UK Doctors: How to Move to Australia and Practise Medicine in 2026

Visa options for UK doctors

Medical Practitioner occupations appear on multiple Australian skilled occupation lists. General Practitioner (ANZSCO 253111) and Specialist Physician codes (including 253311) are on the MLTSSL.

Skilled Independent visa (subclass 189). Permanent residence without sponsorship. Requires a positive skills assessment from the relevant medical college or the AMC. Your UK passport exempts you from English testing for the visa itself. See our UK visa options guide for the full process.

Skilled Nominated visa (subclass 190). State nomination adds 5 points. States with doctor shortages — particularly in regional and remote areas — nominate medical practitioners. This is useful if your points score is borderline for a 189 invitation.

Skills in Demand visa (subclass 482). An Australian employer (hospital, medical practice, or health service) sponsors you directly. No points test. This is one of the most common pathways for doctors, particularly those taking up Area of Need positions. It can lead to permanent residence through the subclass 186.

Skilled Employer Sponsored Regional visa (subclass 494). Similar to the 482 but specifically for regional positions. Employers in regional areas can sponsor you for a five-year provisional visa. After three years, you can apply for permanent residence through the subclass 191. Regional health services use this pathway extensively to recruit doctors.

Note on the Working Holiday visa: Some UK junior doctors use a Working Holiday visa (subclass 417) to work in Australian hospitals before committing to a permanent move. This can be a way to experience the system before going through the full registration process. However, you would work under limited registration, and the position options are more restricted.

Registration pathways: standard vs competent authority

This is the most important decision in your migration plan. The pathway determines how quickly you can practise independently in Australia.

The competent authority (specialist) pathway

This is the faster route. It applies to UK doctors who hold specialist registration with the GMC.

How it works: The relevant Australian specialist medical college assesses your UK specialist qualification. If they find it comparable to the Australian Fellowship standard, they recommend you to the Medical Board of Australia for specialist registration. You may need to complete a period of supervised practice before receiving full specialist registration, but you do not sit AMC exams.

Who it suits:

• UK consultants with CCT (Certificate of Completion of Training) and GMC specialist registration
• GPs with FRCGP and specialist registration on the GP Register (assessed by ACRRM or RACGP)
• Surgeons with FRCS and specialist registration (assessed by RACS)
• Physicians with MRCP and specialist registration (assessed by RACP)
• Psychiatrists with MRCPsych (assessed by RANZCP)
• Anaesthetists with FRCA (assessed by ANZCA)

Key requirement: You must hold specialist registration on the GMC Specialist Register or GP Register, not just membership of a Royal College. The distinction matters — membership alone (e.g., MRCP without specialist registration) is usually insufficient for the competent authority pathway.

Timeline and any supervised practice period vary by college and by individual case — confirm the current timeframe with the specific college assessing you.

The standard (AMC) pathway

This applies to UK doctors who do not hold specialist registration — typically junior doctors, SHOs, registrars, and GPs without FRCGP.

The AMC process:

1. AMC MCQ examination (CAT MCQ) — a computer-adaptive multiple-choice exam covering the breadth of medical knowledge. The AMC sets its pass standard to the level expected of graduating Australian medical students and reviews it periodically through benchmarking with Australian medical schools (AMC).
2. AMC clinical examination — an OSCE-format clinical exam with simulated patient scenarios. This tests clinical competence across medicine, surgery, obstetrics, paediatrics, and psychiatry.
3. Internship or supervised practice — after passing both exams, you complete a period of supervised practice in an approved hospital. This leads to general registration with AHPRA.

Who it suits:

• FY1/FY2 doctors
• SHOs and registrars without CCT
• GPs without FRCGP or specialist registration
• Career-grade doctors (staff grades, associate specialists) without specialist registration

The standard pathway takes longer than the competent authority route — how much longer depends on how quickly you can sit and pass both exams and complete supervised practice.

Area of Need positions

Area of Need (AoN) is a practical workaround that many UK doctors use. When a state or territory declares a location or specialty as an Area of Need, doctors can receive limited registration to work in that specific position before completing the standard or specialist pathway.

