Stage 1 of 3
Primary specialty training
Before pain medicine training
At least 3 years in an approved primary specialty, or its Fellowship, before pain medicine.
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Pain medicine physicians diagnose and manage complex persistent pain, as well as acute and cancer pain, as consultants and often as the principal treating doctor. They lead a multidisciplinary team that looks at the body, the person and their surroundings.
Accredited units recruit their own pain medicine positions, on their own dates.
Apply once you have completed 3 years full-time equivalent of primary specialist training, or hold its Fellowship.
High
Training program
2 years
At least, full time, in two stages
Each stage
1 year
At least, full time
Time limit
5 years
From the start of core training, to finish everything
Throughout training
Stage by stage
Stage 1 of 3
Before pain medicine training
At least 3 years in an approved primary specialty, or its Fellowship, before pain medicine.
Stage 2 of 3
At least one year, full time
A structured year in a level 1 accredited unit, focused on the pain medicine roles in practice.
Roles in practice
Clinician, professional, scholar, communicator, collaborator, manager or leader, and health advocate, the essential topic areas extending the clinician role
Essential topic areas
A workplace-based feedback episode for each, except mechanisms in the biomedical dimensions of pain
Foundations Multiple Choice Question Examination
Sat 3 to 9 months into core training
Fellowship Examination
Sat from 6 months into core training
Physical examination assessment
A cranial nerve, a cervical spine and a pain-oriented sensory testing examination, in the first 6 months, as many attempts as needed
Feedback this stage
Clinical skills twice and management plans twice, each from two assessors, and one satisfactory multi-source feedback
In-training assessments
At least four, three satisfactory including the last
Core training stage review
After at least 50 weeks
Stage 3 of 3
At least one year, full time
A self-directed year in pain medicine or a related area, against learning outcomes you set with your supervisor.
Stage proposal
Approved before the stage starts, each placement at least 3 months full time
Earlier pain medicine work
A year or more in an accredited or equivalent unit, with matching workplace-based feedback, can be credited if you apply before the proposal
Earlier training
An overseas pain medicine qualification, or a return within 4 years after withdrawing in good standing, earns up to 26 weeks
Areas of study
Addiction medicine, chronic pelvic pain, consultation liaison psychiatry, paediatric pain medicine, pain medicine in aged care, palliative care, procedures including the Procedures Endorsement Program, and rehabilitation medicine
Feedback this stage
Management plans twice and case-based discussions twice, each from two assessors, and one satisfactory multi-source feedback
In-training assessments
One each quarter, three satisfactory including the last
Practice development stage review
After at least 50 weeks, leading to the certificate of completion of training
Scholar role activity
A clinical audit or quality project, a literature review, a conference presentation, tutorials or workshops, applied research, a peer-reviewed publication, or a university subject in research or education
Practise this interview with each station timed. Interview practice
Clinical experience
Examinations
Application
Training posts
The external long case assessment retires at the end of 2026. From 2027, entrustable professional activities assess what it did, phased in to 2028.
The Foundations Multiple Choice Question Examination was added and the scholar role activity options were expanded. Trainees who started before 1 January 2026 can still choose a clinical case study.
Fellows in Australia
438
At 31 December 2025
| Jurisdiction | Fellows |
|---|---|
| Australian Capital Territory | 6 |
| New South Wales | 136 |
| Northern Territory | 0 |
| Queensland | 86 |
| South Australia | 38 |
| Tasmania | 9 |
| Victoria | 111 |
| Western Australia | 52 |
| Australia, total | 438 |
Source: Australian Government Department of Health. Medical Education and Training (2025), Chapter 4: Fellows, College Fellows by state, as at 31 December 2025.
None available.
Australia
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Hospital locations © OpenStreetMap contributors. State boundaries from the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
Requirements, application windows and criteria change every year. Verify with FPM before making career decisions. Report an error on this page.