Medical Board of Australia expedited specialist pathway

The MBA expedited specialist pathway is for SIMGs seeking specialist registration in Australia.

This pathway will be available to specialist qualifications the Australian Medical Council (AMC) has assessed as substantially comparable, or based on similar competencies, to an approved Australian specialist qualification in the specialty. As a result, an expedited specialist pathway in anaesthesia will be available to those anaesthesia SIMGs with full specialist qualifications from the United Kingdom and Ireland.

To be eligible to apply for the specialist registration through the expedited specialist pathway, SIMGs must hold recognised overseas specialist qualifications on the  Expedited Specialist pathway: accepted qualifications list.

The Medical Board of Australia has confirmed the approved qualifications in anaesthesia to be added to the Expedited Specialist pathway: accepted qualifications list from 23 December 2024:

• Ireland: Fellowship of the College of Anaesthesiologists of Ireland (CAI), together with a Certificate of Satisfactory Completion of Specialist Training (CSCST), awarded under any CAI curriculum from July 2012 to date following satisfactory completion of a Specialist Anaesthesiology Training Programme (SAT) in Ireland.

• United Kingdom: Fellowship of the Royal College of Anaesthetists (RCoA) and a Certificate of Completion of Training (CCT) issued by the General Medical Council or the Postgraduate Medical Education and Training Board, awarded under any RCoA curriculum from August 2007 to date following satisfactory completion of a General Medical Council or Postgraduate Medical Education and Training Board approved specialist training program in the United Kingdom.

For more detailed information, including the registration and application process, please visit MBA’s website.

Please refer to the MBA’s website for more information.

Should you wish to transition across, you must notify ANZCA of your intention to withdraw from the SIMG pathway and transition into the MBA expedited specialist pathway via email [email protected]

While the expedited specialist pathway allows SIMGs from UK and Ireland to bypass the college and be granted specialist registration to work in Australia potentially faster, it does not provide the meaningful and ongoing support and recognition as the college fellowship program uniquely offers. Specialists who do not undertake the pathway to ANZCA fellowship may have impacts on supervision and training roles they may wish to undertake. You will also miss out on exclusive member benefits and an anaesthesia community of practice within Australia.

The college recommends that potential specialists that meet relevant criteria undertake the pathway to ANZCA fellowship offered by the college as a comprehensive preparation to working in Australia and community of practice support, leading to membership of an organisation that is world-renowned for promoting safe and high-quality care. If specialists undertake the alternative expedited specialist pathway process, the college strongly recommends undertaking the pathway to ANZCA fellowship in parallel to gain the benefits.

The pathway to ANZCA fellowship offers you the opportunity to join the college continuing professional development (CPD) home, access to personalised support, professional networks and development opportunities.

The college has recently developed a video in relation to the benefits of ANZCA fellowship – to view this video please click here.

Our existing SIMGs have greatly valued the support and information provided as part of the ANZCA fellowship program, to successfully transition to Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand’s health and cultural environment. Some of these testaments are captured here.

For further information on the benefits of ANZCA fellowship, please refer here.

Those who have been accepted onto the expedited specialist pathway are eligible to apply to undertake the pathway to ANZCA fellowship.

Those undertaking the SIMG pathway (through ANZCA) are not required to undertake the pathway to ANZCA fellowship as these components are already included in the assessment process.

The pathway to ANZCA fellowship is designed to run in parallel with the expedited pathway to maximise timelines and ensure alignment with MBA expectations for a streamlined ‘expedited’ process. Therefore, the requirements being introduced to obtain ANZCA fellowship include:

• Undertake six months full-time equivalent clinical practice assessment (inclusive of the supervised practice required for the MBA expedited specialist pathway), AND
• Evidence of completion of an Effective Management of Anaesthetic Crises (EMAC), AND
• Successfully complete the SIMG performance assessment (PA) , AND
• Participate in the ANZCA/FPM continuing professional development (CPD) program, AND
• Completion of all MBA expedited specialist pathway requirements and satisfactorily completed all requirements specified by the college

Yes, you can. Please submit the transition application to the SIMG team for assessment once you have accepted onto the expedited specialist pathway.

Yes, you can. However, we highly recommend that you undertake pathway to ANZCA fellowship to run in parallel with the expedited specialist pathway to maximise timelines and ensure alignment with MBA expectations for a streamlined ‘expedited’ process.
 

All application and program fees are non-refundable except annual fees which may be refunded on a pro-rata basis.

If you have paid your performance assessment (PA) fee but the assessment has not yet taken place, please contact the SIMG team for advice.
 

Please submit the application form for pathway to ANZCA fellowship to [email protected] for assessment.

FAQs for SIMGs are on MBA’s FAQs page.