How to Become an Obstetrician and Gynaecologist in Australia

Prerequisites

Registration: general registration with the Medical Board of Australia, or in Aotearoa New Zealand general registration and a practising certificate. Proof must reach the College at least 1 week before interviews
Postgraduate years: in postgraduate year 3 or later when you apply, with postgraduate year 3 complete by the start of training
Obstetrics and gynaecology experience: 12 months in Australia or Aotearoa New Zealand, complete by the start of training
Residency: Australian or New Zealand citizenship or permanent residency, or a New Zealand residence visa, when you apply, or evidence that you will hold every approval needed to train by the start of training

Applications

Timeline

Next year

Applications

Applications open, for the curriculum vitae and Mini Multi-Source Feedback forms

When to apply

From the 2027 selection year, apply in postgraduate year 3 at the earliest, to start training in postgraduate year 4.

Selection format

CV
Multi-source feedback
Multiple mini-interview

Preferencing

Two phases in Australia. Phase 1 (up to 2 Rural or Integrated Training Program sites) is optional and assessed first. Phase 2 (up to 3 states or territories) is compulsory. Declining a Phase 1 offer forfeits Phase 2 and counts as an attempt
Phase 1
- Rural programs: Bendigo, Dubbo or Orange (they alternate each year), Royal Darwin Hospital, and the western Victoria program based at University Hospital Geelong
- Integrated Training Programs: Newcastle in New South Wales, the Australian Capital Territory, Tasmania, and Townsville in Queensland
- Phase 2: New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia with the Northern Territory, Victoria and Western Australia
- Commitment: preference only places where you will train for all of Basic Training, at least 4 years. You declare that you will stay, and a change of program is not considered
- Rural eligibility: 5 years of rural living since primary school, a rural bonded scholarship or place, a year as a GP in one rural location, or 12 months of rural clinical training. Others can submit an expression of interest

Competition

High

About the top third to half of Australian applicants are selected each year. You have 3 attempts in total. Applying in both Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand counts as 2. A third attempt scoring within 10% of the lowest first-round offer earns one more.

Program structure

Time to complete
6 years
Full time, Basic then Advanced Training
Basic Training
4 years
In one Integrated Training Program
Advanced Training
2 years
After Basic Training

Throughout training

Rural term: 23 weeks; At least, after your first 46 weeks of Basic Training
Tertiary hospital: 46 weeks; At least, in Basic Training
Away from your home hospital: 46 weeks; At least, which can include the rural term
Major gynaecological operations: 23; The average a program must give each trainee every 6 months, as primary operator

Rules and conditions

Basic Training stays in one Integrated Training Program, and any move to another needs written approval first
Every period of training approved in advance, applied for at least 8 weeks before it starts. A late application is credited only from the date it is approved
A training post in a resource-limited country, such as Papua New Guinea, Fiji or India, can stand in for the rural term, once Years 1 and 2 are complete. It is approved case by case, for up to 12 months
Where your home hospital limits family planning services for religious reasons, your other terms are at hospitals without that limit
Every site gives you the most primary operator work you are credentialed for, structured training in gynaecological surgery, ultrasound, colposcopy and family planning, and resources and consultant support for your research
Teaching time is set in your roster, free of clinical duties but for emergencies. Designated consultants teach basic obstetric skills in your first 12 months
Every site has a laparoscopic box trainer you can use out of hours, birth models for obstetric manoeuvres, and educators to guide you
Rosters: shifts of 14 hours at most and an average week of 50 to 55 hours are the target. A registrar is supported by a junior colleague after hours where a hospital has more than 2,000 births a year

Stage by stage

Stage 1 of 2

Basic Training

Four years, full time

Four years in one Integrated Training Program, a group of accredited hospitals, with both FRANZCOG examinations.

Training time

Integrated Training Program
184 weeks in the program you are allocated

Examinations

FRANZCOG Written Examination
Multiple choice and short answer, open after 46 weeks of credited Basic Training
- Both parts are sat at the first attempt
- You have 3 attempts at each, and a fail means resitting only that part
FRANZCOG Oral Examination
Open after the Written Examination and 66 weeks of credited Basic Training
- You have 3 attempts

Courses

Workshops by 52 weeks
Foundations of Surgery, Basic Obstetric Skills, a fetal surveillance program and in-hospital neonatal resuscitation training
- One done in the 24 months before you start can count
Communication skills by 104 weeks, as a workshop or three online modules
- An approved ultrasound workshop or course by 156 weeks
Online modules
Ultrasound and family and domestic violence by 52 weeks, and cultural competency and abortion by 104 weeks
Research Toolkit
Completed by 104 weeks of Basic Training

Assessments

Procedural and surgical skills
Assessed in stages, such as spontaneous vaginal birth and episiotomy repair by 52 weeks, caesarean section, instrumental birth and diagnostic hysteroscopy by 104 weeks, and more advanced laparoscopic surgery by 208 weeks

Dual training

Dual training with

Gynaecological Oncology

Gynaecological Oncology (CGO)

Entry: Open to Fellows, and to trainees who meet the commencement requirements in the RANZCOG Regulations.
Assessments: It ends in written and oral examinations.

