Frequently asked questions (FAQs)

Page last updated 28 June 2024

Frequently asked questions (FAQs)


The Practice Experience Program Specialist (PEP SP) is for Specialist Medical Graduates (SIMGs) who hold a recognised overseas general practice specialist qualification and wish to qualify for specialist registration in Australia and be admitted to Fellowship of the RACGP (FRACGP) via the Medical Board of Australia's (MBA) Specialist Pathway - specialist recognition.

It’s a 3GA workforce and training program that allows doctors to access A1 Medicare benefits while working towards Fellowship.

All SIMGs must complete a comparability assessment to see whether they are eligible to apply for the program. For more information about this assessment please refer to the Practice Experience Program Specialist - Comparability Assessment Guide.


Applications for the PEP Specialist opened on 1 September 2019.


There are several criteria used to assess an applicant’s eligibility to enter the PEP SP.

Applicants looking to apply for entry into the Practice Experience Program Specialist pathway must first undertake a comparability assessment to determine eligibility. In addition, applicants must meet criteria including the following as part of the application:

  1. Hold a specialist general practice qualification with a recognised curriculum (see Curricula classifications) and provide evidence of the training route completed and assessments undertaken.
  2. Assessment type - Applicants summative assessments, comprising both theoretical and practical components, will be compared to those utilised within the RACGP examinations.
  3. Recency of practice - your experience within both the last 12 months and last four years must meet the requirements of the Practice Experience Program Specialist – Comparability Assessment Policy (see PEP SP Comparability Assessment Guide).
  4. Have at least 18 months full time equivalent (FTE) general practice experience.
  5. Continuing Professional Development (CPD) - completion of 50 hours of CPD in the last 12 months.
  6. Continuity of practice - explain any gaps in clinical practice of longer than three months.
 

We recommend reading the PEP SP Comparability Assessment Guide and review the list of comparability assessment criteria before applying.


If your specialist qualification is not listed, your training curriculum has not been assessed by the RACGP. Your curriculum must be assessed and be found to be either Substantially or Partially Comparable to that of the RACGP before you can apply for a comparability assessment. To have your curriculum assessed, please complete the interactive application form available here. You should then print, sign, and return the scanned forms and supporting documentation to the RACGP by email to educationsupport@racgp.org.au.

We require the following documentation:

  1. An official copy of your Training Organisation/Medical College training curriculum
  2. An official letter from your Training Organisation confirming:
    1. that this is their curriculum;
    2. the curriculum year;
    3. the specialist general practice qualification it leads to; and
    4. the year you obtained this qualification.

To support your curriculum comparison application, please also provide an official document from the College, Training Organisation or Medical Board that outlines their good medical practice guidelines and ethics documentation.


The outcome of the curriculum comparison is not indicative of the outcome of your personal comparability assessment outcome. The curriculum comparison process compares your training curriculum against the RACGP curriculum. Holding a specialist practice qualification with a recognised curriculum assessed as substantially or partially comparable is only one of several criteria used to assess an applicant’s eligibility to enter the PEP Specialist. Other areas including your training, assessments, and context of practice will also influence your final comparability assessment outcome.

Please read the PEP SP Comparability Assessment Guide before applying for a comparability assessment.
 


First you'll need to determine the most appropriate pathway to medical registration – either the competent authority or standard pathway, see link here.

Your pathway to Fellowship would then usually be via the Fellowship Support Program (FSP),  the Australian General Practice Training (AGPT) Program, or the Remote Vocational Training Scheme (RVTS). Each of these programs has differing requirements including the type of medical registration required, location requirements and visa or residency requirements.

For further information about the FSP, AGPT, and RVTS, including application dates, please refer to the following links:

Amongst other requirements, you would need to have Australian medical registration at the time of application and the appropriate visa or residency status.

For an overview of the various RACGP pathways and their associated policies please click here.

 


The ICFRACGP is considered a recognised qualification. Although it is awarded by the RACGP, you will need to apply for a comparability assessment and have an outcome of Substantially Comparable or Partially Comparable to enter the PEP SP and work towards FRACGP. To apply for a comparability assessment, please refer to Apply for the PEP Specialist.

Please note that EPIC verification of your specialist qualification is not required for holders of ICFRACGP.

For further information please refer to the PEP Specialist Participant handbooks, PEP Specialist website, or email educationsupport@racgp.org.au.


A curriculum explains the overall plan for a programme of study, a syllabus outlines the course content, and a handbook explains how the curriculum is delivered.


For more information about the PEP SP application process, including the Comparability Assessment, please refer to Application handbook and the PEP SP Comparability Assessment Guide.

 


An application is only deemed complete when there is no further feedback requesting information or documentation. Applicants will be advised of the outcome of their application within ten weeks of submission of a complete application.

