Orthopaedic surgeons diagnose and treat injuries and diseases of the bones, joints and muscles, such as fractures, sports injuries and worn joints, with or without an operation. Many go on to focus on one area, such as the hand, spine, hip or knee, or on children.
Citizenship and residency: Australian citizenship or permanent residency, held for the whole program
Registration: general registration with the Medical Board of Australia with no conditions, held when you register with RACSRoyal Australasian College of Surgeons and for the whole program
Complaints history: declare any complaint about your practice to a medical board in the last 10 years, or to a hospital or health service in the last 5, whatever its outcome
Suitability: a declaration does not rule you out. The Federal Training Committee weighs it, with any reasons and evidence you give, in judging your suitability for training
Generic Surgical Sciences Examination: passed by the day applications open. A pass in the February sitting of the same year comes too late
Orthopaedic experience: 26 working weeks of orthopaedic surgery terms at postgraduate year 3 or higher, the third year after your medical degree, in the two clinical years before applications open, done by the day they open
Where it counts: a public hospital with an emergency department and an on-call roster. Terms of 6 continuous weeks or more add together, and part-time work counts in proportion
A longer window: the last 5 clinical years count if you studied full time for a doctorate, or took 12 months or more of parental leave
Operating with Respect: the RACSRoyal Australasian College of SurgeonsIntroduction to Operating with Respect course, or the module it replaced in 2023, completed before you register
Radiation safety course: a radiation safety course licensed or approved by a state body, done by the day applications open, however long ago
International specialists: surgeons who trained overseas apply to RACSRoyal Australasian College of Surgeons for a specialist assessment through the RACS specialist international medical graduate pages, not to this program
RACS registration opens early January and closes late JanuaryWithout it, the AOAThe Australian Orthopaedic Association, which runs orthopaedic selection and training in Australia for RACS. cannot accept your application
When to apply
Apply in postgraduate year 4 at the earliest, to start training in postgraduate year 5.
Selection format
Structured CV
Referee report
Semi-structured interview
Preferencing
Name a first and, if you wish, a second training region. You are interviewed and offered a post only in those two. Applicants choosing Sydney also number Northside and SouthsideRegions
New South Wales, Sydney, as Northside or Southside, each with hospitals in Canberra and regional New South Wales, such as Orange, Lismore, Wagga Wagga and Wollongong
New South Wales, Newcastle, with Gosford, Maitland, Port Macquarie and Coffs Harbour
Queensland, from the Gold Coast to Cairns
South Australia and the Northern Territory, with Alice Springs and Darwin
Victoria and Tasmania, with Hobart and Launceston
Western Australia, with Bunbury and Geraldton
Offers: an offer is in the region you interviewed in. Where a region has more posts than successful applicants who interviewed there, its posts go by rank and preference. Declining the region offered ends your application
Deferral: ask when you accept the offer. The Federal Training Committee defers a start by up to one year only in exceptional circumstances, and never to finish an unaccredited post
Competition
Very high
Each training post draws four to five applicants on average. The number of places depends on how many accredited posts are free each year. There is no limit on attempts. After a third unsuccessful attempt you are invited to a counselling session about your applications.
