Registration Processing Time
Registration applications are processed on a priority basis according to date of receipt of the application.
The current processing and review time is approximately 4 weeks, provided all supporting documentation, including your Certificate(s) of Registration Status, have been lodged with the Board.
After this time you will be forwarded a notification of the date on which the Board will consider your application or a notification that further information is required.
Upon your registration being approved, your details will become available on the Board’s website at the Public Access Register.
Office counter hours are 9.00am to 4.00pm Monday to Friday, with telephone contact being available
9.00am to 5.00pm Monday to Friday.
Information about the Competent Authority Pathway
General Information for Overseas Trained Doctors Seeking Registration in Queensland
Area of Need Issues
General Information for Medical Practitioners Registered in Queensland or in another State/Territory
Assessing Applications for Registration
Registration Fees and Renewals
General Information
Making a Complaint to the Board
Investigation of Complaints
For frequently asked questions related to the Competent Authority Pathway please refer to the Australian Medical Council (AMC) website, which has a comprehensive list of questions and answers about eligibility, transitional provisions, and workplace based assessment.
Alternatively, you can visit the Competent Authority Pathway pages in the Registration section of this website for further information about obtaining registration in Queensland through this Pathway.
Top of page Yes. International Medical Graduates seeking special purpose registration are required to pass an English Language Proficiency Test. This ensures all registered medical practitioners are able to communicate effectively with patients, other medical practitioners and health professionals, and provides an objective measure to determine whether the applicant’s language skills are appropriate to the professional requirements of medical practice in Queensland.
Please note:
If you require further information you can view the National English Language Policy document.
Exemption from completion of English Language Proficiency testing may be granted where the applicant can provide evidence of secondary education in English in a country where English is the "Native" or "First" Language. These countries are Canada, Republic of Ireland, New Zealand, United Kingdom and Northern Ireland, United States of America and South Africa.
The evidence required is:
Only International Medical Graduates (IMGs) eligible for registration through the Competent Authority or Specialist pathways are exempt from having to sit and pass the AMC Multiple Choice Examination.
All other IMGs MUST sit and pass the AMC examination in order to qualify for general registration in Queensland.
If you have specialist qualifications, training and experience assessed under the AMC Specialist Pathway as being comparable to that of an Australian trained specialist, you are eligible to apply for specialist registration.
For further information on eligibility for registration through the various assessment pathways please visit our website.
Please visit the AMC website for information on both the AMC examination and the process for assessing overseas specialist qualifications.
No. The Board’s role is to register suitably qualified medical practitioners to practise medicine in Queensland. It does not maintain information on job vacancies.
When you apply to the Board for registration to undertake supervised training in Queensland, you will need to have already secured a suitable job offer.
If you are a qualified medical practitioner who meets the requirements for practice in an area of need and are looking for positions currently available, the following websites may help you make contact with people able to assist you further:
Top of page If you have received a job offer to work in Queensland you may be eligible to apply for Special Purpose Registration. For more information, and to check your eligibility please visit the registration pages.
In order to obtain registration in Queensland you will need to have qualifications that entitle you to apply for general registration, or have specialist qualifications, training and experience assessed under the Australian Medical Council (AMC) Specialist Pathway as being comparable to that of an Australian trained specialist.
Please visit the AMC website for information on both the AMC examination and the process for assessing overseas specialist qualifications.
For further information on your eligibility for general registration, or other registration avenues available to you, please visit us at: http://www.medicalboard.qld.gov.au/registration/img.html
In order to obtain registration in Queensland for this purpose you will need to apply under the Standard Pathway for special purpose registration.
To be eligible to apply for special purpose registration you must hold a primary medical qualification recognised by the World Health Organisation, which was obtained outside Australia or New Zealand.
Please Note: You can apply for special purpose registration only if you already have an offer of employment in Queensland. The one exception is practice in general practice, for which you must be a Fellow of the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners.
To undertake a period of supervised training please use the registration category below.
| 2. | Supervised training to prepare for clinical examination | to enable a person to undertake supervised training, approved by the Board, to prepare for the clinical examination conducted by the Australian Medical Council. |
For a full list of special purpose registration categories which come under the Standard Pathway, or for further information and an application form, please visit the special purpose registration page.
In order to obtain registration in Queensland for this purpose you will need to apply under the Standard Pathway for special purpose registration.
To be eligible to apply for special purpose registration you must hold a primary medical qualification recognised by the World Health Organisation, which was obtained outside Australia or New Zealand.
Please Note: You can apply for special purpose registration only if you already have an offer of employment in Queensland. The one exception is practice in general practice, for which you must be a Fellow of the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners.
