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Pathology covers Microbiology, so this is the parent specialty entry.
RCPA
When Microbiology applications run, and what the round looks like.
Eligibility requires current general (AHPRA) medical registration and at least two years of clinical experience after the primary medical degree — so typically PGY3+ at commencement. In exceptional circumstances, applicants without two years may be considered if they can show alternative relevant experience of a similar level; Overseas Trained Specialists assessed by the College as requiring no more than two years of additional assessment/training may also apply.
Training positions and workforce figures below are limited to Queensland. Selection criteria, requirements and application dates are set by RCPA nationally and apply in every state.
Moderate
How Microbiology training is structured.
5 years
Competencies
To complete
Basic Pathological Sciences examination
Every trainee takes it or applies for exemption. Joint trainees registering from 2020 are no longer automatically exempt, so the exemption that used to come with the joint route is gone.
Usually before or during the first year of training
Microbiology Part I
Two phases. Phase 1 is a 3 hour 15 minute written paper of 20 extended answers, a 2 hour 15 minute paper of 30 short answers with images and data, and a wet practical identifying up to 10 unknown organisms, held over one week in your own laboratory. Phase 2 is an oral of 8 structured stations, offered only after a pass or a borderline in Phase 1. The written papers have been online since 2024, and both parts have to be sat during a year of laboratory training.
After 24 months of laboratory training, or 18 months on the joint route
Microbiology Part II
An oral of 8 structured stations covering quality assurance, safety, management, medico-legal issues, communication and teamwork as well as technique, plus the major and minor projects, the portfolio and satisfactory supervisor reports. There is no Part II written paper.
Ordinarily the final year, and no earlier than the third year of laboratory training on the joint route
5 years for both Fellowships
A joint program of the two colleges, managed by the Committee for Joint College Training in Infectious Diseases and Microbiology. Five years, 2 of advanced infectious diseases and 3 of laboratory microbiology, in either order or in a joint laboratory and clinical position with the split nominated for approval. Nothing is credited back, so this is the one RCPA joint route that buys both Fellowships rather than a shorter program. Clinical and laboratory training cannot both be done inside one service of one institution, and the laboratory years cannot all be in one laboratory. Two clinical projects are required during the infectious diseases years, separate from and additional to the RCPA projects.
Queensland
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
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
Registration mechanics and logistics not covered above
Timed steps, grouped by when each one is worth doing.
Before applying
Before the examinations
During training
Queensland Health is the only state department publishing these figures so far.
A centrally coordinated Queensland Health pathway or network
Queensland pathway
Swipe to see every column
| Discipline | Selected | Specialists, Queensland | Trainees |
|---|---|---|---|
| Anatomical pathology (2026) | 23 of 117 | 200 | 58 |
| Chemical pathology (2026) | 1 of 2 | 15 |
5 posts across 5 hospitals in Queensland. Each circle counts hospitals.
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Hospital locations © OpenStreetMap contributors. State boundaries from the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
Published by RCPA and the Medical Board unless stated.
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 RCPA before making career decisions. Report an error on this page.
| 5 |
| Forensic pathology (2026) | 2 of 5 | 14 | 1 |
|---|
| General pathology (2026) | 0 of 0 | 15 | 1 |
|---|
| Genetic pathology (2026) | 2 of 6 | 3 | 2 |
|---|
| Haematology (laboratory) (2025) | 11 of 11 | 115 | 37 |
|---|
| Immunopathology (2026) | 2 of 4 | 13 | 2 |
|---|
| Microbiology (2026) | 3 of 8 | 55 | 12 |
|---|
Appointments to the Queensland Pathology Training Programs are coordinated by the Medical Support Unit, Pathology Queensland (Health Support Queensland), working with the State Directors and the Coordinators of Education and Training of Pathology Queensland. Recruitment is centralised by discipline or sub-specialty rather than by facility, so you apply to a discipline state-wide, not to a hospital
Sequencing matters — you must be employed in a training position at an accredited site before you register with the college, so the job comes first and college registration follows
Anatomical pathology is by far the largest intake in the Queensland source — 117 eligible applicants and 23 selected, more eligible applicants than every other discipline combined
General pathology ran no effective round in 2026 — no eligible applicants and none selected
The laboratory haematology figures above are for 2025; every other discipline is 2026. They are shown in their own published year rather than restated as a single round
Figures are not summed or averaged across the disciplines, because they cover different years and different programs — a combined total would describe no real selection round
Queensland Health, medi-nav, 31 July 2026. Selection numbers are for first-year entry and vary year to year.