly into health issues for Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander communities utilizing more resources and information to inform his learning.

He is currently studying for the AMC MCQ examination and will also be required to study for the AMC clinical examination.

Mostafa

She’s not impressed with Australia’s healthcare system or opportunities, feeling homesick and her prior skill recognition prior to immigration.

Olga undertook two years of supervised training, exams, and other workplace-based assessments (ADD) to meet College requirements.

Olga was deemed partially comparable in the specialist pathway for psychiatry.

She was working under supervised practice, working towards the College requirements with limited registration.

Olga thought more consideration should have been given to the fact that she has an excellent command of the English language and that she was from an OECD health system.

Olga lives and works in Launceston, TAS. She invested heavily in coming to Australia and found international medical graduate pathways to be complex, expensive, and time-consuming.

Olga was quite confronted by systemic health inequity in the Australian health system, particularly Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander health. She has actively tried to improve wait times, mental health services, family liaison, and work with Aboriginal communities and health workers.

Olga feels that there are many barriers to international medical graduate recognition of prior skills and life as an immigrant in Australia. She is feeling homesick for Finland and is planning to return to her home country.

Olga

Mohamed's motivation for coming to Australia was for adventure – he loves to travel and to have a more balanced life style.

Mohamad found the Pre-employment Structured Clinical Interview (PESCI) assessment to be challenging in terms of preparation, time taken, and cost.

Mohamad’s qualifications were assessed through the GP specialist pathway and he went through smoothly.

Mohamed initially had some problems with his contracts as a GP – they were not comparable with that of his colleagues. This was resolved through intervention of a colleague – a fellow international medical graduate, who had a bit more experience with contract negotiation and salary benchmark.

Mohamed has adapted well and quickly to living in Australia. He has very good English. He is seen to be a great communicator, an extravert, and a people person.


Mohamed is currently a Director of Clinical Training in a small regional hospital in SA. He is a supervisor and integrated into his Australian community.

Mohamed has had numerous interactions with Aboriginal communities in the local region. His time in South Australia has given him a deep interest in the health needs of Aboriginal people. He is keen to work in an Aboriginal health service to further develop his skills and improve the healthcare outcomes of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander peoples.

Mohamed has five years left to meet moratorium requirements and is planning to move to an area of need (AON) position. Upon completion, he wants to find work in outer metro NSW.

Mohamed

Struggling as a family to integrate, have experienced some discrimination and does not see the importance of cultural  safety training.

Prisha researched study guides online and joined Facebook and WhatsApp groups.

Prisha had trouble passing the AMC clinical exam but is doing well now in the WBA pathway.


The WBA program is significantly improving her work readiness for the Australian health system.

Prisha lives in a small rural coastal town in QLD and works in a small rural hospital as a medical officer. She likes the lifestyle in Australia but is concerned her partner can't find employment in his profession. He is currently working in retail and is still trying to pursue his career as a pharmacist. They are struggling as a family to integrate and have experienced some discrimination.

Prisha has been told by her supervisors that she needs to do some modules on cultural safety as this is an important area of learning. She is not sure she sees the benefit, because she comes from a colonised country. However, she is aware that most of the Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander patients that she sees don’t end up coming back. She is confused because she treats all her patients with compassion and kindness. She participated in cultural safety training and found it incredibly valuable for making connections with Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander patients. She is also working more closely with Aboriginal Liaison officers and seeing culturally safe care firsthand with her supervisors.

Prisha would like to see WBA programs expanded as that would have made the pathway easier if she had been able to access a WBA program earlier. She would benefit from working more closely with Aboriginal health workers and seeing effective cultural safety behaviours and attitudes modelled by her supervisors.

Prisha

Latifa is a 33-year-old Obstetrics and Gynaecology specialist in training from Papua New Guinea, gaining experience in Australia.

Latifa travelled alone to Australia to keep costs down. Her mother is caring for her children.

Latifa applied for a training position in Australia through the short-term training in a medical specialist pathway.

Latifa recognises that she will not gain specific qualifications or certification from her training experience in Australia.

Latifa learnt a lot from her experience in Australia. It provided her with advanced clinical skills in obstetrics and gynaecology under supervision.

Latifa is now nearing completion of a placement as a registrar for 12 months position in Obstetrics and Gynaecology in a Metropolitan hospital in the outer suburbs of Adelaide, South Australia.

Latifa’s home country has had a long history of colonisation and she has experienced racism in the past. Initially, she thinks it is no different to the experiences of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in Australia but through her supervised experiences with Aboriginal patients and their families she learns that there are differences and further learning to gain.

She is planning to return to Papua New Guinea in the New Year to complete the final subject in Obstetrics and Gynaecology and then start her career as a consultant in her home country.