I am wanting to apply for the PEP

Frequently asked questions


The Practice Experience Program (PEP), is a self-directed education program designed to support non-vocationally registered (non-VR) doctors on their journey to RACGP Fellowship.

The PEP aims to provide targeted educational support for non-VR doctors (primarily international medical graduates (IMGs)) to help them deliver quality general practice care to their patients.

From January 2022 it will be compulsory that all RACGP Fellowship exam candidates to complete either the Australian General Practice Training program (AGPT) or the PEP in order to be eligible to obtain FRACGP.


The PEP is an RACGP initiative that will be delivered in partnership with Regional Training Organisations (RTOs) and Remote Vocational Training Scheme (RVTS).


Several opportunities will be open during 2019 for applicants to start the program in 2020, please see About the PEP or the Pathway to Fellowship (application information) for specific details. Please note participants starting the PEP in 2020 will need to undertake the PEPEA. 


You can only be in one training program at a time. If you decide to accept your place on the PEP, you must have withdrawn from the AGPT or RVTS before starting on the PEP.

If you are looking at transferring from AGPT or RVTS, the RACGP will be able to facilitate a provider number for your time on the PEP, however, please be aware it could take up to 12 weeks (or longer) for the new provider number to become active.

You can also apply for the PEP if you have completed one of these programs (AGPT or RVTS)


No. You would need to withdraw before you can apply for the PEP, as you cannot be participating in more than one pathway to Fellowship. You will be given the opportunity to consider the offer of a place on the PEP and your individual program requirements, including pathway duration before you accept your place.


Yes, you may apply for the PEP while remaining on the RLRP. Please note from 1 January 2019; the RACGP will facilitate the provision of provider numbers to those GPs whose provider numbers expire after that date. Please read FAQs for those ‘Eligible for the PEP’ and find the breakdown regarding “Provider numbers, 3GA status and Medicare Rebates” for more information on provider numbers.


The PEP is not recommended for current SRP/SPP candidates, due to the conditions of your registration under the Medical Board of Australia’s Specialist Pathway. This pathway has conditions that require that you obtain Fellowship within a limited time of starting work in Australia, depending on your categorisation. You cannot sit RACGP Fellowship exams until you have completed your allocated PEP program time, which means that you may run out of time on your registration before you are able to complete all requirements.


Anyone who has been on a non-VR Fellowship Support Program attracting government funding (either the ACRRM Independent Pathway from 1/1/19 or the RACGP PEP) is not eligible for funding under the other program. You can be on both pathways, however you can only accept funding from one or the other and can only hold a provider number with one or the other. If you left the ACRRM Independent Pathway prior to 1/1/19, you are eligible to join PEP (assuming other eligibility requirements are met).


Yes. The PEP is a Commonwealth supported program funded under the Stronger Rural Health Strategy. Please note you will need to meet eligibility requirements to be considered for the program and that meeting these requirements does not guarantee you a place in the PEP.


Yes. The PEP is a Commonwealth supported program funded under the Stronger Rural Health Program. Please note you will need to meet eligibility requirements to be considered for the program and that meeting these requirements does not guarantee you a place in the PEP.


You do not need to be an Australian citizen to apply for the PEP. Please note you will need to meet eligibility requirements to be considered for the program and that meeting these requirements does not guarantee you a place in the PEP.


The PEP is Commonwealth Government supported, which will result in a reduced cost to participants. The co-payment amount that each participant will be required to pay will be $2,000 per six-month term. Please be advised if you withdraw from the program after having been formally accepted (in writing via a Program Agreement and subject to invoice payment) you will not be eligible for government funding should you wish to join the program in another intake.

Participants are also required to pay a one-off fee for the Practice Experience Program Entry Assessment (PEPEA). This fee is $725.


Yes, you are able to apply for the PEP. However, applicants who already hold vocational registration as a specialist General Practitioner will not be able to access government funding for the program. Therefore, the applicant will be required to fund the program themselves. Please contact pepadmin@racgp.org.au for further details.


Yes, all applicants and participants must meet the following requirements:es, all applicants and participants must meet the following requirements:

  1. Appear on the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA) Register of Practitioners as a medical practitioner by the date of commencement of the first term of PEP; and
  2. Hold registration under the general, limited (area of need) or provisional registration categories.
  3. Hold registration without any registration conditions, undertakings, or notations that limit scope of practice as determined by PEP Medical Educators (PEP MEs), by the date of commencement of the first term of PEP.


No, doctors on limited area of need or provisional categories of medical registration may be eligible for PEP, as long as practice location requirements, to allow access to a Medicare Provider number under PEP, are met.


You will carry your exam passes with you into the PEP, in line with clause 6 of the Fellowship Exam Attempts Policy. Existing pass results obtained before 2019.1 remain valid in accord with the exam candidate handbook that was in place at the time of the first pass – usually three years. If you enter the PEP, exam expiry will be frozen for the duration of your program; you will then have the remainder of the three years after you complete your program to pass any remaining exam segments.

If you have no passes before entering PEP, you will have three years from the point of becoming eligible to pass all three segments, in line with clause 5.1.ii of the Fellowship Exam Attempts Policy.

Please note that you are not able to enrol in any exams until you have completed your program time satisfactorily.


Yes, you can. Provided you meet the PEP eligibility requirements, holding exam passes does not affect whether you can enter the PEP.


All candidates who already hold exam passes will carry them into the PEP. Exams passed before 2019.1 remain valid in accord with the exam candidate handbook that was in place at the time of the first pass – usually three years. After three years, those passes will expire and you will begin a new exam candidacy under the Fellowship Exam Attempts Policy.

For those who have passed exam segments after 2019.1, your exam candidacy will be paused while you are in PEP and your passes will remain valid for the rest of your candidacy; if you enter the PEP, exam expiry will be frozen for the duration of your program; you will then have the remainder of the three years after you complete your program to pass any remaining exam segments.

If you have no passes before entering PEP, you will have three years from the point of your first exam attempt to pass all three segments, in line with clause 5.1.ii of the Fellowship Exam Attempts Policy.

Please note that you are not able to enrol in any exams until you have completed your allocated program time.


If the above FAQs have not answered your question/s, please contact us at pepadmin@racgp.org.au