Program structure
Total training
8 years
From internship at the earliest: 4 postgraduate years, then the AOA 21 program
AOA 21 program
4 years
At least, full time across its three stages, and 5 years on average
Fellowship
Year 8
FRACS in orthopaedic surgery, at the earliest
Throughout training
Time limit
9 years
To finish the program, from the start of training
Leave
6 weeks
At most in each 6-month training period, all kinds counted together
Part time
Half time
At least, in any training year
Training has three stages. Introduction to Orthopaedics is your first 12 months to 2 years, with a focus on trauma. Core Orthopaedics is at least the next 2 years, across general orthopaedics. Transition to Practice is at least the final year, preparing for independent practice
The 9 years run from your first day of training. An interruption for illness or parental leave is not counted, and part-time training does not extend the limit
The 6 weeks covers annual, personal, sick, compassionate, parental, carer's, study, exam and conference leave. More needs the regional training committee chair's approval in advance, up to 12 weeks, and more than 12 weeks becomes an interruption
Leave over the limit without approval can mean the training period does not count toward your training time
Rules and conditions
You train in the region of your offer for the whole program, rotating between its accredited hospitals. A transfer is considered only in exceptional circumstances, with a trainee at the same stage to swap with
Every trainee completes a rotation in a regional or rural hospital
Part-time training is approved case by case where a part-time post is free, applied for at least 6 months ahead. Feedback, assessments and the eLogThe AOA online logbook, where you record every operation you take part in and your role in it. stay at the full-time rate
Interruption is approved time away from the program, in blocks of 6 months, applied for by 30 May of the year before. It is granted in your first 12 months only in exceptional circumstances, except for parental leave
Full-time research toward an MD or PhD can be an interruption once Introduction to Orthopaedics is complete
Accredited posts257 in Australia, in the hospitals of the seven training regions, and 3 at Shriners Hospital for Children in Portland, United States
Overseas rotationEach year four trainees spend 6 months in paediatric orthopaedics at Shriners Hospital for Children, observing under the direct supervision of its surgeons
Your employerThe health service or hospital of the post you are allocated employs you, and your offer depends on that employment
Posts in the territory6 accredited posts, at Canberra Hospital and North Canberra Hospital
What every accredited orthopaedic post must give you each week
Clinical sessions
6 or more
Half-day sessions a week
Operating lists
3 or more
Half-day lists a week with a consultant rostered to each, or 2 in a paediatric post
Clinics
1 or more
Half-day sessions a week assessing new patients and following others up, with a consultant
On call
1 in 3
At most, on the on-call roster, with a consultant supervising
You manage your own ward patients, with at least one consultant ward round a week
Rosters: no more than 14 continuous hours excluding on-call, at least 8 hours of rest off site in every 24, and two full days free of all duty every 14 days
Rules and conditions
Each post gives enough cases to complete the equivalent of two orthopaedic modules, which your eLogThe AOA online logbook, where you record every operation you take part in and your role in it. shows. Fellows and junior doctors in the department do not reduce your theatre lists
Where the hospital has an emergency department, you take part in the first assessment of its patients there or on call
You can take study leave for the courses and examinations the program requires, and you are always released for Bone School
A post away from where you live comes with travel and accommodation, or relocation costs and help with rent
Consultants
3
At least, orthopaedic surgeons in each accredited department
Trainee supervisor
1
For each post, on site at least one day a week
Director of training
5
Trainees at most, overseeing your training at the hospital
The trainee supervisor is an AOAThe Australian Orthopaedic Association, which runs orthopaedic selection and training in Australia for RACS. Fellow who meets you at the start of each rotation, teaches and assesses you day to day, and leads your 3-monthly performance appraisal. The director of training leads your 6-monthly progress review
Rules and conditions
Every consultant who works with you has done the four AOAThe Australian Orthopaedic Association, which runs orthopaedic selection and training in Australia for RACS. 21 trainer modules, and at least two of them complete your workplace-based assessments in Introduction and Core Orthopaedics
A surgeon of another specialty can supervise some lists, such as a plastic surgeon on a hand list
The director of training and each trainee supervisor have 2 hours a month of paid time for the role
Orthopaedic Principles and Basic Sciences ExaminationThe Australian Orthopaedic Association's first examination, on the basic sciences of orthopaedic surgery, marked pass or fail
Year 1
Passed in your first stage, Introduction to Orthopaedics
Fellowship ExaminationThe Royal Australasian College of Surgeons' final examination in orthopaedic surgery, at the standard of a consultant in the first year of practice
Year 3
At the earliest, after 18 months of Core Orthopaedics, your second stage
The Orthopaedic Principles and Basic Sciences Examination is two papers of 100 true or false questions, 2.5 hours each, on consecutive days, held in June and October
The Fellowship Examination is written papers, then a clinical and viva part. It runs twice a year: written papers in March or August, then the clinical and viva part in May or in September to October
Rules and conditions