Selection criteria

Score your portfolio

Weighting: 100% in the 2026 selection year, scored in separate pools for Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand

Curriculum vitae

35%

Scored out of 48 points. Every claim needs documentary evidence, or it earns no points. Score yours

Clinical experience

18 points

Obstetrics and gynaecology experience: 3 points for 23 to 45 weeks of O&G, 6 for 46 to 68, 9 for 69 to 91 and 12 for 92 or more, plus 3 for 46 weeks or more of rural O&G
- What counts: work from postgraduate year 2, in the 5 years before training starts, in blocks of at least 10 weeks full time. Weeks up to the start of training count. Explain any gap between O&G terms
- Overseas training: specialist O&G training in a program comparable to FRANZCOG, begun within 5 years of applying, can count toward the 12 points
Other medical experience: 2 points for 46 to 91 weeks as a doctor and 3 for 92 or more, counted only when followed by at least 12 months of O&G

Rurality and First Nations identity

15 points

Rural experience: 5 points for 3 years of secondary school or 2 years as a GP in Modified Monash 3 or more remote, 3 for the same in Modified Monash 2, and 2 for a year at a rural clinical school as a non-bonded student
First Nations: 10 points for Aboriginal, Torres Strait Islander, Māori or Pacific applicants, and priority for your first-preference location if successful

Distinction

6 points

6 points for first place overall or in O&G, or a RANZCOG Women's Health Award, and 4 for first place in another discipline
- Where: at an Australian or New Zealand university or clinical school of more than 50 students, or an overseas university in the Times Higher Education top 200 for clinical and health subjects

Professional

6 points

6 points for the Prevocational Pathway, or 1 per O&G course of at least 5 hours since 1 January 2024, to 3. The Associate Training Program earns none
- What counts: the Prevocational Pathway complete at least 3 weeks before applications close. Short industry courses and compulsory hospital courses earn nothing

Publications and research

3 points

Research: 3 points for a PhD, or up to 3 from publications and presentations, not both. A first-author PubMed or Medline paper on any medical topic from the last 5 years earns 1, and two or more earn 2
- PhD: passed before you apply, at an Australian or New Zealand university or one in the Times Higher Education top 200 for clinical and health subjects. An MD or masters earns none
Presentations: 0.5 each, to 2, as first author at a regional, national or international meeting after competitive selection, on a women's health topic. Hospital meetings and registrar evenings do not count

Mini Multi-Source Feedback

20%

Reports from 6 to 8 raters you have worked with, averaged. Fewer than 6 reports are still divided by 6
- Referees: from up to two workplaces where you worked full time for at least 6 months, between January of the year before you apply and August of the year you apply
- Who they are: 1 to 3 obstetricians and gynaecologists, 1 to 3 doctors from another specialty, 1 to 3 midwives or nurses, and up to 2 allied health, First Nations or Māori health representatives
- Seniority: doctors are consultants or advanced trainees in their last 2 years of training. One person rates in one category only
- Approval: your head of department confirms each rater. If one is not approved, you name a replacement
- Domains: teamwork, social sensibility, communication, tactfulness, resilience, resistance to stress, conscientiousness, workload and time management, cultural safety, technical skills, and psychomotor and multitasking skills

Selection interview

45%

Every applicant is interviewed. From the 2027 selection year, multiple mini-interviews replace the 15-minute standardised interview by videoconference of 2026
- 2026 panel: 5 to 8 members, including Fellows and a trainee representative, and sometimes a community or rural representative. It sees only the clinical experience part of your application
- 2026 format: each question appears on screen as it is asked, with a timer. Nothing is recorded
- Questions: such as the qualities of an obstetrician and gynaecologist, an ethical stance, coping with stress, a missed result, a struggling colleague, a racist post, a disagreement over care, health inequity and cultural safety
- Confidentiality: a 7-day embargo on the questions. A breach means disqualification and a lifelong ban from applying

Scoring

Feedback: if you are not selected, you are told which percentile of applicants your overall score fell in. No component score, rank or rater report is released
Merit list: if a place comes free in the first 3 months of training, it goes to the highest ranked unsuccessful applicant who preferenced that state or program and meets its employment rules. The bottom tenth is not on the list
Reconsideration: if you think a fault in how selection was run cost you a place, ask the committee in writing to reconsider within 30 days of being told. You can then ask for a review within 14 days of its answer, and appeal within 2 months

