Eligibility

The RACGP can only confirm eligibility by examining a submitted application and supporting documents. To be eligible, you must:

• Be an Australian or New Zealand citizen or an Australian permanent resident or on an accepted temporary visa holder with an active Australian permanent residency application.
• Have recognised medical qualifications.
• Hold, or expect to hold, general medical registration prior to the commencement of training.
• Be willing to cease training on any other vocational training programs, if you are successful in gaining a training position on the AGPT program.
• Have fulfilled all requirements of the Australian Medical Council (AMC), or the Competent Authority pathway, if you obtained your medical qualification outside of Australia or New Zealand (For overseas trained doctors only).
• Have a minimum of one exam semester remaining to complete all Fellowship exams, as per the Fellowship Exam Attempts Policy, if you’ve previously sat Fellowship exams since January 2019.

For more information, please refer to the Eligibility section in the AGPT Application Handbook.

The RACGP can only determine eligibility by examining a submitted application and supporting documents.

To self-assess your eligibility:

• Be an Australian or New Zealand citizen or an Australian permanent resident or on an accepted temporary visa with an active Australian permanent residency application.
• Establish your current citizenship and/or residency status and your current medical qualifications.
• Download the AGPT Application Handbook from the RACGP website.
• Use the AGPT Program Eligibility Guide flowchart in the AGPT Application Handbook to self-assess your eligibility.

We will accept applications from temporary residents (who hold a TSS 457, 482, 485, 820, 491 or 494 visa subclass) if you obtained your primary medical qualification in Australia or New Zealand. However, the following additional documentation is required:

• Evidence of an active Australian permanent residency application before close of applications; OR
• Completion of the ‘Temporary resident applicant declaration’ stating that you will gain Australian permanent residency by the completion of the AGPT Program.

AND

• Letters of support from each of the training organisations for your preferred training region/s.

! Note

If you are not yet an Australian permanent resident, it is your responsibility to ensure that your current visa allows you to work as an AGPT registrar.

Are you an overseas-trained doctor?

Overseas-trained doctors residing on a temporary visa are ineligible for the AGPT Program, unless they receive Australian permanent residency before close of applications.

Use the AGPT Program Eligibility Flow Chart in the AGPT Eligibility Guidelines to self-assess eligibility status.

Are you an Australian trained doctor?

You may be eligible to apply if you meet the following requirements:

• Hold a current Temporary Skills Shortage 457, 482, 485, 820, 491 or 494 visa subclass
• Hold or expect to hold general medical registration by the commencement of the 2023 training year

• Provide a Statutory Declaration stating your intention to obtain Australian permanent residency or Australian/New Zealand citizenship prior to the completion of your AGPT training. The Statutory Declaration Template can be found here.

• Provide evidence of an active Australian permanent residency application. 

! Note

Only selected training regions support 457, TSS 482, 491, 494, and 820 visa holders for the AGPT Program. Refer to the information about temporary visa holders in the AGPT Application Handbook for further information about the regions that may support temporary visa holders and the AGPT temporary visa holder factsheet.

Due to individual visa requirements, the Department of Health and the RACGP cannot sponsor these visas.

If you are a current registrar in the AGPT Program with ACRRM, you must formally resign and provide evidence of your resignation acceptance with your new AGPT application for the AGPT Program, by close of applications.

If you are enrolled in the ACRRM Independent Pathway (IP), the Remote Vocational Training Scheme (RVTS) or the RACGP Practice Experience Pathway (PEP) you must provide a Statutory Declaration of your intention to withdraw prior to the commencement of the training year. The Statutory Declaration Template can be found on the RACGP website.

Yes. You can engage in additional alternative specialist vocational training outside the AGPT Program if:

• you get prior approval from your training region before you start the AGPT Program
• this is identified in your AGPT learning plan at the start of the 2023 training year, and
• it doesn’t compromise your AGPT Program training, as determined by the RACGP.

You should also be aware that:

•  you can’t defer AGPT Program training to pursue other specialist training outside of the AGPT Program
• if leave from the AGPT Program is required to complete secondary training, your leave allowance will be reduced
• extensions for AGPT Program training can’t be approved because you’re pursuing other specialist training outside of the AGPT Program.

You are strongly advised to discuss your training plans with the training organisation who occupies your preferred training region before you apply. A list of contacts is available here.

It is not an eligibility requirement for you to have a driver’s licence; however placement in some practices may not be available if you do not hold a current Australian drivers licence and/or independent means of transport.

You should discuss this with the RTO in the training region(s) you are considering nominating, to establish any restrictions this may place on you.

