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RACP
When Palliative Medicine applications run, and what the round looks like.
Applications
Application for Entry into Advanced Training closes 15 February, to commence in the first half of the year.
Applications
Prospective approval of the training program itself closes 28 February, which is a second and separate deadline.
Two entry pathways: after completing RACP Basic Training (written and clinical exams passed), or as an existing Fellow of an eligible college (Adult Medicine stream only) such as ACEM, ANZCA, or CICM. The route also decides the qualification. Entering through RACP Basic Training leads to FRACP and then, subsequently, FAChPM. Entering any other way leads to FAChPM alone.
Moderate
How Palliative Medicine training is structured.
3 years
Competencies
To complete
One set of categories across every specialty, so two can be compared. Only those with criteria recorded for this specialty are shown.
Rotations, logbooks, procedures, and exposure
Papers, impact factor, audits, and QI
Registration mechanics and logistics not covered above
Timed steps, grouped by when each one is worth doing.
Before applying
Before each training period
Advanced Training
Selection and workforce history, transcribed as published.
525
Fellows in Australia
At 31 December 2025
A specialty of 525 Fellows at the end of 2025, concentrated in New South Wales (177) and Victoria (118) but present in every jurisdiction.
How many Fellows of this specialty were on the register in each state at 31 December 2025. This is workforce size, not intake — a large number here does not mean a large number of training places.
| Jurisdiction | Fellows |
|---|---|
| Australian Capital Territory | 8 |
| New South Wales | 177 |
| Northern Territory |
Queensland Health is the only state department publishing these figures so far.
18 / 24Eligible applicants selected, 2026 first-year entry
A centrally coordinated Queensland Health pathway or network
Queensland pathway
24 applicants were eligible and 18 selected in the published 2026 Queensland round — a high proportion appointed
Changes published by RACP.
The route decides the qualification. RACP Basic Training leads to FRACP and then FAChPM, and any other route leads to FAChPM alone. Queensland runs a fixed offer order and a ranked waitlist.
76 posts across 76 hospitals in Australia. Each circle counts hospitals.
St John of God Subiaco Hospital, Tweed Valley Hospital are not shown on the map, with no location on file. Their posts are still counted above.
Show these kinds of site
Select a region to see the hospitals inside it.
Hospital locations © OpenStreetMap contributors. State boundaries from the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
Published by RACP 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 RACP before making career decisions. Report an error on this page.
| Queensland | 106 |
|---|
| South Australia | 44 |
|---|
| Tasmania | 17 |
|---|
| Victoria | 118 |
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| Western Australia | 51 |
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| Australia, total | 525 |
|---|
Source: Australian Government Department of Health. Medical Education and Training (2025), Chapter 4: Fellows — College Fellows by state, as at 31 December 2025. Figures are transcribed as published.
Queensland recorded 16 new fellows against 51 nationally, close to a third of the national total from a state with under a fifth of the specialists
The Queensland Palliative Medicine Training Program (QPMTP) is a centralised, statewide process across 17 participating hospitals — applications go through the annual RMO Campaign (Aug/Sept). New Advanced Training applicants are ranked on CV, a short statement against the selection criteria, and two referee reports, then interviewed by a panel chaired by the Program's Medical Director and including an external member from outside palliative medicine. Clinical Foundation applicants and continuing trainees are not interviewed
Offers go out in a fixed order: continuing advanced trainees in years 2 and 3, then first-year advanced trainees, then Clinical Foundation applicants, then other medical officers. Suitable applicants who miss out join a ranked waitlist and are offered positions in that order as they come up
CV components the QPMTP guideline names as favourable: extra formal qualifications (e.g. Masters in Public Health), clinical experience in palliative-adjacent specialties (cancer care, community health, geriatric medicine, pain medicine), research experience (audits, posters, publications), formal leadership or clinical communication skills training, and involvement in craft groups or humanistic/volunteering programs
Queensland Health, medi-nav, 31 July 2026. Selection numbers are for first-year entry and vary year to year.