How AoN works:

• A hospital or health service in an Area of Need identifies a position they cannot fill with a locally registered doctor
• They offer you the role and sponsor your visa (typically subclass 482 or 494)
• The Medical Board of Australia grants limited registration for that specific position
• You work under defined supervision arrangements
• During your AoN placement, you can work towards full registration (by sitting AMC exams or through specialist assessment)

Where AoN positions exist: Most regional and rural areas across Australia. Also some metropolitan hospitals with hard-to-fill specialties. States and territories maintain lists of declared Areas of Need, though individual positions may be declared on a case-by-case basis.

AoN is popular with UK doctors because it allows you to start earning an Australian salary while completing the registration process.

English language requirements

Two separate English requirements apply, and they work differently.

For the visa itself, UK passport holders are exempt from providing English test evidence. Home Affairs treats citizens who hold a valid passport issued by the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (along with Canada, New Zealand, the Republic of Ireland and the United States) as meeting both functional and competent English on the strength of that passport alone (Home Affairs). This exemption is about the passport, not where you trained.

For medical registration, the rule is different. English language proficiency is a requirement of the Medical Board of Australia, and by the AMC's own account, exemptions turn on where you completed your primary medical qualification — not your passport. A degree completed and assessed entirely in English at a medical school in a recognised English-speaking country is generally what qualifies for an exemption; the Medical Board's English Language Skills Registration Standard sets out the exact conditions (AMC). Most UK medical graduates meet this because their training was in English in the UK — but it is the training, not the UK passport, that does the work.

For doctors who do need to sit a test, Home Affairs' migration "Proficient" English standard is IELTS 7 in each band or equivalent; the Medical Board's own standard (updated 23 April 2026) sets its own, separate scores by test.

Medicare provider numbers and the moratorium

This is a critical detail that many UK doctors overlook until after they arrive.

To bill patients through Medicare (Australia's public health insurance system), a doctor needs a Medicare provider number. Under section 19AB of the Health Insurance Act 1973 — commonly called the 10-year moratorium — most overseas-trained doctors and foreign graduates of an accredited medical school must work in a priority location for a qualifying period before they can access an unrestricted Medicare provider number.

The classification differs by whether you're a GP or a specialist:

• GPs are assessed against Distribution Priority Area (DPA) classifications.
• Non-GP specialists are assessed against District of Workforce Shortage (DWS) classifications. DWS still applies to specialists — DPA did not replace it, it replaced the older DWS classification for GPs specifically.

What this means practically:

• If you plan to work in a regional or outer-suburban area, the restriction is unlikely to affect you — most of these areas are classified as a priority location.
• If you plan to work in inner-city Sydney, Melbourne, or Brisbane, you will face provider number restrictions for a significant period, commonly cited as up to 10 years, with reductions available in some circumstances ("scaling") and exemptions for some specialties.
• Hospital-employed doctors on salary (not billing Medicare directly) are less affected by provider number restrictions.

Check the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing's own guidance for your specific situation — the classification and any scaling or exemption depends on your specialty and location.

Costs and timeline

Some costs in this pathway are fixed government or regulator fees; others (a specific specialist college's assessment fee, a health exam, an agent's fee) vary by provider and are not something Migratio can publish a single figure for. Where a fee is fixed, here it is, from the regulator's own published schedule:

On the standard AMC pathway, the exam fees alone (portfolio + MCQ + clinical) come to $6,962, before the Medical Board's own application and registration fees ($1,661 + $1,102 = $2,763) and before a visa. On the competent authority pathway, you skip the AMC exam fees but still pay the specialist college's own assessment fee (which varies by college — confirm the current figure with the college assessing you) plus the Medical Board's application and registration fees.

Other costs that vary and are not published centrally — confirm current figures directly: the specialist college assessment fee, the migration health examination, a UK police certificate (ACRO), and any MARA-registered migration agent's fee.

For detailed cost breakdowns, see our cost of moving to Australia from the UK guide. Estimate your total with Migratio's visa cost calculator.