The Fellowship Examination opens once you have Advanced Trauma Life Support, the trauma, shoulder, knee and hip modules and two more, a rating of Progressing Well on your last two performance appraisals, and 18 months of Core Orthopaedics when you sit
You also need the support of your director of training and the regional panel. You cannot sit it during an interruption, unless the interruption is for parental leave
Feedback entriesA written record, which you log, of feedback a consultant gave you on your work
1 a week
At least, logged throughout training
Performance appraisalsA meeting with your trainee supervisor at the end of each 3 months, who reviews your assessments and eLog, discusses your performance and gives an overall rating
Every 3 months
With your trainee supervisor, in Introduction and Core Orthopaedics
Progress reviewsA review with your director of training at the end of each 6 months, recorded on a progress review form, of how you are progressing through your stage
Every 6 months
With your director of training, in every stage
Orthopaedic modulesOne area of orthopaedics, such as trauma, the knee or the hip, completed when your workplace-based assessments show you are competent in it
11
All completed by the end of Core Orthopaedics
A workplace-based assessment is a consultant watching you work and scoring what they see, with feedback
Rules and conditions
Several workplace-based assessments every 3 months: patient consultation and management plan assessments, case-based discussions and surgical skills assessments
Record every operation you take part in on the eLogThe AOA online logbook, where you record every operation you take part in and your role in it. as it happens
You move to the next stage only at the end of a 6-month training period, once a stage review finds your portfolio meets the expectations of the stage
Research pathway
1
Project, coursework or PhD, chosen in Introduction to Orthopaedics and finished by the end of Transition to Practice
The project pathway is a full research project relevant to orthopaedic surgery, such as a trial or a cohort study, with an approved supervisor and proposal, presented at the AOAThe Australian Orthopaedic Association, which runs orthopaedic selection and training in Australia for RACS. Annual Scientific Meeting or an equivalent
The coursework pathway is a masters, graduate diploma or graduate certificate with two of clinical epidemiology, biostatistics, research methods and evidence-based medicine, then a smaller project such as a systematic review or clinical audit
Rules and conditions
The PhD pathway is an accredited research post in Core Orthopaedics at half the clinical load, with the PhD finished by the end of Transition to Practice
Up to three trainees can share a project, each doing different parts, and every trainee still covers all five parts across at most two projects
Research relevant to orthopaedic surgery done in the 5 years before training can be credited, if it meets the standard of the project or coursework pathway
Skills courses
3
Care of the Critically Ill Surgical Patient, Training in Professional Skills and Advanced Trauma Life Support
Bone School
Weekly
Regional lectures and tutorials, attended throughout Core Orthopaedics
Clinical meetings
1 a week
At least, at your hospital, to discuss cases with consultants
Bone Camp is the short residential course that starts training. Bone School is the weekly AOAThe Australian Orthopaedic Association, which runs orthopaedic selection and training in Australia for RACS. teaching program in each region, with in-training examinations, trial examinations and clinical sessions
Advanced Trauma Life Support was called Early Management of Severe Trauma until the end of 2025
Rules and conditions
Care of the Critically Ill Surgical Patient and Training in Professional Skills are completed in Introduction to Orthopaedics, and Advanced Trauma Life Support by the end of Core Orthopaedics. Each counts if done before training
Bone School includes the RACSRoyal Australasian College of Surgeons online modules in intercultural competency and in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health and cultural safety
Each quarter you present at a journal club and a morbidity and mortality meeting
Stage by stage
Stage 1 of 3
Introduction to Orthopaedics
At least 12 months full time (maximum 2 years)
The first stage, entered on selection, building the foundation skills of an orthopaedic surgeon with a focus on trauma care.
Training time
At least 12 months full-time equivalent in an accredited post in a large hospital, with at least one supervised half-day trauma list a week
Time limit
Training ends if the stage is not complete within 2 years
Examinations
Orthopaedic Principles and Basic Sciences Examination
Passed in this stage
Courses
Bone Camp, Care of the Critically Ill Surgical Patient and Training in Professional Skills: completed in this stage, or the two RACSRoyal Australasian College of Surgeons courses before training
Assessments
Workplace-based assessments
At least one patient consultation assessment and one management plan assessment each 3 months
Surgical skills assessments
One with a global score of 3 for each of eight operations
Fixation of distal radius, proximal femur, radius and ulna shaft, and Weber C or bimalleolar ankle fractures
Olecranon or patella tension band wiring, hip hemiarthroplasty, femoral or tibial nailing, and external fixation
Stage review
Your regional training committee finds you meet the expectations of the stage
It first needs a rating of Progressing Well on your last performance appraisal, and your director of training to confirm the stage is complete
Projects
Research pathway
Chosen, with a proposal for a project, the course named for coursework, or interest in a PhD post
Stage 2 of 3
Core Orthopaedics
At least 24 months full time (maximum 7 years from the start of training)
The second stage, building assessment, management and operating skills across the breadth of general orthopaedic surgery.
