General Practice Experience Pathway – Requirements for Fellowship Policy

1. Purpose

1.1 The purpose of this policy is to outline the principles and requirements for Participants and GPs on the General Practice Experience Pathway to be admitted to Fellowship of the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (FRACGP).

2. Scope

2.1 This policy applies to Participants and GPs on the General Practice Experience Pathway, including:

1. 1. Practice Experience Program (PEP) Standard Participants

   2. General practitioners (GPs) with GP Recognition with Services Australia.

2.2 This policy is to be read in conjunction with the:

1. 1. Assessment of General Practice Experience Policy

   2. Basic Life Support and Advanced Life Support Guide

   3. Fellowship Policy

   4. General Practice Experience Pathway - Fellowship Exam Attempts Policy

3. General principles

3.1 The principles for admission to FRACGP are:

1. 1. ensuring Fellows are competent for unsupervised Comprehensive Australian General Practice,

   2. upholding public health and safety, and

   3. maintaining the good reputation of the general practice profession.

4. Requirements for Fellowship

4.1 GPs on the General Practice Experience Pathway who are not PEP Participants must hold and maintain current GP Recognition with Services Australia.

4.2 Education requirement

1. 1. PEP Standard Participants must have successfully completed the PEP Standard Educational Phase.

4.3 Training requirements

1. 1. Participants and GPs must complete a Basic Life Support (BLS) course that meets the requirements detailed in the Basic Life Support and Advanced Life Support Guide within the 12 months prior to applying for Fellowship.

   2. Participants and GPs must complete an Advanced Life Support (ALS) course within the four years prior to applying for Fellowship, per the Basic Life Support and Advanced Life Support Guide.

4.4 Experience requirements

1. 1. Participants and GPs must have five years’ Full Time Equivalent (FTE) general practice experience, including one year in Comprehensive Australian General Practice, as assessed by the RACGP per the Assessment of General Practice Experience Policy, and

   2. Participants and GPs must have seven years’ FTE postgraduate experience, as assessed by the RACGP per the Assessment of General Practice Experience Policy.

4.5 Assessment requirements

1. 1. Participants and GPs must pass the Fellowship Exams per the General Practice Experience Pathway - Fellowship Exam Attempts Policy.

4.6 Professional and ethical requirements

1. 1. The RACGP reserves the right to withhold admission to Fellowship if the RACGP reasonably considers the Participant or GP:

      1. engaged in conduct that may attract sanctions per Clause 27 of the RACGP Constitution,

      2. is unsuitable to be admitted to Fellowship of the RACGP in accordance with the Fellowship Policy,

      3. is under investigation by Ahpra, or

      4. has Addenda on their current Australian Medical Registration that prevent them from undertaking unsupervised Comprehensive Australian General Practice or limit their scope of practice per the Implications of restrictions, conditions and other addenda on medical registration guide.

4.7 Administrative requirements

1. 1. Participants and GPs must hold current Australian Medical Registration from the date of commencing work in Australian general practice and throughout their Candidacy. Participants and GPs must promptly disclose any:

      1. Addenda on their medical registration, whether in Australia or overseas, and/or

      2. regulatory authority activity, whether in Australia or otherwise, that:

         1. has led or may lead to a change in registration status,

         2. has led to an adverse finding for the Participant or GP which directly or indirectly affects their ability to practise, including enforceable undertakings, tribunal or other body outcomes or other activity which does not appear on their registration, or

         3. forms part of an ongoing investigation

      3. other Notifiable Conduct.

      4. Failure to disclose this information is handled per the Academic Misconduct Policy.

   2. Participants and GPs must be RACGP Financial Members from commencement on the General Practice Experience Pathway until they have either:

      1. attained Fellowship, or

      2. exhausted their Fellowship Exam Candidacy per the General Practice Experience Pathway - Fellowship Exam Attempts Policy.

      3. exhausted their 12-year Maximum Program Time Cap.

   3. Participants and GPs must apply for Fellowship:

      1. within one year of completing all General Practice Experience Pathway requirements, and

         1. this must be within three years of successfully completing all Fellowship Exams.

5. Changing Fellowship pathway

5.1 Participants and GPs can only be enrolled in one Fellowship pathway at a time. To transfer from the General Practice Experience Pathway to another RACGP-Approved Program, you must meet the eligibility and selection requirements of that program. You’ll find these in the relevant program’s policies and handbooks. If you’re accepted into another training program, you must withdraw from the General Practice Experience Pathway.

6. Admission to Fellowship

6.1 The decision to admit the Participant or GP to Fellowship is held by the Censor-in-Chief (CiC) under delegation from the RACGP Board.

7. Disputes, reconsiderations and appeals

7.1 Participants and GPs who believe the RACGP has made an incorrect decision in relation to Fellowship requirements can apply for reconsideration per the Dispute, Reconsideration and Appeals Policy.

8. Amendment of this policy

The Censor-in-Chief (CiC) may, without the consent of the RACGP Board, make minor, moderate and consequential amendments to this policy at any time. The Education & Training Policy Lead can make editorial amendments (no approval required by the Censor-in-Chief).

If the CiC makes amendments, they must advise the RACGP Board of those amendments as soon as practicable.

The RACGP Board may make amendments to this policy at any time.

