Loading this specialty…
RACP / AFPHM
When Public Health Medicine applications run, and what the round looks like.
Minimum 3 years of postgraduate clinical experience (internship, plus a further supervised clinical year, plus a further clinical year or a year in a health-related field), plus an MPH — completed, or in progress with a clear completion plan — covering epidemiology, biostatistics, health protection, health promotion, and health policy/planning/management. From 2027, only an MPH is accepted.
Moderate
How Public Health Medicine training is structured.
About 6 weeks to a decision
To complete
3 years (36 months) full-time equivalent
Competencies
To complete
Master of Public Health, or a comparable degree
It has to cover epidemiology, biostatistics, health protection, health promotion, and health policy planning or management, as assessed courses rather than attendance courses. Being enrolled counts.
Before entry
One set of categories across every specialty, so two can be compared. Only those with criteria recorded for this specialty are shown.
Exams, qualifications, courses, and teaching
Registration mechanics and logistics not covered above
Timed steps, grouped by when each one is worth doing.
Before you apply
Choosing the degree
Counting your clinical years
Any month of the year
From 2027
Selection and workforce history, transcribed as published.
374
Fellows in Australia
At 31 December 2025
A small specialty of 374 Fellows at the end of 2025, and one of very few where the Australian Capital Territory (27) and the Northern Territory (17) hold a noticeable share — a distribution shaped by where government public health work sits rather than by population.
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 | 27 |
| New South Wales | 111 |
| Northern Territory |
Queensland Health is the only state department publishing these figures so far.
A centrally coordinated Queensland Health pathway or network
An individual Queensland Health facility accredited for training
Queensland pathway
No published selection-round figure available
Entry requires an MPH — completed, or in progress with a clear completion plan — satisfying the AFPHM core discipline areas, plus at least three years of postgraduate experience. Plan the degree well before you apply
Changes published by RACP / AFPHM.
A masters in social sciences, or in a clinical or core science area, is generally not accepted. Surgical assisting and home doctor work never count toward the three clinical years, and locum or telehealth-only work usually does not.
3 posts across 3 hospitals in Australia. Each circle counts hospitals.
Australian Centre for Disease Control, Population Health Division, ACT Health Directorate, New South Wales Ministry of Health (incl. Health Protection NSW) and 19 more 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 / AFPHM 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 RACP / AFPHM before making career decisions. Report an error on this page.
| Queensland | 54 |
|---|
| South Australia | 21 |
|---|
| Tasmania | 12 |
|---|
| Victoria | 86 |
|---|
| Western Australia | 46 |
|---|
| Australia, total | 374 |
|---|
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.
Only 2 dedicated Metro North-run "pathway" positions exist statewide via the RMO campaign; other public health registrar posts around the state are individually facility-accredited
Pathway applications need a 2-page written response to the selection criteria plus 2 referee reports — a missing referee report makes you ineligible
Apply for the pathway alongside the RMO campaign itself, not separately — e.g. the campaign carrying the 2026 pathway round opened 1 June and closed 29 June, with offers by early August; check the current year's RMO campaign dates directly
Queensland Health, medi-nav, 31 July 2026. Selection numbers are for first-year entry and vary year to year.