Training time
At least 24 months full-time equivalent in accredited posts
Time limit
Training ends if the stage is not complete within 7 years of starting training
Examinations
Fellowship Examination
Passed in this stage
Courses
Advanced Trauma Life Support
Completed, if not done before
Bone School
Attended throughout the stage
Assessments
Orthopaedic modules
All 11 completed
Workplace-based assessments
Regular patient consultation and management plan assessments, case-based discussions and surgical skills assessments
Stage review
A panel of at least three from the regional training committee reviews your portfolio
Projects
Research
Real progress on your project or PhD, or enrolment in your course before the stage ends
Stage 3 of 3
Transition to Practice
At least 12 months full time (maximum 2 years)
The final stage, preparing you for independent specialist practice, with time to focus on an area of interest. Completing it makes you eligible for Fellowship of RACSRoyal Australasian College of Surgeons and of the AOAThe Australian Orthopaedic Association, which runs orthopaedic selection and training in Australia for RACS..
Training time
After the first year
You are no longer allocated a post, but can finish the requirements within the 2 years
At least 12 months full-time equivalent in an approved post, in a large hospital or a rural site, where you teach junior doctors
An AOAThe Australian Orthopaedic Association, which runs orthopaedic selection and training in Australia for RACS. accredited fellowship can be the post, where it gives a supervisor, a director of training, on-call, teaching and time as primary operator
Courses
AOA 21 Workshops
All completed
Each can be done at any time from the start of training
Transition to Practice education sessions
Attended
Assessments
Professional development
A learning plan, then 50 hours in the year, 25 of them reviewing your performance and measuring outcomes and 12.5 in education, then a reflection on the plan
Stage review
From 9 months in the stage, by a panel of the regional training committee
Weighting: 100%, from the interview and the verbal referee reports
Structured curriculum vitae
Pass or fail
You need 6 points or more on this to continue
Curriculum vitae: scored by two scorers working apart, who agree one score. You need 6 points to go on, and the points play no part in your final score. Only evidence attached when you apply counts. Score yours
Surgical and medical experience
Up to 4
0.5 points a 12-week term in the 5 years before applications open, at postgraduate year 3 or later, in Australia or Aotearoa New Zealand. Orthopaedic terms earn up to 3, and plastic, vascular, neurosurgery or general surgery terms up to 1
Which terms count: each at least 6 continuous weeks, not the terms that met the 26 weeks. Terms of different kinds are not added together. Locum and part-time terms count in proportion, and one hospital gives at most 2 points
Skills courses
Up to 3
1 point each, up to 3, for Basic Surgical Training, ASSETAustralian and New Zealand Surgical Skills Education and Training, the RACS two-day basic surgical skills course, with ten eLearning modules before it., Care of the Critically Ill Surgical Patient or Advanced Trauma Life Support, or for attending an AOAThe Australian Orthopaedic Association, which runs orthopaedic selection and training in Australia for RACS. Annual Scientific Meeting since 2021
Higher education
Up to 3
2 points for a masters relevant to orthopaedic surgery and 3 for a doctorate, up to 3. Masters of physiotherapy, public health, health science, reproductive medicine or health management do not count
Research presentations
Up to 2
Given by you in person: 2 points at a national AOAThe Australian Orthopaedic Association, which runs orthopaedic selection and training in Australia for RACS. or RACSRoyal Australasian College of Surgeons meeting or an international equivalent, 1 at an AOAThe Australian Orthopaedic Association, which runs orthopaedic selection and training in Australia for RACS. regional or AOAThe Australian Orthopaedic Association, which runs orthopaedic selection and training in Australia for RACS. subspecialty society meeting, up to 2. Posters, trainee association and industry meetings do not count
Research publications
Up to 4
In a peer-reviewed journal with an impact factor of 1 or more, on any topic: 3 points as first author and 1 otherwise, up to 4. Reviews count. Case reports, case series, abstracts, letters and book chapters do not
Which count: published or accepted by the day applications open, with you a listed author. The same research cannot score twice, as a talk and as a paper
Test and departmental referee reports
Pass or fail
