Pathology training: entry requirements and selection

Program structure

How Pathology training is structured.

Before you start

General registration, or limited registration on the Specialist International Medical Graduate or Competent Authority pathway with an Australian Medical Council report. At least 24 months of general clinical work after the primary medical degree. Employment in a training position at an RCPA accredited laboratory, which is arranged with the laboratory rather than with the College.

Training duration

A minimum of 5 full-time equivalent years of certified training in accredited sites. 4 of the 5 have to be in your chosen discipline.

Training pathway

1
Pathology training
5 years
Competencies
- Nine disciplines to specialise in, or General Pathology for an all-round qualification examined across pathological sciences, anatomical pathology, haematology, microbiology and chemical pathology
- Part I and Part II both require enough knowledge of the other branches of pathology to use and interpret their basic services intelligently
- Personal professional development, dissertations, case reports and projects, with the requirements set by the discipline rather than centrally
To complete
- 4 of the 5 years in your chosen discipline, with at least one aggregate year available in other branches of pathology
- No more than 4 years accredited in any one laboratory, so a rotation is built in rather than optional
- A short-term rotation runs a minimum of 2 consecutive months
- Up to 1 year of research or project work can be accredited, applied for prospectively
- Part-time training averages at least 8 hours a week, or 16 for a joint program with the RACP

Required courses

Basic Pathological Sciences examination

Open to medical, science and dental students, interns and resident medical officers as well as registered trainees. A pass or an exemption is required of everyone. Not a prerequisite for Part I, but required before sitting any component of Part II. A pass also counts towards commitment to pathology as a career, which is one of the selection criteria.

Before training starts, or early in it

Discipline Part I examination

Written, practical and oral components. The period is set by the discipline handbook.

After a set period of accredited training

Discipline Part II examination

Written, practical and oral components.

Ordinarily the final year

Dual training

Joint training with the RACP
1 year retrospectively accredited
Available in chemical pathology with endocrinology, in haematology, and in immunology and allergy. Completing RACP Basic Training is credited back as one of the five years, so the pathology side is shorter by a year. Clinical and laboratory training cannot both be done inside one institution, and the part-time floor is 16 hours a week rather than 8.

Flexibility

Queensland

minimum 20 per cent of full-time, and unusually there is no limit on the time taken to complete; additional training may be required if you interrupt for more than five years

Selection criteria

One set of categories across every specialty, so two can be compared. Only those with criteria recorded for this specialty are shown.

Score your portfolioagainst RCPA criteria

Clinical experience

Rotations, logbooks, procedures, and exposure

Laboratory rotations (if available in PGY years)
Genuine interest in diagnostic pathology demonstrated through exposure

First Nations

Selection points and pathways for Aboriginal, Torres Strait Islander, and Māori applicants

First Nations — Aboriginal, Torres Strait Islander, and Māori applicants who meet the eligibility criteria proceed directly to interview

Academic

Exams, qualifications, courses, and teaching

Basic Pathological Sciences (BPS) examination — compulsory (pass or exemption) before any Part II component; may be sat before training starts or early in training

Publications & research

Papers, impact factor, audits, and QI

Research interest — publications or presentations in pathology or basic science

Referees

Who is asked to report on you, and what they are asked

Referees — nominate at least two; their standardised reports feed the professionalism/ethics and communication criteria the guideline weights most heavily

Application process

Registration mechanics and logistics not covered above

Eligibility — general medical registration and a minimum of two years of post-degree clinical experience (or an Overseas Trained Specialist route requiring no more than two years of additional assessment)
Selection format: Employer-level interview with a College-prescribed panel: the training coordinator, the head of the appointing department (or representative), and at least two other department heads. An RCPA representative must also sit on the panel and reports the process and outcome back to the College — if no RCPA nominee is on the panel, training time cannot be accredited. Applicants nominate at least two referees, who are sent standardised College proformas. On the application proforma, applicants rank their preferences across the available positions; the final offer weighs the appointing organisation's own requirements and preference alongside the applicant's ranking. The employer participates in selection and appoints the trainee. Trainees must then register with the RCPA in an accredited position with an RCPA supervisor to sit examinations.

Published figures

Selection and workforce history, transcribed as published.

1,437

Fellows in Australia

At 31 December 2025

Pathology covers several separately recruited disciplines. The register held 1,437 Fellows at the end of 2025, with a further 1,031 recorded on a separate line as holding pathology and RACP fellowships jointly.

Fellows by state, 2025

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.

Fellows by state, 2025
Jurisdiction	Fellows
Australian Capital Territory	32
New South Wales	499
Northern Territory

State workforce data

Queensland Health is the only state department publishing these figures so far.

Training positions

How you reach a post

A centrally coordinated Queensland Health pathway or network

Queensland Pathology Training Programs (Medical Support Unit, Pathology Queensland)

Queensland pathway

Coordinates appointments across all eight Royal College of Pathologists of Australasia disciplines in Queensland. Recruitment is run centrally by discipline or sub-specialty rather than by individual facility, and training is accredited through the RCPA.

Swipe to see every column

Each discipline recruits separately. Figures are published per discipline and are not combined here, because they cover different years.
Discipline	Selected	Specialists, Queensland and Australia	Trainees
Anatomical pathology (2026)	23 of 117	200 / 961	58
Chemical pathology (2026)	1 of 2

Pathology

Applications

Timeline

When to apply

Selection format

Competition

Program structure

Before you start

Training duration

Training pathway