To undertake a medical teaching or research position, please use the registration category below.
| 3. | Medical teaching or research | to enable a person to engage in medical teaching or research. |
For a full list of special purpose registration categories which come under the Standard Pathway, or for further information and an application form, please visit the special purpose registration page.
Top of pageFor the purposes of seeking a skills assessment for a General Skilled Migration Visa the Australian Government Department of Immigration and Citizenship website says, in relation to skills assessment, ‘Evidence of full medical registration constitutes a positive skills assessment for the occupation of ‘medical practitioner’ for the purpose of migration under the General Skilled Migration program’.
Therefore, submission of a certified copy of your registration certificate with your visa application usually satisfies the requirements of the Department of Immigration and Citizenship for a positive skills assessment.
For further information please visit their website.
Top of pageYes. In order to obtain registration in Queensland for this purpose you will need to apply under the Standard Pathway for special purpose registration.
To undertake a postgraduate study or training position, please use the registration category below.
| 1. | Postgraduate study or training | to enable a person to undertake postgraduate study or training, in medicine, approved by the Board. |
For a full list of special purpose registration categories which come under the Standard Pathway, or for further information and an application form, please visit the special purpose registration page.
Firstly, congratulations on the successful completion of your exam! Now you need to apply for general registration in Queensland. Upon lodgment of your application and subsequent assessment of your qualifications and experience, you may be required to undertake a period of supervised practice approved by the Board.
For further information about making your general application please visit the registration page.
Yes. You will need to apply for general registration and provide evidence from your state regulatory authority, or from the New Zealand Medical Council that you have completed your internship to a level that would enable full registration in that State or New Zealand.
For further information about making your general application please visit the registration page.
Applications for verification of qualifications are available from the Australian Medical Council (AMC) website.
Please ensure that you download and complete the correct form FORM EICS - V2.
The AMC has an agreement with the US Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates (ECFMG) who verify medical qualifications with the issuing authority. (i.e. primary source). This agreement allows for sharing of relevant information between the AMC, the ECFMG and the State and Territory Medical Boards.
International Medical Graduates are able to make application directly to the AMC who will electronically contact the Educational International Credentials Service (EICS) of the ECFMG to commence the verification process. Information on verification results will be electronically passed to the AMC who provide details of the verification directly to the medical boards.
The Board is not involved in the initial process.
The Medical Board of Queensland’s Verification of Qualifications Policy (
45k) is available here.
For further information about verifying medical qualifications please visit our registration pages.
Top of pageA Certificate of Registration Status (CORS) (formerly known as Certificates of Good Standing) is a document issued by a medical board and forwarded directly to another medical board following a request by an applicant. It is issued if the applicant has current and/or historical registration with the medical board and indicates the status of registration at the time of the request.
A Certificate of Registration Status document contains information which relates to the applicant’s current registration status, their rights to practise, any conditions that may be attached to their right of practise and any information which relates to their professional conduct.
The purpose of the certificate is to ensure that the authority considering the applicant’s registration has detailed and accurate information about the applicant’s current standing with existing or past registering authorities.
All requests for a Certificate of Registration Status must be received in writing from the medical practitioner or the medical board in which the medical practitioner is making an application for registration.
For further information about CORS please visit our registration pages or read the Issuance of Certificate of Registration Status Policy.
Top of pageIn order to obtain registration in Queensland for this purpose you will need to apply for special purpose registration under the Standard, Competent Authority or Specialist assessment pathways.
To be eligible to apply for Special Purpose Registration you must hold a primary medical qualification recognised by the World Health Organisation, which was obtained outside Australia or New Zealand.
Please Note: You can apply for special purpose registration only if you already have an offer of employment in Queensland. The one exception is practice in general practice, for which you must be a Fellow of the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners.
To work as a general practitioner in an area of need, please use the registration category below.
| 4. | Practice in area of need | to enable a person to practise in an area the Minister for Health has decided is an area of need for a medical service. |
For a full list of special purpose registration categories or for further information and an application form, please visit the special purpose registration page.
Top of pageIn order to obtain registration in Queensland for this purpose you will need to apply under the Specialist Pathway for special purpose registration.
To be eligible to register as a ‘Deemed Specialist’ you must possess specialist qualifications from outside of Australia or New Zealand, and have had this assessed by the Australian Medical Council (AMC) and the relevant specialist college in Australia. Please visit the AMC page for further details.
Please refer to ‘Special Purpose Registration (deemed specialist)’ in the table below to choose the category under which you should apply.