8.1 Major amendment	An amendment that materially changes the policy’s scope, intent, or application, including overhauling key sections, redefining the policy’s purpose, or fundamentally reallocating responsibilities.
8.2 Moderate amendment	An amendment that makes a targeted change to one or more policy clauses, modifying applicable requirements or assigned responsibilities, with a limited and contained effect on the policy’s overall scope, intent, or application.
8.3 Minor amendment	An amendment that makes deliberate improvements to policy content, such as clarifying ambiguous language, updating outdated references, terminology or contact details, or restructuring content, without altering the policy’s scope, intent, or application.
8.4 Consequential amendment	An amendment made to ensure alignment with a change introduced in another policy. It is not initiated independently but is a direct consequence of an approved change in another policy.
8.5 Editorial amendment	An amendment made solely to correct typographical, grammatical, or formatting errors, without altering the policy’s scope, intent, or application.

9. Responsibilities

9.1 Censor-in-Chief	Ratifying the admission to Fellowship under delegation from the RACGP Board Approving minor amendments Approving moderate amendments Approving consequential amendments
9.2 RACGP Board	Admitting participants and GPs who have met all requirements for Fellowship Approving major amendments
9.3 Person responsible	Ensuring they meet the requirements of this policy to apply for Fellowship Promptly disclosing any addenda to their medical registration

10. Glossary

10.1 Addenda	Includes, but is not limited to, restrictions, conditions, limitations, reprimands, supervision requirements, tribunal outcomes, suspensions, undertakings and/or any other remarks or changes on a participant or GP’s medical registration. Refer to ahpra.gov.au for more information.
10.2 Advanced Life Support (ALS)	See the Basic Life Support and Advanced Life Support Guide.
10.3 Australian Medical Registration	Registration with the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (Ahpra), which allows the registrant to practise medicine. Refer to ahpra.gov.au for more information.
10.4 Basic Life Support (BLS)	See the Basic Life Support and Advanced Life Support Guide.
10.5 Candidacy	The three-year period, separate to training program time, during which a participant or GP can attempt Fellowship exams.
10.6 Comprehensive Australian General Practice	As defined in the Comprehensive Australian general practice guide.
10.7 Educational Phase	The program time during which participants complete learning units and workplace-based assessment requirements per the Satisfactory Completion Framework.
10.8 Fellowship	Admittance to Fellowship of the RACGP (FRACGP).
10.9 Fellowship Exams	The exams run by the RACGP to assess the candidate’s competency for unsupervised general practice anywhere in Australia, including: Applied Knowledge Test (AKT), Key Feature Problem (KFP), and Clinical Competency Exam (CCE).
10.10 Full time	Full time general practice experience comprises a 38-hour minimum working week, over a minimum of four days per week, of which a minimum of 27 hours must be in face-to-face, rostered, patient consultation time undertaking general practice activities. Work periods of less than three consecutive hours, or of less than one month in any one practice, will not be considered. Hours worked beyond this definition of full time will not be considered.
10.11 Full time equivalent	The number of hours worked as a proportion of full-time general practice experience (when a participant or GP undertakes part-time general practice experience).
10.12 GP Recognition with Services Australia	The recognition Services Australia grants to doctors who either: hold specialist registration in General Practice with the Medical Board of Australia, or were registered for Medicare purposes on the Vocational Register on 16 June 2021 and continue to hold general registration with the Medical Board of Australia. You must receive notification from Services Australia you have GP recognition. To find out more whether you are eligible and how to apply, please visit Services Australia.
10.13 Maximum program time cap	The longest permitted timeframe (12 years) for a participant or GP to achieve Fellowship (FRACGP), starting from the commencement of training on the first approved program/pathway (AGPT, FSP, PEP SP, PEP ST, RVTS or ACRRM). Refer to the PEP Standard Post Education Phase Policy and the General Practice Experience Pathway – Fellowship Exam Attempts Policy.
10.14 Notifiable Conduct	Per the Medical Board of Australia’s Guidelines for mandatory notifications about registered health practitioners, practising while intoxicated by alcohol or drugs, engaging in sexual misconduct in connection with the practice, or placing the public at risk of substantial harm in the practice because of an impairment or by practising in a way that constitutes a significant departure from accepted professional standards.
10.15 Participant	A medical practitioner who: has completed the educational phase of PEP Standard by 30 June 2023, is currently progressing towards Fellowship on the General Practice Experience Pathway, has not withdrawn from PEP Standard, and has not started an alternative RACGP-approved program.
10.16 RACGP Financial Member	An RACGP member who has: met the membership category requirements, had their complete membership application form accepted, and paid their current membership fee in full.

11. Related documents, legislation and policies

• Academic Misconduct Policy

• Assessment of General Practice Experience Policy

• Basic Life Support and Advanced Life Support Guide

• Comprehensive Australian general practice guide

• Dispute, Reconsideration and Appeals Policy

• Fellowship Policy

• General Practice Experience Pathway

• General Practice Experience Pathway - Fellowship Exam Attempts Policy

• Guidelines for mandatory notifications about registered health practitioners

• PEP Standard Post Education Phase Policy

• RACGP Constitution

12. Policy review and currency

This policy will be reviewed every three calendar years from the last approval date, or when there is a significant change in the intent of the policy. This policy remains valid and applicable notwithstanding if it is overdue for review.