The salary reality

Australian doctor pay and NHS pay are set through different systems — award and enterprise agreement rates by state and hospital in Australia, national pay circulars in the NHS — and both change with each pay round, so a single comparison figure goes stale quickly. Rather than publish numbers that will be wrong within months, check current rates directly: NHS pay scales are published by NHS Employers, and Australian public hospital medical officer rates are published in each state health department's award or enterprise agreement. GP income in Australia is often a share of billings rather than a salary, so it depends heavily on the practice and location.

What's broadly agreed across UK doctors who've made the move is that Australian living costs, especially housing in Sydney and Melbourne, are higher than most of the UK outside London — factor that in alongside any salary comparison. Our settling in Australia from the UK guide covers cost-of-living comparisons.

Settling in as a UK doctor

Professional culture differences. Australian hospital culture is generally less hierarchical than the NHS. First-name terms are standard between all staff levels.

Indemnity insurance. In Australia, doctors need their own medical indemnity insurance (or employer-provided cover). This is different from NHS Crown indemnity. Medical defence organisations operating in Australia include MDA National, Avant, and MIGA. Indemnity costs vary by specialty — confirm the current premium with the provider for your specialty.

Continuing professional development. AHPRA requires ongoing CPD for registration renewal. Each specialist college sets its own CPD requirements.

Superannuation. Unlike the NHS pension (a defined benefit scheme), Australian superannuation is a defined contribution system. Your employer contributes the Superannuation Guarantee rate of your salary (12% from 1 July 2025) to a superannuation fund. Understanding and optimising your super is important for long-term financial planning.

Next steps

1. Determine your pathway. Check whether you hold specialist registration on the GMC Specialist Register or GP Register. This determines whether you follow the competent authority or standard AMC pathway.
2. Contact the relevant Australian college. If pursuing the competent authority pathway, contact the Australian specialist college that covers your discipline (RACGP/ACRRM for GPs, RACS for surgeons, RACP for physicians, etc.) to understand their assessment process and current fee.
3. Explore Area of Need positions. Search for AoN vacancies through state health department websites, DoctorConnect, and medical recruitment agencies that specialise in placing UK doctors.
4. Understand the Medicare provider number rules. Check whether your intended location is a priority location under the DPA (GPs) or DWS (specialists) classification, and how that affects your provider number timeline.
5. Talk to a MARA-registered agent. Medical migration involves coordinating visa applications with medical registration — timing matters. A migration professional experienced with doctor migration can advise on the optimal sequence. Search Migratio's agent directory.

Related resources

• Moving to Australia from the UK — 2026 overview
• UK to Australia visa options
• Cost of moving to Australia from the UK
• UK document authentication for Australia
• Settling in Australia from the UK

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Do UK doctors need to sit the AMC exams?

Not necessarily. UK specialists with specialist registration on the GMC Specialist Register or GP Register may be assessed through the competent authority pathway, which can grant specialist registration without AMC exams. Doctors without specialist registration in the UK typically go through the standard AMC pathway, which involves examinations.

Do UK doctors need IELTS for their Australian visa?

No. UK passport holders are exempt from providing English test evidence for the visa itself — Home Affairs accepts a valid UK passport as proof of functional and competent English. Medical registration with AHPRA is a separate requirement: the exemption there depends on where you completed your medical degree, not your passport.

What is an Area of Need position?

An Area of Need is a location or specialty where there is a shortage of medical practitioners. State and territory governments declare Areas of Need. Doctors can receive limited or provisional registration to work in these positions before completing the full standard pathway. Many regional and rural positions are classified as Areas of Need.

How much more do doctors earn in Australia than the UK?

It varies by grade, specialty, state and whether you're on salary or billing privately, and both countries' pay rates change with each pay round — check NHS Employers' current pay circular against the relevant state health department's award or enterprise agreement rather than relying on a fixed comparison.

What is the moratorium on Medicare provider numbers?

Section 19AB of the Health Insurance Act 1973 restricts where new overseas-trained doctors can access an unrestricted Medicare provider number. GPs are assessed against Distribution Priority Area (DPA) classifications; non-GP specialists against District of Workforce Shortage (DWS) classifications. New arrivals commonly need to work in a priority location for a qualifying period — often cited as 10 years — before they can bill Medicare without restriction elsewhere, with some scaling and specialty-specific exemptions available.