To work as a specialist in an area of need, please use the registration category below.
| 2. | Practice in area of need (deemed specialist) | to enable a person to practise in an area the Minister for Health has decided is an area of need for a medical service, but in a specialist capacity. |
For a full list of special purpose registration categories or for further information and an application form, please visit the special purpose registration page.
Area of Need ‘deemed specialist’ positions allow Overseas Trained Specialists (OTS) who are eligible for registration to apply for specialist positions to practise in a position and/or location which has been declared an area of need for a medical service, or engage in medical teaching or research in a specialist capacity.
To be eligible to register as a ‘Deemed Specialist’ you must possess specialist qualifications from outside of Australia or New Zealand, and have had this assessed by the Australian Medical Council (AMC) and the relevant specialist college in Australia. Please visit the AMC page for further details.
For further information or to complete an application form, please visit our special purpose registration page.
General with ‘specialist’ registration applies to those who have had their specialist qualifications, training and experience assessed under the AMC Specialist Pathway as being comparable to that of an Australian trained specialist. If this is the case then you are eligible to apply for specialist registration.
For further information about this type of registration or to complete an application, please visit our specialist registration page.
Top of pageYes. The mutual recognition pathway allows medical practitioners who currently hold general or specialist registration in another State or Territory of Australia to also practise in Queensland.
For further information about the mutual recognition pathway please visit our registration pages.
In order to complete your internship in Queensland you will need to apply for general registration with internship conditions.
You will also need to supply evidence from the State regulatory authority with which you were registered stating which parts of your internship they consider you have satisfactorily completed to date, and a description of the nature of practice completed. i.e. surgery, medicine or emergency medicine.
Top of pageIn most cases you will be required to reapply to the Board in full.
The one exception is if your registration renewal has lapsed and you are reapplying within 3 months of expiry – between 1 July and 30 September in the same year it expired.
Please refer to the following frequently asked question for further information about this.
If your name has been removed from the Register for non-application and payment of registration, you can apply to have your name restored to the Register between 1 July and 30 September in the same year it was removed.
However, this restored registration will only commence from the date of restoration.
Please note: This information applies only to medical practitioners who hold General and Specialist Registration. If you hold any other type of registration in Queensland it can not be restored.
Download the restoration notice ( 38k).
If your certificate of registration is damaged or lost and you need to replace it, or you simply need a copy, you can obtain this by writing to the Board and paying a fee of $35.00.
Upon receiving this information you will be sent a copy of your certificate and a receipt.
Medical practitioners should notify the Board by letter, email or telephone of your address change. You should state your name, registration number, previous and new address. Only one address can be recorded on the Register at any one time. If your new address is your residential address, you should also state whether or not you wish it to appear on the Register of Medical Practitioners, which is available to the public. Your residential address will not be made available to the public unless you have given permission to do so.
Notification by phone is available during normal business hours and will require you to also provide details to confirm your identity to enable the change to be effected.
Once the Register address has been amended, you will receive a confirmation letter advising that the Board’s records have been updated.
The provision of an email address would be appreciated to provide the Board an additional contact address.
Information on matters related to provider numbers and prescriber numbers can be obtained by visiting Medicare Australia’s website or telephoning
13 21 50 (within Australia) or (61) 3 9605 7984 (outside Australia)
Entry of Additional Qualifications on the Board’s Register
No. Under Part 9 Register, records and information of the Medical Practitioners Registration Act 2001 the Medical Board does not require any additional qualifications from medical practitioners.
Only qualifications required to gain registration in Queensland will be listed against your name on the Public Access Register.
If you do find on the Register any additional qualifications listed against a registrant's name that has no direct relevance to their registration, these qualifications would have been included under the previous Medical Act. This practice ceased upon the commencement of the current Act.
Top of pageThe Board meets at a variety of times throughout the year. At these meetings one of their responsibilities is the determination of registration applications.
A list of meeting dates is available.
Registration applications are processed on a priority basis according to date of receipt of the application.
The current processing and review time is approximately 4 weeks, provided all supporting documentation, including your Certificate(s) of Registration Status, have been lodged with the Board.
After this time you will be forwarded a notification of the date on which the Board will consider your application or a notification that further information is required.
Upon your registration being approved, your details will become available on the Board’s website at the Public Access Register.
You will also be sent formal written notification of your registration approval and be issued with a certificate of registration and an information pack about the practice of medicine in Queensland.
Top of pageThe Board fixes registration and other related fees annually with effect from 1 July. The registration fee specified in the Schedule of Fees is payable regardless of length of time registration is required.
Please note that the Board charges a non-refundable fee in addition to the registration fee for certain applications for registration - see application forms.