Application process

Employment: a registrar job in the region you are allocated, applied for through that region's hospitals on their own timeline. The College's offer is void without it
1. Apply online through the College form on the FRANZCOG selection page, with your curriculum vitae and its evidence, and nominate your Mini Multi-Source Feedback raters
2. The College checks your eligibility, and the head of department at each workplace confirms your raters
3. The College invites every applicant to an interview with a selection panel
4. The College combines the curriculum vitae, Mini Multi-Source Feedback and interview scores and ranks applicants. Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand are ranked as separate pools
5. In Australia, the College makes Phase 1 offers first, then Phase 2 offers by state. Accept an offer within the time given, usually 48 hours
6. Your regional Training Accreditation Committee matches you to a hospital position in an Integrated Training Program
7. Secure the job at that hospital, or the offer is void

Practise this interview with each station timed. Interview practice

Entry tips

Medical school

Aim for first place in your O&G rotation or a RANZCOG Women's Health Award, since either earns the full 6 academic points that first place overall does.

Postgraduate year 2 and later

Take obstetrics and gynaecology terms as a resident, since O&G weeks are the largest single part of the curriculum vitae and the 12 months you need to apply come from them. They are also where you meet the consultants who supervise research and rate you.

Clinical experience

An unaccredited O&G registrar post adds O&G weeks if you are not yet selected, though it is not credited toward FRANZCOG training.

Rural experience

Spend a year of clinical training in a rural hospital, as a student, intern or resident, since it opens the rural programs in Phase 1 to you.

Research

Join a research project in an O&G unit with a consultant who will supervise you, and present it as first author at a meeting that selects abstracts, since posters, papers and the Prevocational Pathway are where most applicants can still gain points. A first-author Medline paper in the 2 years before training also counts toward the training research requirement.

Courses

Complete the Prevocational Pathway before you apply, since it is worth 6 points. You need the Certificate of Women's Health or an Associate Training Program first, and enrolment closes 3 weeks before selection applications close.

Referees

Talk to your Mini Multi-Source Feedback raters before nominating them, so each can comment on enough of the domains.

Application

You have 3 attempts, so if your clinical experience points are short of the maximum, consider applying a year later. An application withdrawn within 10 days of the close does not count as an attempt.

Interview

Practise with colleagues who were recently successful, using the sample interview questions, and know the current issues in women's health. From the 2027 selection year the interview is multiple mini-interviews, so practise multi-station scenarios.

Training posts

Apply for a registrar job in each region you preference, on its own timeline, ideally before applying for training, since the College's offer is void without one.

What the college has changed

2028-01
In the 2028 selection year (2029 intake), a situational judgement test replaces the scored curriculum vitae, and the Prevocational Pathway becomes a requirement to apply.
2027-04
The Written and Oral Examinations each run over two days, and the Written Examination is sat by remote proctoring.
2027-02
The College's face-to-face Fetal Surveillance Education Program becomes the only program that meets the fetal surveillance requirement.
2027-01
In the 2027 selection year (2028 intake), multiple mini-interviews replace the standardised interview, and applicants need postgraduate year 3 and 12 months of obstetrics and gynaecology experience.
2026-01
Mini Multi-Source Feedback replaced referee reports and institutional ranking from the 2026 selection year.

Workforce

Positions a year

90 to 100

Australia

Applications

194

2020 training positions

Offers

84

2020 training positions

Offer rate

43.3%

84 of 194

Women among applicants

154 of 194

2020 training positions

Applications
Gender	ACT
Female	2
Male	1
Non-binary	Not published
Total	3

Fellows by state, 2025

Fellows by state, 2025
Jurisdiction	Fellows
Australian Capital Territory (your selected state)	42

Source: Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists. FRANZCOG training positions: applications, interviews and offers for the 2020 training positions, by region and gender.

Current figures: RANZCOG: FRANZCOG training.

Workforce data by state

QLD: Queensland Health medi-nav. NSW: NSW Health Map My Career. VIC, WA, SA, TAS, ACT, NT: Australian Government Health Workforce Data.

Prerequisites

Applications

Timeline

When to apply

Selection format

Preferencing

Competition

Program structure

Training time

Examinations

Courses

Assessments

Training time

Courses

Assessments

Advanced Training Pathway: choose one

Dual training

Gynaecological Oncology

Maternal Fetal Medicine

Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility

Urogynaecology

Obstetrics and Gynaecological Ultrasound

Selection criteria

Curriculum vitae

Clinical experience

Rurality and First Nations identity

Distinction

Professional

Publications and research

Mini Multi-Source Feedback

Selection interview

Scoring

Application process

Entry tips

What the college has changed

Workforce

Applications

Fellows by state, 2025

Workforce data by state

Training posts

Available Obstetrics and Gynaecology training positions

Official resources

Official links

Fields of practice

Related specialties