Unmet requests for further information may delay assessment time beyond this period.


Please contact educationsupport@racgp.org.au. The Education Support team will first need to check the status of your application before unlocking it.


Applicants have six months from making payment to complete their online application. If you cannot complete your application within six months, please send an email to educationsupport@racgp.org.au to request an extension.

This extension does not extend to changing the expiry date of your most recent outcome letter.


All comparability assessment outcomes are valid for 12 calendar months from the date of the outcome. You need to complete all parts of the application and start the program within this timeframe. You must submit a new application if your comparability assessment outcome expires before beginning the program.


Your training time undertaken within general practice itself can contribute to your assessment of recency and general practice experience. Make sure you have supporting documentation from the practices themselves rather than solely from a training body.

For letter of support requirements, please refer to the PEP SP Comparability Assessment Guide and the PEP SP - Comparability Assessment Policy.


Yes, you will need to provide evidence of 50 hours of CPD undertaken within the last 12 months.
 


You will need to demonstrate 50 hours of CPD in the 12 months before applying for your Comparability Assessment (the date of signing the statutory declaration). You need to provide evidence that details the nature of each CPD activity, the date of each CPD activity and the number of hours completed for each activity. Where certificates are not available, or do not give hours for an activity, there should be a statement from the relevant international College, training provider or similar. If you have recently been awarded your qualification and you undertook formal training, you may provide a statement from your training organisation detailing the formal educational activities undertaken and the dates on which these activities occurred.

For further information please refer to the RACGP’s PEP Specialist Application Handbook.
 


You need to apply for primary source verification of your primary and specialist general practice qualifications from the Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates (ECFMG) through EPIC. Step-by-step instructions are available on the AMC website.


For information about our current fee structure, please refer to our fees page.


No, RACGP membership fees are additional to PEP Specialist program fees.


GP Specialists with overseas training bring valuable experience to our healthcare systems and communities. A new fee structure has been applied to maintain the quality of the PEP specialist pathway.

For further information please refer to the PEP SP fee page.
 


There will be no changes to the comparability assessment application fee, which will remain $575 as of 1 July 2024.

RACGP may review fees at any time and can make changes due to a variety of factors including operational costs, improvement to programs, and delivery requirements.

For further information about Specialist Pathway fees and charges, please refer to the fees page.
 


The Department of Health (DoH) Non-vocationally Registered Fellowship Support Program (Non-VR FSP) grant provided support for doctors to gain their Fellowship. The RACGP developed the Practice Experience Program (PEP) - Specialist Stream (SP) as a self-directed education program to support doctors on their journey to Fellowship of the RACGP. The non-VR FSP funding from the DoH ended mid-2023.


The routes to medical registration include the Specialist Pathway, Competent Authority Pathway, and Standard Pathway.

If you gain medical registration via either the Competent Authority or Standard Pathway you will need to undertake additional assessments which may include the AMC exams and a PESCI.

You may be eligible to work as a GP for a limited amount of time under the More Doctors for Rural Australia Program or in an Area of Need but you would still need to have medical registration.

If you're on the Specialist Pathway, you'll need to complete an RACGP-approved program, such as PEP SP, to obtain Fellowship of the RACGP. If you are on the Competent Authority or Standard Pathway you may be eligible to apply for the Australian General Practice Training (AGPT) program or the Fellowship Support Program (FSP).

The Medical Board is currently developing an expedited pathway. Please refer to their website for more information.


The RACGP removed the up-front award of FAEG in September 2019. This allowed a full and responsive assessment of SIMGs and ensured a uniform approach to the process. SIMGs have support and supervision as they work towards FRACGP. The change comes in direct response to the Medical Board of Australia’s (MBA’s) good practice guidelines.


Specialist international medical graduates (SIMGs) will no longer be granted immediate recognition as a specialist in Australia. They now have to work in Australia to show that they’re at the same standard as a locally-trained specialist at the point of Fellowship.

Eligible SIMGs will now apply for provisional or limited registration with the Medical Board of Australia (MBA) while working towards Fellowship and must undertake a period of up to 24 months’ full-time equivalent (FTE) practice under peer review. The maximum timeframes are decided by the comparability outcome.

Under the new program, SIMGs will be issued a provider number through the RACGP to enable access to the full Medicare rebate. SIMGs will be admitted to Fellowship of the RACGP (FRACGP) upon completion of all Fellowship requirements.


 


Doctors on the PEP SP must initially apply for provisional or limited registration with the Medical Board of Australia. When you have been admitted to Fellowship of the RACGP you will be able to apply for Specialist general practice registration.

For more information, visit the Medical Board of Australia.


