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RACS / ASOHNS
When Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery applications run, and what the round looks like.
Applications
RACS registration opens 6 January and closes 30 January, 12 noon AEDT. Registrations are not accepted after that date under any circumstances.
Dates are set for each intake, so check the current regulations.
PGY3 is the earliest realistic application point, and the required prior experience usually pushes real entry later. General unconditional AHPRA registration and Introduction to Operating with Respect are also needed by the close of applications.
Training positions and workforce figures below are limited to Western Australia. Selection criteria, requirements and application dates are set by RACS / ASOHNS nationally and apply in every state.
Very high
How Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery training is structured.
Year 1
To complete
Years 2 and 3
To complete
Years 4 and 5
To complete
ASSET, Australian and Aotearoa New Zealand Surgical Skills Education and Training
Novice
CCrISP, Care of the Critically Ill Surgical Patient
Novice
EMST, Early Management of Severe Trauma
Novice
Functional endoscopic sinus surgery course, twice
Not required once the Fellowship Examination is passed.
Novice and Competent
Temporal bone course, twice
Not required once the Fellowship Examination is passed.
Novice and Competent
Head and neck course
Competent
The annual scientific meeting and the trainees meeting
Every stage
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.
Total 100%, and every component carries a minimum score
Three panels of at least two interviewers, with applicants rotating between them. Minimum 62.5%.
At least 8 otolaryngology consultants are nominated, and two assessors then speak with three of them. Minimum 50%.
Scored out of 17 across surgical experience, qualifications, publications and presentations. Experience counted towards the eligibility floor earns nothing here. Minimum 50%.
Between 8 and 10 hospital staff who have worked with the applicant for at least 10 weeks. Minimum 89%, the highest bar of the four.
Rotations, logbooks, procedures, and exposure
Rural, regional, and remote experience
Sourced from Australian medical community discussion.
From your intern year
In the two years before you apply
Across those same rotations
If you have worked rurally
Before the close of applications
There is a hard cap of 4 lifetime attempts, and the application and interview fees are largely non-refundable.
Look at the rural and regional routes. Regional Training Nominations, the Areas of Workforce Shortage initiative and the Rural Selection Initiative are each published separately.
Selection and workforce history, transcribed as published.
19
Trainees appointed
2026 intake
24
Previous intake
2025 intake
6 to 24
Range
Across the 2011 to 2026 intakes
The board publishes only appointments, not applications, but it publishes them over sixteen years — long enough to show that intake size moves substantially from year to year. Appointments have ranged from 6 (2011) to 24 (2025), with 19 for the 2026 intake.
Includes deferred offers.
| Intake | Trainees appointed |
|---|---|
| 2026 | 19 |
| 2025 |
Queensland Health is the only state department publishing these figures so far.
No published figures exist yet for Western Australia. This is being worked on. The selection criteria and requirements above apply Australia wide regardless of state. See the Queensland figures.
Changes published by RACS / ASOHNS.
ASOHNS Selection Regulations for the 2027 intake (approved 17 Nov 2025) raised the multi-source-feedback minimum pass mark from 62.5% (2026 intake) to 89%, a substantial tightening.
For the 2026 intake, ASOHNS replaced the online situational judgement test (previously 15%) with a multi-source feedback component (10%) and raised the interview weighting from 35% to 40%. The CV "rural origin" point was dropped in favour of the Regional Training Nominations and Areas of Workforce Shortage / Rural Selection Initiative special measures.
5 posts across 5 hospitals in Western Australia. Each circle counts hospitals.
Show these kinds of site
Select a circle to see the hospital. A numbered circle is several too close to draw apart, so open it to zoom in.
Hospital locations © OpenStreetMap contributors. State boundaries from the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
Published by RACS / ASOHNS 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 RACS / ASOHNS before making career decisions. Report an error on this page.
Selection points and pathways for Aboriginal, Torres Strait Islander, and Māori applicants
Exams, qualifications, courses, and teaching
Papers, impact factor, audits, and QI
Who is asked to report on you, and what they are asked
Format, stations, and what the interview assesses
How the application is marked and weighted
Application, interview, and registration costs
Registration mechanics and logistics not covered above
| 2024 | 16 |
|---|
| 2023 | 21 |
|---|
| 2022 | 16 |
|---|
| 2021 | 10 |
|---|
| 2020 | 12 |
|---|
| 2019 | 17 |
|---|
| 2018 | 22 |
|---|
| 2017 | 13 |
|---|
| 2016 | 9 |
|---|
| 2015 | 12 |
|---|
| 2014 | 19 |
|---|
| 2013 | 15 |
|---|
| 2012 | 15 |
|---|
| 2011 | 6 |
|---|
Source: Royal Australasian College of Surgeons — Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery. Past offers — trainees appointed onto the SET program by commencement year, 2011 to 2026 intakes. Includes deferred offers. Figures are transcribed as published.
Check the current figures at ASOHNS — 2027 intake application and selection.