Australia has relied, for most of its history, on international medical graduates (IMGs) to supplement its workforce. Since 1978, IMGs applying for general registration to practise in Australia have usually needed to pass the examinations of the Australian Medical Examining Council, or since 1986, its successor, the Australian Medical Council (AMC). The AMC provides several pathways to registration by the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA). The route now termed “the standard pathway” consists of a two‐part assessment including a multiple choice question (MCQ) examination followed by a clinical examination. While most IMGs are required to pass both examinations, since 2007, IMGs who qualified in the so‐called competent authority countries (the United Kingdom, Ireland, the United States and Canada) have usually not been required to sit these examinations.1
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We acknowledge the assistance of Kevin Ng and Prathyusha Sama, Senior Computer Programmer and Software Developer at the AMC, for programming to extract the de‐identified data analysed in this article.
No relevant disclosures.