There is no provision under the Schedule of Fees for pro-rata payments of registration fees.
You can find a current list of fees on the Fees Schedule and Payment Facilities page of the website.
The registration year for medical practitioners with General Registration or Specific Registration commences on 1 July and expires on 30 June.
Renewal notices will be forwarded to the nominated postal address appearing on the Public Register in May of each year advising the medical practitioner of the need to renew their registration by 30 June. If the renewal fee is not received by 30 June a further notice will be forwarded inviting the practitioner to restore their registration. If this happens an extra fee will be imposed.
The names of medical practitioners who do not apply to renew their registration by 30 June will be removed from the Register.
Doctors holding other forms of registration are not subject to the same registration cycle. They are registered for a specific period, commencing and expiring on the dates specified on the Register and on the Certificate of Registration provided to them.
Medical practitioners are reminded that they are responsible for ensuring that their medical registration is current at all relevant times.
Top of page Information available for members of the public is available on the Board’s website at the Public Access Register.
Medical records are the intellectual property of the treating medical practitioner, and can only be forwarded to your new treating practitioner upon your request. This may be the complete record or a summary, depending on the practitioner. You should also be aware that this may incur a non-refundable fee.
In circumstances such as this the executors of the deceased medical practitioner estate have an obligation to arrange for the transfer of any medical records to an individual patients new treating practitioner, or for their safe storage.
Medical indemnity insurance is not a legislative requirement for registration in Queensland. However, the Board recommends that practitioners are aware of the importance of income protection insurance and medical indemnity insurance. Please refer to the Information for New Medical Practitioners document ( 48k).
Complaints can be made by a wide variety of people. A Board investigation of a medical practitioner may be prompted by:
A Board investigation may also be prompted by medical practitioners themselves, who are required by law to notify the Board within 30 days if they:
For further information please refer to the Professional Standards and Complaints pages of our website.
People refer a range of concerns about medical practitioners to the Board, including:
For further information please refer to the Professional Standards and Complaints pages of our website.
No. There are some things the Board cannot do. These include:
If you have concerns about the professional conduct of a medical practitioner you can notify the Board by lodging a complaint. A complaint to the Board can be progressed most efficiently when it is made in writing.
For further information please refer to the Professional Standards and Complaints pages of our website.
Yes. Provided the complaint contains all the necessary information and is made in writing to the Board, it can be made on behalf of someone else.
For further information please refer to the Professional Standards and Complaints pages of our website.
Although there are no pre-determined time limits on when something happened and when a complaint can be lodged, the Board has a statutory obligation to refer matters to the Health Quality and Complaints Commission (HQCC), who do.
Their legislation states that a complaint must be lodged within 12 months of the incident occurring, or within 12 months of the patient becoming aware of the incident.
Due to this obligation these timeframes may apply to the Board when referring a matter on to the HQCC. However, the Board has the power to consider all matters that may be in the public interest, and assesses each case on an individual basis.
Yes. However, this is not the Board’s preferred method of investigation. Complaints are progressed most efficiently when they are made in writing.
For further information please refer to the Professional Standards and Complaints pages of our website.
Yes. They are assessed in order to determine whether there are grounds for disciplinary action.
No. However, if during the course of your career as a registered medical practitioner a complaint is made against you and the Board decides to investigate the complaint, the Board does recommend that you contact your medical indemnity insurer or lawyer for advice and assistance as soon as possible.
No. It is not the Board’s role to provide clinical input.
The Board has the power to initiate disciplinary action or to take disciplinary action itself. The HQCC cannot perform these functions. They deal with matters that are suitable for conciliation only.
The Board refers matters to the HQCC for assessment. The HQCC may then refer the matter back to the Board if it is considered there are grounds for disciplinary action.
Top of pageAn investigation follows the following process:
For further information please refer to the Professional Standards and Complaints pages of our website.
The Board takes seriously all matters raised by members of the community, and although all efforts are made to conclude investigations in a timely manner, the thorough nature of each investigation means that they can take up to 9 months to process.
Yes. Strict confidentiality provisions apply to the release of information.
Disciplinary proceedings conducted by the Board or the Board's Disciplinary Committee, or a Professional Conduct Review Panel are not open to the public and any records of these matters may not identify the parties involved.
However, the Health Practitioners Tribunal is a body independent of the Board, and unless the Tribunal orders otherwise, hearings are open to the public and are a matter of public record.
Visiting the Health Practitioners Tribunal Website is your way to find decisions by the Tribunal about medical practitioners in Queensland, or to find out about past judgments by the courts.
For further information please refer to the Professional Standards and Complaints pages of our website.