Test and referee score: your test score and departmental referee report score are added together. A total 1 standard deviation below the mean or lower ends the application, and the rest are ranked on it for interview. Neither counts toward your final score
Orthopaedic Multiple Choice Question test
50 questions in 75 minutes, each a question with four statements you mark true or false, scored out of 100 with no marks lost for a wrong answer
Content: basic orthopaedic sciences, common conditions, surgical approaches and anatomy, and clinical examination, at the level of an unaccredited registrar ready to start training
Departmental referee reports
One from each hospital you worked at in the last two clinical years, giving the orthopaedic team's view of how ready you are for training, including the views of staff who are not surgeons. Collected in confidence, without you
Interview
60%
Selection interview: in person on one day, in up to six cities, such as Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Cairns, Adelaide and Perth. Five panels of at least two each run a section of up to 10 minutes, as you move between them
Panels: AOAThe Australian Orthopaedic Association, which runs orthopaedic selection and training in Australia for RACS. members, surgeons of other specialties and people who are not surgeons
Domains: the attributes the panels assess, with set opening questions and follow-up questions
Working with peers, mentors, the health care team, managers, patients and families
Contributing as a member of the team
Acting ethically, responsibly and honestly, and responding to ethical issues
Learning with insight, responding to feedback and being accountable
Verbal referee reports
40%
At least three, from orthopaedic surgeons the Federal Training Committee picks from your list, on your work, character and abilities. Collected in confidence, for the top two applicants a post in each region
Your referee list: each hospital in the last two clinical years, its head of orthopaedics and every orthopaedic surgeon you worked with, with how often and where each saw you. You can highlight two, who may not be asked
Leaving someone out: after a serious conflict or disciplinary action with someone on your list, you can ask in confidence, with written documents, for them not to be asked. The committee may still contact them
Scoring
Selection priorities: three groups go on through selection on lower scores, and the Federal Training Committee makes the final offers with regard to diversity, rural workforce and equity
First Nations: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander applicants verified at RACSRoyal Australasian College of Surgeons registration who meet the eligibility and curriculum vitae minimums go through every stage, and are considered for an offer within two deciles
Women: women who meet the eligibility, curriculum vitae and combined score minimums go to interview, to verbal referee reports within two deciles of the cut-off, and are considered for an offer within one decile
Rural origin: 10 years of school and some tertiary study in Modified Monash 2 to 7The Modified Monash Model rates how remote a place is, from 1 for a major city to 7 for a very remote community., or 75% of medical school on a rural campus. They go through interview and verbal reports, and are considered for an offer within one decile
Take an elective in orthopaedic surgery, and apply for the AOAThe Australian Orthopaedic Association, which runs orthopaedic selection and training in Australia for RACS. undergraduate workshop or one of its joint university scholarships, listed on the AOA student page.
Postgraduate years 1 and 2
Do orthopaedic terms as an intern and resident, since that is where you meet the orthopaedic surgeons who mentor you and bring you into research. Find a mentor there, a consultant or a current trainee.
Postgraduate year 3 and later
Work as an unaccredited orthopaedic registrar in a public hospital with an emergency department, since the test is set at the level of a registrar ready to start training and your referee reports come from those terms.
Research
Join a research project with the orthopaedic surgeons you work with and present it at your AOAThe Australian Orthopaedic Association, which runs orthopaedic selection and training in Australia for RACS. branch scientific meeting, since research done in the 5 years before training can also count toward the program once you start.
Courses
Do Care of the Critically Ill Surgical Patient and Advanced Trauma Life Support as a resident if you can, since the program requires both and accepts them done before you start.
Examinations
Prepare for the Orthopaedic Multiple Choice Question test on the job, with the JDocs postgraduate year 3 competencies as your guide, since they set the level the test expects.
