UK Doctors Moving to Australia 2026: Real AMC/AHPRA Fees, Pathways & the 10-Year Rule
The two Australian medical registration pathways for UK doctors, the real AMC and Medical Board fees, how the English exemption actually works, and the section 19AB Medicare moratorium. Figures as at September 2026.
Read the full guide, with official sources →
Watch
Chapters
- 0:00 One pathway skips the exams.
- 0:13 The main visa routes
- 0:27 General Practitioner: ANZSCO 253111
- 0:39 Two pathways
- 0:54 The standard AMC pathway
- 1:06 AMC exam fees alone
- 1:30 Area of Need uses limited registration
- 1:41 Two different English rules
- 1:55 AHPRA's own English scores updated
- 2:07 Section 19AB: the 10-year moratorium
- 2:23 GPs: DPA. Specialists: DWS.
- 2:35 Where to read more
Transcript
UK doctor thinking about Australia? Which of two registration pathways you're on decides whether you skip the exams entirely, or sit them.
Doctors reach Australia through several visas. Subclass 189 needs no sponsor. Subclass 482 and 494 need an employer. Subclass 190 adds state nomination.
General Practitioner is ANZSCO two five three one one one. Specialist Physician is two five three three one one. Both are on the MLTSSL.
If you hold specialist registration on the GMC Specialist Register, the competent authority pathway can grant Australian specialist registration without AMC exams. Without that registration, you're on the standard pathway.
The standard pathway runs through the AMC. An initial portfolio, then the MCQ exam, then the clinical exam, then supervised practice before general registration.
Add the AMC exam fees up and it's six thousand nine hundred and sixty two dollars, before you've paid the Medical Board a cent.
On top of that, the Medical Board of Australia charges an application fee of one thousand six hundred and sixty one dollars for general or specialist registration, plus a one thousand one hundred and two dollar registration fee. Two thousand seven hundred and sixty three dollars combined.
For an Area of Need position, the Medical Board's limited registration application is cheaper — one thousand one hundred and thirty one dollars — plus the same registration fee.
English works two different ways here. For the visa itself, a UK passport is enough on its own. For AHPRA registration, the exemption depends on where you trained in English, not your passport.
AHPRA updated its own English test scores on the 23rd of April, 2026. If you do need to sit a test, check the current table for your specific test.
Once you're registered, billing Medicare has its own rule. Section 19AB of the Health Insurance Act 1973 restricts new overseas-trained doctors to a priority location — commonly cited as 10 years — before they can bill Medicare elsewhere without restriction.
GPs are classified under Distribution Priority Areas. Specialists are classified separately, under District of Workforce Shortage. They're not the same system.
The full guide, with the official sources, is on migratio.com.au. The link is in the description. And if you'd like to talk it through, you can compare registered migration agents there, and see their fees before you book anything.
Short versions
- The $6,962 the standard AMC pathway actually costs (0:32)
- Your UK passport doesn't exempt you from this one (0:31)
- The 10-year Medicare rule UK doctors miss (0:32)
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