RANZCP
When Psychiatry applications run, and what the round looks like.
May
Examples: SA opens May, closes June, interviews August; QLD February intake opens late August (prior year); NSW application windows published by NSW Health.
State and territory-based — each local training program manages its own application round and dates.
Applications are NOT through a single national RANZCP window.
Eligibility (rotations commencing 2025 onwards): minimum 24 months (2 years FTE) of general hospital training after your medical degree — so typically PGY3+ at commencement, applying PGY2 to 4. Dedicated psychiatry rotations are expected before application.
Training positions and workforce figures below are limited to Western Australia. Selection criteria, requirements and application dates are set by RANZCP nationally and apply in every state.
Moderate
How Psychiatry training is structured.
Minimum 5 years
Competencies
To complete
Formal education course
Completion is required.
During training
Clinical and written examinations
Taken alongside workplace assessments and longer research projects.
During training
One set of categories across every specialty, so two can be compared. Only those with criteria recorded for this specialty are shown.
Total 100%, and 65% of it is scored at the interview
From your curriculum vitae.
From the curriculum vitae, the application and the references.
Rotations, logbooks, procedures, and exposure
Selection points and pathways for Aboriginal, Torres Strait Islander, and Māori applicants
Sourced from Australian medical community discussion.
During your general medical training
Before you apply
At interview
If you are unsuccessful
Rural background is defined by home address in Modified Monash Model (MMM) areas 2 to 7 for 5 years consecutive or 10 years cumulative before medical school (Australia), or an equivalent NZ rural-schooling/residency test.
Selection and workforce history, transcribed as published.
381
Australian commencements
2025
−38
Change on 2024
From 419 in 2024
429
Overall commencements
2025, including New Zealand
5,617
Fellows in Australia
At 31 December 2025
Commencements are published by fellowship zone rather than as a selection funnel. Australian commencements fell from 419 in 2024 to 381 in 2025, a drop of 38, driven largely by New South Wales (down 29). Every other Australian zone moved by six or fewer, and New Zealand rose by 15.
January to December, by fellowship zone.
| Period | ACT | NSW | NT | QLD | SA | TAS |
|---|
Queensland Health is the only state department publishing these figures so far.
No published figures exist yet for Western Australia. This is being worked on. The selection criteria and requirements above apply Australia wide regardless of state. See the Queensland figures.
8 posts across 8 hospitals in Western Australia. Each circle counts hospitals.
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 RANZCP and the Medical Board unless stated.
Colleges, portals and rubrics
Requirements, windows, and criteria change annually. Verify with RANZCP before making career decisions. Report an error on this page.
Leadership and roles beyond clinical work
Who is asked to report on you, and what they are asked
Registration mechanics and logistics not covered above
| VIC |
|---|
| WA |
|---|
| Australia |
|---|
| NZ |
|---|
| Overall |
|---|
| 2025 | 8 | 94 | 8 | 94 | 27 | 8 | 110 | 32 | 381 | 48 | 429 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 6 | 123 | 6 | 97 | 25 | 13 | 116 | ||||
| Difference | 2 | -29 | 2 | -3 | 2 | -5 | -6 |
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 | 99 |
| New South Wales | 1,587 |
| Northern Territory | 38 |
| Queensland | 1,178 |
| South Australia | 418 |
| Tasmania | 113 |
| Victoria | 1,632 |
| Western Australia (your selected state) | 552 |
| Australia, total | 5,617 |
Source: Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists. Fellowship program commencements by fellowship zone, January to December 2024 and 2025; Department of Health Fellows data as at 31 December 2025. Figures are transcribed as published.
| 419 |
| 33 |
| 452 |
| -38 |
| 15 |
| -23 |