The PEP SP is an Australian Government-approved 3GA program designed to provide medical services to communities most in need. The Australian Government requires international medical graduates with an overseas specialist qualification to work in a Distribution Priority Area (DPA) to access Medicate rebates under section 19AB of the Health Insurance Act 1973.

Provider numbers will only be issued to SIMGs whose job offer:

  • meets the RACGP definition of comprehensive general practice
  • is located in a Modified Monash (MM) Model 1–7 DPA location
    • Substantially comparable doctors are required to work within MM1-7 DPA locations
    • Partially comparable doctors are required to work within MM2-7 DPA locations.

You can check the MM classification of a location on the Department of Health website.

Doctors wanting to work outside these locations will need to apply for consideration of extentuating and unforeseen circumstances.

For more information, please refer to the Application handbook and the PEP SP consideration of extentuating and unforeseen circumstances guide.


If your job offer is not approved, you may submit another job offer that meets the requirements.

For more information, please refer to the Application handbook.


Your curriculum must be assessed before you can apply for a comparability assessment. To request a curriculum comparison, please refer to the instructions on Apply for the PEP SP.

Please read the PEP SP Comparability Assessment Guide and review the list of comparability assessment criteria before applying.


If your curriculum isn't listed, your training curriculum has not been assessed against the RACGP Curriculum.Your curriculum must be assessed before you can apply for a comparability assessment.

To have your curriculum assessed, you must provide the following:

  1. An official copy of your specialist general practice college/training organisation/Medical Board training curriculum
  2. An official letter from your Training Organisation confirming:
    1. this is their curriculum;
    2. curriculum year;
    3. the specialist general practice qualification it leads to; and
    4. the year you obtained this qualification.

To support your curriculum comparison application, please also provide an official document from the college, training organisation or Medical Board that outlines their good medical practice guidelines and ethics.

If any of these documents are not in English, you must provide a copy of the original and an official English translation.

Please complete the interactive application form, print, sign and return all documents to the RACGP scanned by email to educationsupport@racgp.org.au

Curriculum assessments take up us 10 weeks to assess. Assessors will review your specialist colleges’ curriculum against the RACGP curriculum. This assessment is undertaken by multiple trained and experienced general practitioners.

Download: Request for curriculum comparison form (PDF 484 KB)

For more information please refer to the Application handbook.


Eligible specialist international medical graduates (SIMGs) will need to have their job offer approved by the RACGP and be granted registration by the Medical Board of Australia (MBA) before they can apply for a provider number through the RACGP.

These applications can take up to 12 weeks to process and are only granted for the approved practice. If an applicant changes practices, they will need to reapply and have their new practice approved.

For more information, please refer to the Application handbook.


Yes. If you’re not an RACGP member, you’ll need to fill in the membership application form for overseas-registered medical practitioners and become a financial member of the RACGP. More information can be found on the RACGP Membership page.


This is decided by your comparability outcome.

You must be categorised as partially or substantially comparable to be eligible for the PEP SP, and your time working towards Fellowship requirements starts from the day you commence employment under the PEP SP in Australia.

If your comparability outcome is:

  • substantially comparable – you’ll be required to achieve Fellowship of the RACGP (FRACGP) within 12 calendar months if working full-time, and up to 24 months if working part time.
  • partially comparable – you’ll be required to achieve FRACGP within 24 calendar months if working full-time, and up to 48 months if working part time. This includes successful completion of the RACGP Fellowship examinations.

Working part-time means it will take longer to complete your Fellowship requirements.

Once you have completed your requirements you may apply for Fellowship - you don't need to wait until you have reached the maximum timeframe.

For more information please refer to the PEP SP Participant Handbook – Substantially Comparable Stream or the PEP SP Participant Handbook – Partially Comparable Stream.


The RACGP strongly recommends PEP Specialist participants do not change practices during the six calendar months program time. You will still need to undertake the WBA and this may be more challenging if you have recently moved practices and are unfamiliar with the new patients, processes and local services. Changing practices requires approval from AHPRA and RACGP to reassess the job suitability and supervisor confirmation. The AHPRA applications take approximately six weeks to be reviewed for an outcome.

This process is in addition to issuing of the new provider number which can take anywhere between 8-12 weeks' time to process. We can’t pause your program time during the time it takes to process your change of job request and issue a provider number, which means you might find it difficult to fulfill your program requirements in time. You’ll need to complete your requirements within the six-calendar month term irrespective of your provider number situation.
 


Substantially Comparable participants who have not demonstrated they meet standards set for a new Fellow during workplace-based assessment activities may be reclassified as Partially Comparable. You will be required to meet the PC placement requirements for provider number purposes and may need to change practices for this. You will also need to pass the Fellowship exams (Applied Knowledge Test, Key Feature Problem, and Clinical Competency Exam) before you can apply for admission to FRACGP.

