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ANZCA
When Anaesthesia applications run, and what the round looks like.
Jun
Selection rounds are run independently by each state/territory health department or training network (e.g. NSW applies centrally via NSW Health; Victoria runs the Victorian Anaesthesia Training Scheme with its own annual round — 2027 intake: applications 1 June to 3 July 2026, interviews late August).
No single national window — ANZCA college admissions are always open.
Each network's recruitment page carries current dates.
Most successful applicants are PGY3 to 5 with at least one dedicated anaesthesia or ICU rotation.
Training positions and workforce figures below are limited to Victoria. Selection criteria, requirements and application dates are set by ANZCA nationally and apply in every state.
Very high
How Anaesthesia training is structured.
26 weeks (maximum 52 weeks)
Competencies
To complete
78 weeks (maximum 182 weeks)
Competencies
To complete
104 weeks (maximum 260 weeks)
Competencies
To complete
52 weeks (maximum 104 weeks)
Competencies
To complete
Advanced life support course or equivalent
Each of the four core units
Can't intubate, can't oxygenate course or equivalent
Introductory, basic and advanced training
Effective Management of Anaesthetic Crises (EMAC)
Two and a half days at an accredited simulation centre. Completing it exempts the advanced life support and can't intubate, can't oxygenate requirements for the same core unit.
Any time after introductory training, before fellowship
Early Management of Severe Trauma (EMST)
Required only where the volume of practice for the resuscitation, crisis management and trauma clinical fundamental is not met.
Advanced training
About 2.7 years shorter than taking the two programs one after the other
ANZCA and CICM recognise each other's training, so anaesthesia time counts towards intensive care requirements and the final year can be combined. Selection is separate: both colleges select independently and a dual trainee registers with each.
2 years full time equivalent, over a core stage and a practice development stage
Run by the Faculty of Pain Medicine within ANZCA, and may be trained for concurrently with anaesthesia. Fellowship is awarded only to a doctor who also holds a primary specialist qualification.
Entry gates that are not scored, such as a visa, residency status, or the type of medical registration required.
One set of categories across every specialty, so two can be compared. Only those with criteria recorded for this specialty are shown.
Rotations, logbooks, procedures, and exposure
Exams, qualifications, courses, and teaching
Papers, impact factor, audits, and QI
Who is asked to report on you, and what they are asked
Registration mechanics and logistics not covered above
Sourced from Australian medical community discussion.
Medical school
Intern
PGY2
PGY2 to PGY3
Before applying
Build referee relationships at the hospital where you want to train — consultants who know you personally write the strongest letters.
Obstetric and paediatric exposure are commonly assessed in network selection — do not leave these until late.
The mandatory 11-week ICU time, the Advanced Life Support course and the crisis-resource-management course are training requirements you complete once you are in the program, not something you need to have finished before applying.
Selection and workforce history, transcribed as published.
5,908
Fellows in Australia
At 31 December 2025
Anaesthesia is one of the largest specialties in the country, with 5,908 Fellows on the register at the end of 2025 — roughly one in thirteen of all Fellows nationally.
How many Fellows of this specialty were on the register in each state at 31 December 2025. This is workforce size, not intake — a large number here does not mean a large number of training places.
| Jurisdiction | Fellows |
|---|---|
| Australian Capital Territory | 107 |
| New South Wales | 1,723 |
| Northern Territory |
Queensland Health is the only state department publishing these figures so far.
No published figures exist yet for Victoria. This is being worked on. The selection criteria and requirements above apply Australia wide regardless of state. See the Queensland figures.
Changes published by ANZCA.
Some networks moved to structured interviews with standardised scoring rubrics.
36 posts across 29 hospitals in Victoria. Each circle counts hospitals.
Royal Victorian Eye and Ear Hospital is not shown on the map, with no location on file. Their posts are still counted above.
Show these kinds of site
Select a region to see the hospitals inside it.
Hospital locations © OpenStreetMap contributors. State boundaries from the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
Published by ANZCA and the Medical Board unless stated.
Colleges, portals and rubrics
Connected to this specialty by the Medical Board’s specialty structure, by college, or by a shared training pathway.
Requirements, windows, and criteria change annually. Verify with ANZCA before making career decisions. Report an error on this page.
| Queensland | 1,328 |
|---|
| South Australia | 421 |
|---|
| Tasmania | 149 |
|---|
| Victoria (your selected state) | 1,463 |
|---|
| Western Australia | 674 |
|---|
| State not recorded | 3 |
|---|
| Australia, total | 5,908 |
|---|
Source: Australian Government Department of Health. Medical Education and Training (2025), Chapter 4: Fellows — College Fellows by state, as at 31 December 2025. Figures are transcribed as published.