The Modified Monash Model (MMM) is a geographical classification that categorises different areas in Australia into seven remoteness categories. This ranges from MM1 (metropolitan areas) to MM7 (very remote communities). This model will be in effect from 1 January 2020. Please refer to the below table for further information. All ACRRM positions are on the rural pathway.
 

Table sourced from the ‘Modified Monash Model – Fact Sheet’.

Section 19AB of the Health Insurance Act 1973 (Cwlth) applies to some doctors seeking to practise in Australia, including overseas-trained doctors (OTDs) and foreign graduates of an accredited medical school (FGAMS). The Act restricts access to Medicare benefits and requires these doctors to work in a distribution priority area (for GPs) or a district of workforce shortage (for specialists) for a minimum period of 10 years in order to access Medicare arrangements. In this guide, we refer to these restrictions as a moratorium.

Section 19AB applies for a minimum of 10 years from the date a doctor first gains medical registration in Australia, which includes provisional or limited registration. The moratorium ends at the 10-year mark, provided the doctor is a permanent resident or citizen of Australia. The moratorium otherwise continues for a temporary resident until they become a permanent resident or citizen of Australia.

If you are subject to Section 19AB (also known as the 10 year moratorium), you are restricted to nominating rural pathway preferences only.

Use the Pathway Eligibility Guide on page 20 of the AGPT Application Handbook to determine which pathway/s you are eligible for.

Applicants requiring more detailed information about their individual circumstances in relation to Section 19AB (including eligibility for an exemption) should contact the Department of Health, Access Programs Section by emailing 19AB@health.gov.au.

Please note: Be sure to advise them you are applying for the AGPT Program. Decisions on exemptions may take some time; the Department of Health advises applicants who wish to apply for an exemption, to do so prior to applying for the AGPT Program.

Applicants applying for the AGPT Program through the RACGP’s selection process who have applied for a Section 19AB exemption, but have not received a response by the close of applications will be required to nominate training region preferences on the rural pathway. If you then receive a letter of exemption from the Department of Health, you will be able to resubmit your training region preferences, provided you advise the RACGP by 5.00pm (AEDT) 19 October 2022.

If you are subject to Section 19AB of the Health Insurance Act 1973, you can reduce your moratorium requirements (currently 10 years) by up to five years, depending on the Modified Monash Model (MM) of the location where they practice.

For more information, refer to the DoctorConnect Search ‘Section 19AB’.

An OTD is an applicant who obtained their primary medical qualification in a country other than Australia or New Zealand. You may be eligible to apply if you meet the following requirements:

• Hold Australian citizenship or permanent residency by the close of applications.
• Completed all elements of the AMC on either the ‘Competent Authority Pathway’ or ‘Standard Pathway’ and hold an AMC certificate by the close of applications if applicable; and
• Hold or expect to hold general registration by commencement of training.

An AMC candidate is an OTD who is currently undertaking the AMC exams, but has not completed all of the AMC requirements. If you have not completed all of the AMC requirements and have not received your AMC certificate prior to close of applications you will not be eligible to apply for the AGPT Program.

An AMC graduate is an OTD who has completed all aspects of the AMC requirements and has received their AMC certificate. AMC graduates must supply their AMC certificate.

No. If your medical degree was not obtained in Australia or New Zealand you must have successfully completed and passed all the requirements of the AMC before the closing date of applications. You must include details of your AMC certificate as part of your application.

Applicants who commenced on the Competent Authority Pathway after 1 July 2014 will not be awarded an AMC certificate. If an applicant undertaking the Competent Authority Pathway currently holds general registration, no further supporting documentation is required.

If an applicant undertaking the Competent Authority Pathway currently holds provisional registration, they must provide a copy of their Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA) 12 month supervision assessment letter to support their AGPT Program application.

The mandatory hospital rotations are medicine, surgery, emergency medicine and paediatrics. These must be completed prior to entry into general practice terms but do not need to be completed prior to application and entry into the RACGP AGPT Program. The following list provides a guide to the mandatory rotations required.

Refer to the RACGP's documents below and ask the training organisation in your preferred training region for more detailed information:

• Mandatory Hospital Term Requirements Guidance Document

The Paediatric rotation is not an eligibility requirement for the AGPT Program. However, it must be completed in order to train in the community-based practice component of the program. For more information about mandatory hospital rotations for the Program, please contact the training organisation in your preferred training region. A list of the training organisation contacts can be found here.

The RACGP is very mindful that planned hospital terms may be disrupted due to the COVID-19 pandemic. While satisfactory completion of dedicated mandatory terms (paediatric, emergency, general medicine and general surgery) terms prior to general practice term placement is generally required, in many instances there are ways to provide evidence that you have achieved the outcomes of those terms in alternative ways. Training organisations can work with the State Censor to advise on your individual case.