The Medical Board of Australia (MBA) determines whether IMGs who are applying for limited or provisional registration to work in general practice are required to have a PESCI.

For more information about eligibility and to discuss your specific circumstances, please refer to MBA’s PESCI webpage or contact the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (Ahpra).

Please note, a separate PESCI is required for each position application. If you have multiple job offers you will need to submit a separate application for each position.

All RACGP PESCIs are currently being conducted online using Zoom videoconferencing.

Your interview will be held online and you will be offered the next available date after the final review of your completed submitted application. An application is only deemed complete when there is no further feedback requesting information or documentation.

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

You must be ready to sit a PESCI when you apply. 

It can take up to 10 business days to assess an application, provided you have submitted all the required information and documentary evidence.

After your application has been reviewed and considered complete, we'll send you an email with the next available interview date and time. Once you accept the interview date, we'll send you a confirmation email within two business days.

Your PESCI may be scheduled as early as 4 to 12 weeks from receiving your complete application. Failure to accept an interview date will result in the full PESCI fee being forfeited.

In summary:

1. Completed and reviewed application received by RACGP
2. Next available PESCI date/time emailed for your acceptance
3. Confirmation letter once acceptance received from RACGP

You may request an alternative interview date only if there are extenuating circumstances that prevent you from attending on the date offered to you.

Extenuating and unforeseen circumstances are considered outside the applicant’s control and can reasonably be considered to have been unforeseen and can be shown to have a direct and significant impact on the applicant.

The RACGP considers extenuating and unforeseen circumstances on a case-by-case basis and a fee may apply. 

Requests must be received within five business days of the RACGP sending the email with proposed interview dates.

Please be aware that there are limited interview dates available and the requested interview date must be within 12 weeks from receiving your complete application. If you require a date beyond 12 weeks, your request may be declined.

If you wish to request a different interview date, please email us at pesci@racgp.org.au. 

If you haven’t received an email with the next available interview date and you require a date beyond 12 weeks, your request will be denied.

Please refer to the ‘Fees and refunds’ section in the PESCI Handbook for more information about when a refund may be payable if you withdraw your application.

To withdraw your application, you must email pesci@racgp.org.au.

There are three main time zones in Australia, with daylight saving time (DST) observed in Victoria.

Between 5 April 2026 to 4 October 2026, interviews will be conducted on Australian Eastern Standard Time (AEST) UTC/GMT +10 hours.

Between 4 October 2024 to 4 April 2027, interviews are conducted on Australian Eastern Daylight Time (AEDT) UTC/GMT +11 hours.

You may request to reschedule your interview date if there are extenuating circumstances that prevent you from attending on the date of the confirmed interview.

The RACGP considers extenuating and unforeseen circumstances on a case-by-case basis, and a non-refundable administration fee may apply. 

In other circumstances, requests must be received at least 20 business days before the confirmed interview date.

Subsequent rescheduling requests that are not considered by the RACGP as extenuating and unforeseen, cannot be accommodated and may result in the full PESCI fee being forfeited.

If you wish to request a reschedule to a different interview date, please email us at pesci@racgp.org.au. 

If your original job offer has been withdrawn and you have secured a new job offer, you can request to update your application by notifying us at least 20 business days before the confirmed interview date. A non-refundable administration fee will apply as defined in the PESCI Handbook.

If your job offer has been withdrawn and you have not secured a new job offer, you may be eligible for a partial refund of your PESCI fee when you withdraw at least 20 business days before the confirmed interview date. You can re-apply when you have secured a new job offer.

Requests for updates made less than 20 business days before the confirmed interview date (whether you have secured a new job offer or not), will result in the full PESCI fee being forfeited. After securing a new job offer, you will be required to pay the full PESCI fee again before submitting a new application.

Please refer to the ‘Fees and refunds’ section in the PESCI Handbook for more information about when a refund may be payable if you withdraw from your interview.

To withdraw from a PESCI, you must email pesci@racgp.org.au.

The following devices currently do not have the required Zoom functionality for the interview and cannot be used:

1. Surface pro, mobile phones or any other tablet device,
2. Chromebooks, and
3. any device that runs on Chrome OS

Please review the Pre-Employment Structured Clinical Interview - Applicant Technical Guide for a full list of technical and system requirements.

There will be five scenarios based on the types of patient presentations you can expect to encounter in general practice in Australia. You’ll have three minutes reading time for each scenario and then ten minutes to answer a series of questions based on the patient presentation. You may be given additional information during the questioning.

For more information on the interview, please refer to the RACGP PESCI Handbook - Interview

Applicants who present to a PESCI are presumed to be fit to sit the interview. The outcome is based solely on your performance in the interview and can’t be changed based on personal circumstances surrounding the interview. Results will not be adjusted.

If you’re unwell or there are circumstances that prevent you from presenting to the interview or from performing to the best of your ability, notify the RACGP at pesci@racgp.org.au  or call the PESCI national number +61 3 8699 0554 as soon as possible to discuss late withdrawal options.

If you suddenly become ill during a PESCI, notify the RACGP immediately to discuss available options.

We’ll send PESCI outcome reports to you by email within 15 business days of the scheduled interview date.

PESCI outcome reports are valid for 12 calendar months from the date of the report.

To obtain a new outcome report, you will need to pay for and submit a new application to conduct the PESCI again.

A PESCI is position-specific and is not transferable from one position to another. However, where an applicant’s circumstances have changed after a successful PESCI result, an applicant may apply to the Medical Board of Australia for approval to use an existing PESCI for a new position / location.

A new PESCI may be required, even where the new position description is substantially similar to the previous position description, as the level of responsibility, nature of the health service and the broader health context may be different and have implications for an applicant’s suitability.

Please refer to the Pre-Employment Structured Clinical Interview Policy and Pre-Employment Structured Clinical Interview Handbook.

You can also email pesci@racgp.org.au or call the PESCI national number +61 3 8699 0554.