General Surgery
Royal Australasian College of Surgeons (administered by General Surgeons Australia)
Competition
Very high
Qualification
FRACS (General Surgery)
Training duration
5 years — GSET (General Surgery Education and Training; expanded from the former 4-year SET program)
Applications
RACS registration opens early January, closes ~30 January. GSET applications open 18 February at 12:00pm AEDT and close 19 March at 5:00pm AEDT. Interview offers notified 13 May; times confirmed from 18 May. Interviews May–June. First-round offers late July, with further offer rounds through to November. Training commences February of the following year.
Selection format
Structured interview (panel format). Selection ranking combines: Structured CV (operative logbook, research, teaching, rurality), Professionalism Referee Reports, and Interview. No specialty-specific written exam beyond the GSSE prerequisite.
When to apply
Most successful applicants are PGY3–5. GSSE must be passed before application. Broad surgical exposure including emergency, upper GI, colorectal, and trauma is expected.
Competition
General surgery is competitive but somewhat less so than orthopaedics, neurosurgery, or plastic surgery. More training positions are available nationally, and there is a regional training pathway. Strong research and operative logbook remain essential.
Selection criteria
Clinical experience
Rotations, logbooks, procedures, and exposure
- Operative surgical logbook — volume and variety across general surgery domains (laparoscopic, emergency, colorectal, upper GI); procedures verified against defined rotation windows
Rural & regional
Rural, regional, and remote experience
- Rural origin — certified rural-origin applicants are awarded 3 points in the structured CV; further points for 6+ continuous months in a rural or remote surgical position (Modified Monash Model)
First Nations
Selection points and pathways for Aboriginal, Torres Strait Islander, and Māori applicants
- First Nations — the structured CV has a named Indigeneity and Ethnicity criterion (4 points, clause 9.7); General Surgery also participates in the RACS Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander selection initiative (set-aside posts)
Academic
Exams, qualifications, courses, and teaching
- GSSE (Generic Surgical Science Examination) — prerequisite, must be passed before applying
- EMST (Early Management of Severe Trauma) certification — the certificate is valid for 4 years
Publications & research
Papers, impact factor, audits, and QI
- Research publications — first-author publication differentiates candidates; audit output is a minimum
Extracurricular
Leadership and roles beyond clinical work
Nothing captured yet — verify with RACS / GSA.
Distinction
Prizes, awards, and academic standing
Nothing captured yet — verify with RACS / GSA.
Eligibility & application
Prerequisites, referees, interviews, and fees
- Structured CV scored on qualifications, presentations, publications, teaching and Indigeneity and Ethnicity (19 points, 20% of overall score) plus Rurality (10 points, 10%); referees 20%, interview 50% (2026 selection, 2027 intake)
- Professionalism Referee Reports from FRACS surgeons
- Consultant support — formal Consultant Surgeons' Support Forms from four consultant surgeons (FRACS or vocationally-registered specialists)
- Interview — semi-structured panel, after shortlisting on CV + referee scores
- Application fee: AUD $1,320 including GST (2026 selection round)
Entry tips
Sourced from Australian medical community discussion. Always verify with RACS / GSA.
Recent updates
CORRECTION, re-reverses the 2026-07 note below: re-fetched and re-verified the current Selection Regulations PDF directly from generalsurgeons.com.au (filename "General-Surgery-2026-Selection-Regulations-Australia-FINAL.pdf"; PDF creation metadata confirms 25 Nov 2025, matching its own "Approved: 25 November 2025" text). Clause 9.2.2 and clause 9.7 both confirm the Curriculum Vitae has FIVE components summing to 19 points, not four/15: Qualifications 4, Presentations 3, Publications 5, Scholarship and Teaching 3, and Indigeneity and Ethnicity 4 (clause 9.7.1: "Eligible Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander applicants... will be awarded 4 points") — named 6 times across the table of contents, the clause 9.2.2 component list, the full clause 9.7, and Appendix 1 §15.6, all internally consistent. The 2026-07 note's claim of "zero Indigeneity mentions" could not be reproduced against this document; it likely checked a different or since-updated document. CV maximum corrected back to 19 points; Indigeneity and Ethnicity restored as a named criterion. Rurality (10 points: Rural Education 3, Rural Origin 3, Rural and Remote Surgical Experience 4) and all other figures from the 2026-07 note are unchanged and re-confirmed.
Corrected against the GSA 2026 Selection for 2027 Intake Guide PDF (generalsurgeons.com.au, Nov 2025) and Selection Regulations: overall weighting is CV 20% / Rurality 10% / Professionalism Referee Reports 20% / Interview 50%. CV maximum is 15 points (Qualifications 4, Presentations 3, Publications 5, Scholarship and Teaching 3); Rurality is a separate 10-point section (Rural Education 3, Rural Origin 3, Rural and Remote Surgical Experience 4). The previously recorded "19-point CV scoring Indigeneity" is not supported by the current Regulations Appendix 1 or the 2027-intake Guide (zero Indigeneity mentions) and has been removed; First Nations provision is via the RACS set-aside initiative. Program branded GSET (5 years). Applications open 18 Feb, close 19 Mar 5:00pm AEDT; first-round offers 24 July. Selection fee $1,320 incl. GST. Four Consultant Surgeons' Support Forms required. SUPERSEDED 2026-07-12 — see note above: the Indigeneity and Ethnicity criterion and the 19-point CV maximum are confirmed current after all.
2026 selection round: RACS registration 6–30 Jan 2026, GSA applications open 18 Feb 2026, close 19 Mar 2026 at 5pm AEDT, interview notification from 18 May 2026, interviews May/Jun 2026. Reported application fee: AUD $1,320 inclusive of GST (verify on GSA website).
Indicative only. Check the RACS / GSA website for current information.
Official resources
State workforce data
Queensland Health’s medi-nav is the only state health department currently publishing the workforce and selection figures this section shows. We have not verified equivalent data for Victoria yet — the selection criteria and requirements above apply Australia-wide regardless of state. See the Queensland figures.
Community discussions
Recent discussion about General Surgery training from Australian doctors.
Search r/ausdocs and r/doctorsofaustraliaRequirements, windows, and criteria change annually. Verify with Royal Australasian College of Surgeons (administered by General Surgeons Australia) (RACS / GSA) before making career decisions. Report an error on this page.