Referees
Work in your last two clinical years as if the whole orthopaedic team is assessing you, since the departmental reports give the view of nurses, allied health and other staff as well as the surgeons.
Interview
Do not pay for a commercial interview course, since RACSRoyal Australasian College of Surgeons and the AOAThe Australian Orthopaedic Association, which runs orthopaedic selection and training in Australia for RACS. share nothing about the interview with them and know of no evidence they help.
What the college has changed
2025-02
The Orthopaedic Multiple Choice Question test joined selection in 2025, for the 2026 intake.
2023-02
The interview and verbal referee reports joined selection in 2023, for the 2024 intake.
Workforce
Successful applicants
57
2027 intake, selected in 2026
Trainees appointed
57
Selected in 2025, deferred offers included
The 2027 intake by training regionPosts expected from the association's modelling before selection, and the successful applicants it lists after offers.
Swipe to see every column
The 2027 intake by training region
New South Wales
Queensland
SA and NT
Vic and Tas
WA
Sydney Northside
Sydney Southside
Newcastle
Posts expected
11
9
4
10
Interview places for the 2027 intakeThe association's expected number of interviews in each region.
Interview places for the 2027 intake
Training region
Interview places
New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory (your selected state)
72
Trainees appointed by selection yearIncludes deferred offers.
Trainees appointed by selection year
Selected in
Trainees appointed
2019
59
2020
42
2021
Source: Australian Orthopaedic Association and the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons. Selection applications for the 2027 intake: applicants, interviews and offers by region for six rounds, the expected 2027 vacancies and interview places, the successful applicants for the 2027 intake, and RACS past offers for selection years 2019 to 2025.
Requirements, application windows and criteria change every year. Verify with RACS / AOA before making career decisions. Report an error on this page.
Care, concern and sensitivity to the needs of others
Spoken communication, and presenting concisely within the time
Taking in and organising information, and adapting to it
Commitment to a career in orthopaedic surgery
Promoting the health of the community, patients, colleagues and yourself
Medical and technical expertise
Scoring: each answer is scored against a standard guide of what good and poor answers show. Each panel's score is the mean of its interviewers' scores, and the five make up your interview score
Special consideration: if illness, injury or another serious event outside your control affects an assessment, apply by email before it, or by 5pm on the day after. It never adds marks
Reconsideration: ask within 5 business days of a decision, on grounds such as an error in process or information not considered. Curriculum vitae, test and departmental report scores are reconsidered only for a clear scoring error
Review: if the reconsideration goes against you, you can ask within 5 business days for a review by three or more AOAThe Australian Orthopaedic Association, which runs orthopaedic selection and training in Australia for RACS. Fellows who had no part in the decision. They can overturn it and have it made again
Feedback: if you are not invited to interview, not taken on to verbal referee reports or not offered a post, you are told in writing how you did against that cut-off in your region. You are never given a score or rank, and can email the AOAThe Australian Orthopaedic Association, which runs orthopaedic selection and training in Australia for RACS. for more
Application process
1Register for selection with RACSRoyal Australasian College of Surgeons, then apply online through the AOA selection page with your regional preferences, and book the Orthopaedic Multiple Choice Question test
2The AOAThe Australian Orthopaedic Association, which runs orthopaedic selection and training in Australia for RACS. scores your structured curriculum vitae, and you need 6 points to go on
3You sit the test, and the AOAThe Australian Orthopaedic Association, which runs orthopaedic selection and training in Australia for RACS. collects departmental referee reports from each hospital you worked at
4The Federal Training Committee ranks applicants above the minimum combined score, and invites the highest in each region to a semi-structured interview
5The AOAThe Australian Orthopaedic Association, which runs orthopaedic selection and training in Australia for RACS. collects verbal referee reports for the highest interview scores, two applicants for each expected post in a region
6The Federal Training Committee ranks applicants on the interview and verbal referee reports and makes offers by region, in several rounds
7Accept the offer and its region, and return the signed training agreement
8Your regional training committee allocates your accredited post
4
11
4
Successful applicants
8
10
2
11
5
13
8
45
2022
51
2023
52
2024
61
2025
57
Source: Royal Australasian College of Surgeons, past offers
