How to Become a Pathologist in Australia: Entry Requirements

Prerequisites

Registration: general medical registration before specialist training starts
Clinical experience: at least 2 years of postgraduate clinical experience after your medical degree. In exceptional circumstances, alternative relevant experience of a similar level is considered
Training position: a position at an RCPA-accredited laboratory, won through its selection. An observer post earns no training time
- Coordinated appointment: where your state runs a coordinated appointment process for your discipline, your position must come through it, or the College may not accredit your training

Applications

Timeline

Next year

Applications

Applications open late JuneFor anatomical pathology, chemical pathology and immunology, through the Canberra Health Services junior medical officer campaign

When to apply

Apply in postgraduate year 2 at the earliest, to start training in postgraduate year 3.

Selection format

Referee report
Panel interview

Competition

Moderate

Places are limited by the training positions accredited laboratories offer each year. Trainees already in training who progress well are offered continuing posts before new trainees are appointed.

Program structure

Total training
5 years
Full-time equivalent, in accredited laboratories
In your discipline
4 years
At least, of the 5, to specialise in one discipline
Fellowship
Year 5
Once the five years and Part II are complete

Throughout training

In any one laboratory: 4 years; At most, so you train at 2 sites at least
Short-term rotation: 2 months; At least, consecutive
Outside the College's sphere: 2 years; At most, such as overseas, approved before it starts

Rules and conditions

At least one aggregate year of the 5 can be in other branches of pathology
Staying longer than 4 years in one laboratory needs dispensation, granted only in exceptional circumstances and applied for at the start of training
Separate laboratories supervised by the same pathologists may count as one laboratory, unless practice and supervision differ clearly
Have your training program approved by the College early in the first year and each year after, with your registration

Stage by stage

Stage 1 of 1

Pathology training

5 years full-time equivalent

Supervised training in accredited laboratories, with Part I usually in the third year and Part II in the fifth or final year.

Competencies

Disciplines
Specialise in anatomical, chemical, forensic or genetic pathology, haematology, immunopathology or microbiology, or take General Pathology, each with its own training requirements
Personal professional development, dissertations, case reports and projects, with the requirements set by the discipline rather than centrally

Examinations

Basic Pathological Sciences examination
Not needed to apply, and you can sit it before training, as a medical, science or dental student, an intern or a resident
- A pass or an exemption is needed before any part of Part II
- Applications to sit the examinations close 28 February each year, and late applications are not accepted
Discipline Part I examination
Usually in the third year, after the accredited training time your discipline sets
- Written and slide examinations are in May and June, and practical and oral examinations in August
Discipline Part II examination
Usually in the fifth or final year

Dual training

Joint training with the RACP

Credited back: 1 year; Of the five, for RACP Basic Training, except in microbiology with infectious diseases
Part-time floor: 16 hours; A week, rather than 8

What it is: Available in chemical pathology with endocrinology, haematology, immunology and allergy, and microbiology with infectious diseases.
Requirements: Clinical and laboratory training cannot both be done inside one institution.

Selection criteria

Score your portfolio

Clinical experience

Breadth of clinical experience: clinical experience relevant to pathology. Success in another college's postgraduate examination, such as Part 1 of the dermatology, physician or surgical Fellowship examination, also counts
Pathology experience: work experience in pathology, and a pass in the Basic Pathological Sciences or a similar examination

First Nations

Aboriginal, Torres Strait Islander and Māori applicants who meet the registration and clinical experience criteria are all interviewed

Academic

Higher degrees: a master's degree, a doctorate or another postgraduate degree
Teaching: teaching you have given, such as to medical students, junior doctors or laboratory staff

Publications & research

Publications: papers published in peer-reviewed journals
Presentations: presentations you gave at hospital meetings, or at external meetings and symposia
Research, including projects involving scientific enquiry

Academic achievement

Honours, awards and scholarships

Referees

At least two, each sent a standard report form. Their reports count toward professionalism and ethics, and communication. Where reports conflict, more references may be sought, or you may be asked to answer an adverse comment

Interview

Selection interview: a structured interview with a panel of department heads and an RCPA representative
- Commitment to pathology: your interest in pathology, what you know of it, and why you are applying
- Enquiring mind: analytical and clinical reasoning, tested with scenario questions
- Professionalism and ethics: tested with scenario questions
- Communication: your verbal communication at interview. Your written communication is assessed in the application
- Flexibility: willingness to work in every area of the rotation, including outer metropolitan and regional sites, and the hours the workplace needs

Scoring

Strong weighting is recommended for professionalism and communication
- Feedback: if you are not appointable, you are told soon after the interviews, and the panel chair gives feedback if you ask. You can appeal, with a review outside the panel

Application process

1. Apply for a training position through your state's selection for your discipline. Each state's process is on the RCPA's training positions page. Apply through Canberra Health Services recruitment. Haematology positions are filled through the haematology panel of the Annual Medical Recruitment
2. The selection panel draws up a shortlist from the applications and referee reports
3. The panel interviews the shortlisted applicants
4. The panel ranks the applicants and offers positions in rank order, matched to each laboratory's needs and your preferences. An appointable applicant not placed may be offered a position that comes free later
5. Register with the RCPA within 2 months of starting, with a training program your supervisor has signed, and register again by 28 February each year

Practise this interview with each station timed. Interview practice

Entry tips

Medical school

Sit the Basic Pathological Sciences examination as a medical student, since students sit it at a reduced price, and you need a pass or an exemption before Part II.

Postgraduate years 1 and 2

Visit a pathology laboratory and talk to your state's training coordinator before you apply, since selection counts work experience in pathology toward commitment to pathology.

Research

Ask a pathologist at your hospital about joining a laboratory audit or research project during your resident years, since selection counts projects of scientific enquiry toward an enquiring mind and research toward academic achievement.

What the college has changed

2025-01
Trainees starting from 2025 register, record training changes and submit supervisor reports through the online training portal.

Workforce

Fellows in Australia

1,437

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

Fellows by state, 2025
Jurisdiction	Fellows
Australian Capital Territory (your selected state)	32

Source: Australian Government Department of Health. Medical Education and Training (2025), Chapter 4: Fellows, College Fellows by state, as at 31 December 2025.

Workforce data by state

QLD: Queensland Health medi-nav. NSW: NSW Health Map My Career. VIC, WA, SA, TAS, ACT, NT: Australian Government Health Workforce Data.

Pathology