The Australian Medical Council — AMC Assessment for Overseas Doctors

What Is the AMC?

The Australian Medical Council (AMC) is an independent national standards body whose primary purpose is to ensure that Australian medical education and the assessment of overseas-trained doctors meet the high standards required for safe and competent medical practice in Australia. It does not regulate individual doctors — that is AHPRA's role — but it performs the critically important function of assessing the qualifications and skills of international medical graduates (IMGs) and determining whether they meet Australian standards.

The AMC has two main functions relevant to overseas doctors. First, it accredits Australian medical schools and sets the standards for undergraduate and postgraduate medical education and training in Australia. Second, it assesses overseas-trained doctors who wish to practise in Australia, to determine whether their qualifications and clinical competencies are comparable to those of an Australian medical graduate.

A critical distinction: the AMC does not register doctors. Registration is the function of AHPRA and the Medical Board of Australia. The AMC's role is to issue an assessment outcome — in most cases, an AMC certificate — that confirms your qualifications and competencies have been assessed as meeting Australian standards. You then present this certificate to AHPRA as part of your registration application. Think of the AMC as a gateway to AHPRA, not as an end destination in itself.

The AMC also facilitates the Competent Authority Pathway assessment process and provides documentation used by specialist colleges for the Specialist Pathway, though in both these cases the colleges do their own independent assessments. The AMC website (amc.org.au) is the definitive source for current fees, application procedures, and exam dates, which are updated regularly.

Who Needs to Sit AMC Exams?

Not all overseas doctors need to sit AMC examinations. Whether you need to sit exams depends entirely on which registration pathway applies to your qualifications and country of training. Here is a clear breakdown:

The Standard Pathway is the most commonly used pathway for overseas doctors who trained in countries whose medical qualifications are not directly recognised by a Competent Authority. If your country of training or your primary registration authority is not on the AMC's list of recognised Competent Authorities, you will almost certainly need to sit both AMC examinations. The list of recognised Competent Authorities includes medical regulators in the United Kingdom (GMC), Ireland (Medical Council), Canada (CPSO and other provincial colleges), United States (USMLE pathway, via ECFMG), New Zealand (MCNZ), and several others. If you are unsure whether your authority is recognised, check the current AMC website or consult with a migration agent experienced in medical registration.

The Competent Authority Pathway bypasses both AMC examinations entirely. Instead, the AMC conducts a document assessment to confirm that you hold current registration in good standing with an approved Competent Authority and have met that authority's standards. You will still need EPIC verification and an English test, but you avoid the substantial time and cost of sitting the AMC MCQ and Clinical exams.

The Specialist Pathway is for overseas-trained specialists seeking recognition in a specific medical specialty. Assessment is conducted by the relevant Australian specialist college (for example, the Royal Australasian College of Physicians, the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons, or the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists). Each college has its own assessment process, fees, timelines, and standards. The AMC plays a supporting role in the documentation process, but the college makes the assessment decision.

The AMC Examination Pathway — An Overview

For doctors following the Standard Pathway, the AMC examination process involves two distinct examinations that must be passed in sequence. Together, they assess both medical knowledge and clinical competence against Australian graduate standards.

AMC MCQ Examination (Computer Adaptive Test)

The AMC MCQ is a computer-based, computer-adaptive examination that tests medical knowledge. It is delivered at Pearson VUE authorised test centres worldwide — including centres in the United Kingdom, India, the Philippines, South Africa, Sri Lanka, the USA, Canada, New Zealand, and many other countries. This means you do not need to travel to Australia to sit the MCQ, which is a significant practical advantage given the cost and visa complexity of international travel.

The examination uses a computer-adaptive format, meaning the difficulty of each subsequent question is calibrated based on your performance on previous questions. This allows accurate assessment of medical knowledge across a wide ability range with a relatively efficient number of questions. The exam covers all major clinical disciplines and strongly emphasises Australian-specific clinical guidelines, patient safety, ethics, and medico-legal matters. Approximately 120 to 150 questions are presented, and the total examination time is approximately 3.5 hours.

The pass mark is criterion-referenced — assessed against a defined Australian graduate standard rather than a fixed percentage or score relative to other candidates. Results are reported as Pass or Fail only; no numerical score is given. If you fail, you must wait a minimum of three months before resitting, and there is a maximum of four attempts before special consideration must be applied for.