For more information please refer to the PEP SP Participant Handbook – Partially Comparable Stream.
 


The workplace-based assessment (WBA) must be completed between three and six months of commencing employment. It provides a framework for evaluating a doctor’s performance and progress in the areas of practice best assessed in the context of the workplace.

The aim is to support professional development and transition to Australian general practice. It also enables participants to receive feedback on their progress towards Fellowship.

The WBA consists of the following components:

  • Online core learning units
  • Colleague and patient feedback using a Colleague Feedback Evaluation Tool (CFET) and Doctors’ Interpersonal Skills Questionnaire (DISQ), in addition to self-appraisal - together known as multisource feedback (MSF)
  • A clinical assessment visit (usually done via Zoom or similar virtual platform) that will involve a medical educator observing you in practice during four consultations (direct observation) and a clinical case analysis. The clinical case analysis involves the assessor selecting patients seen by you in the preceding week with oral questioning about aspects of the case.
    • Substantially Comparable participants complete three direct observations and three Clinical Case Analysis.
    • Partially Comparable participants complete four direct observations and two Clinical Case Analysis. You will be provided with feedback on your performance.
For more information, please refer to the PEP SP Participant Handbook – Substantially Comparable Stream or the PEP SP Participant Handbook – Partially Comparable Stream.


All components of the workplace-based assessment (WBA) must be successfully completed between three and six months of commencing work in Australia.

For more information, please refer to the PEP SP Participant Handbook – Substantially Comparable Stream or the PEP SP Participant Handbook – Partially Comparable Stream.

 
  • Completion of the RACGP core modules and units
  • Successful completion of a workplace-based peer review (MSF)
  • Supervisor reports are a requirement by the Medical Board of Australia and must be submitted to the RACGP at three, 12, and 24 months.
For more information, please refer to the PEP SP Participant Handbook – Substantially Comparable Stream or the PEP SP Participant Handbook – Partially Comparable Stream.


Substantially Comparable specialist international medical graduates (SIMGs) who do not satisfactorily complete all areas of the workplace-based assessment (WBA) will be required to complete supplementary assessments to demonstrate they have reached the standard of a new Fellow of the RACGP and are eligible to apply for admission to Fellowship of the RACGP (FRACGP).

Doctors will receive constructive feedback about performance from a medical educator and will be notified about which WBA component/s require a second review. If the WBA is not satisfactorily completed on the second attempt or within the specified timeframe, the doctor will no longer be recognised as substantially comparable – they will be recognised as partially comparable and be required to complete the RACGP Fellowship examinations.

Partially comparable doctors must complete the WBA within the specified timeframe.

WBA feedback is designed to provide guidance to support the doctor through successful completion of the RACGP Fellowship examinations.

For more information, please refer to the PEP SP Participant Handbook – Substantially Comparable Stream or the PEP SP Participant Handbook – Partially Comparable Stream.


The education and support program will run as a six-month program. If you are working less than 20 hours per week, you may apply for an additional three-month period for this program and WBA (so may have up to nine months to complete the requirements).

Remember there is also a requirement to complete at least six months full time equivalent prior to applying for Fellowship. For those working full time, this requirement will be completed by the end of the educational six- month program, but for those working part time, it may take additional time to make up the required six months full time equivalent experience.

For more information, please refer to the PEP SP Participant Handbook – Substantially Comparable Stream or the PEP SP Participant Handbook – Partially Comparable Stream.


Please refer to the PEP Specialist Fellowship Exams Policy for more information.


For information regarding Fellowship, please review the PEP SP Requirements for Fellowship Policy to ensure you have met your requirements.

  • NB* ALS is one of the requirements for Fellowship.


For more information about the program changes introduced on 1 July 2024, including frequently asked questions (FAQs), please refer to the PEP Specialist transition webpage.
 


All PEP SP policies and guidance documents are available on the RACGP website.

For queries relating to:

  • PEP Specialist comparability assessment applications (Part A)
  • PEP Specialist job approval applications (Part B)
  • PEP Specialist curriculum comparison application requests

Please reach out to the Education Support team - educationsupport@racgp.org.au

For queries relating to:

  • PEP Specialist Part C (right to work queries)
  • PEP Specialist provider number queries
  • PEP Specialist Part B (job offer location requirements)
  • PEP Specialist Extenuating and Unforeseen Circumstance applications

​Please reach out to the Approved Placement team - approvedplacement@racgp.org.au.

For queries relating to:

  • PEP Specialist education and post program queries, from signing of the program agreement to applying for Fellowship.

​Please reach out to the Training Programs team (PEP Specialist) - pepspecialistadmin@racgp.org.au.
 

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