AMC Clinical Examination

The AMC Clinical Examination is an Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) conducted in Melbourne, Australia. Unlike the MCQ, it can only be sat in Australia, which means you need to be physically in Australia (on an appropriate visa) to attend. The examination consists of 16 clinical stations, each lasting 8 minutes, with an additional 2 minutes of reading and preparation time between stations. Standardised patients (trained actors) are used at many stations; some involve clinical simulations or data interpretation tasks.

The Clinical Examination assesses whether you can translate medical knowledge into safe, effective, patient-centred clinical practice in an Australian context. Skills assessed include history taking, physical examination, procedural competence, clinical management and decision-making, communication (including breaking bad news, consent, and conflict resolution), and ethical and professional conduct. The examination is graded station by station, and an overall pass requires performing satisfactorily across the full set of 16 stations.

The Clinical Examination is held several times per year in Melbourne, and places at each session are limited. It is common for candidates to wait 2 to 4 months for an available place after passing the MCQ. Plan for this waiting period in your overall registration timeline.

If you fail the Clinical Examination, you must wait a minimum of six months before resitting. A detailed feedback report identifies areas of weakness to guide your preparation for the resit.

The AMC Certificate

Once you have passed both the MCQ and Clinical Examinations, the AMC issues an AMC certificate. This certificate is the formal outcome of the Standard Pathway assessment process. It confirms that your medical qualifications and clinical competence have been assessed as meeting Australian graduate standards. The AMC certificate is valid for five years from the date of issue — if you have not obtained AHPRA registration within five years, you will need to reapply to the AMC.

The AMC certificate is not a registration — it is evidence of your assessed competence. You use it as part of your AHPRA registration application. AHPRA will not accept an AMC certificate that is more than five years old.

The AMC Application Process

Before you can sit either AMC examination, you must register with the AMC and begin the application process. Here is how it works:

1. Create an account on the AMC website — go to amc.org.au and create a practitioner account. This is the portal through which your entire AMC assessment journey is managed.
2. Complete the AMC application form — provide your personal details, contact information, and information about your medical qualifications, registration history, and country of primary training. Select the appropriate pathway (Standard, Competent Authority, or Specialist).
3. Submit to the EPIC verification process — the AMC will initiate the EPIC primary source verification of your medical credentials. You will be required to register on the ECFMG (Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates) website and create your EPIC portfolio, then upload your qualification documents. ECFMG then contacts your medical school and licensing authority directly to verify your credentials. See our EPIC Verification guide for full details.
4. Pay the AMC registration and application fees — the AMC charges a registration/application fee of approximately $550 AUD. This covers the administrative assessment and initiates the EPIC verification process. Fees are non-refundable.
5. Await EPIC verification completion — you cannot register to sit the MCQ examination until your EPIC verification is complete. This typically takes 6 to 16 weeks, depending on how quickly your medical school and licensing authority respond to ECFMG's requests. Use this time to study.
6. Register for the AMC MCQ examination — once your EPIC verification is confirmed, you become eligible to register for the MCQ examination. Select your preferred Pearson VUE test centre and exam date. Exam availability varies by location — book as early as possible, as popular centres fill up quickly.
7. Sit the AMC MCQ and await results — results are typically available within a few days of sitting the examination via your online AMC account.
8. Register for the AMC Clinical Examination — after passing the MCQ, register for the next available Clinical Examination session in Melbourne. Note that places fill quickly — register as soon as the next session opens for booking. Prepare your Australian visa and travel arrangements in parallel.
9. Sit the AMC Clinical Examination and await results — results are released within 6 to 8 weeks following the examination date.
10. Receive your AMC certificate — upon passing both examinations, request your AMC certificate through your online account. This certificate, along with your other completed documents, forms the basis of your AHPRA application.

Costs and Fees

The AMC assessment process involves fees at multiple stages. The following are approximate figures — always verify current fees on the AMC website (amc.org.au) as they are reviewed periodically:

These fees are in addition to English language test fees, AHPRA application fees, document certification costs, and other registration-related expenses. For a full breakdown of all costs across each pathway, see our Registration Costs guide.