Application and trainee registrations

Applicants are at a pre-trainee level of registration with ANZCA, while eligibility to join the training program is considered. As an applicant, you get access to the ANZCA library, an ANZCA ID number and you’ll start receiving college communications (predominantly e-newsletters). You can find further information in the Anaesthesia Training Handbook under 1.1. 

While registered as an applicant, you can’t record any training with ANZCA and therefore progress towards fellowship with the college as you are not yet a trainee. 

You can apply to join the ANZCA Training Program by completing this ANZCA Training Program application form.

Trainee registration is dependent on finding an accredited training position, as well as meeting the other eligibility requirements. The trainee registration form allows all those details to be submitted for consideration. Once registered you’ll have access to the training portfolio system (TPS), which allows you to record clinical work towards an ANZCA fellowship. This is in addition to the college communications, the library and your unique ANZCA ID number. 

You need to have completed two years of prevocational medical education and training (PMET). You’ll also need to secure a registrar anaesthetist/training job at one of the ANZCA training sites in Australia or New Zealand. 

College admissions are always open. ANZCA doesn’t assign training positions in hospital so if you meet the entry requirements then you can apply to the training program all year round. 

There are no visa/residency/citizenship requirements to join the training program. 

However, you do need to secure a job at one of the training sites before you can start training with us. Hospitals or schemes/rotations may have their own visa/residency requirements or preferences. 

Prevocational medical education and training (PMET) is evidence that you’ve worked as a doctor for at least two years (104 weeks) after completing your primary medical qualification. 

• You can supply PMET evidence from any country, hospital or time you’ve worked (post receiving your medical degree).

One of the aims of the PMET requirements is to ensure you have a broad base of skills before you start specialising with us. We’ll only accept 52 weeks of PMET (of the total 104 weeks required)  from work in:  

• The ICU.
• Anaesthesia.
• Pain medicine.

You can work more than 52 weeks in any of those critical care specialties before starting the ANZCA training program but you can’t use more than 52 weeks of time in those areas towards the 104 weeks needed to meet the PMET requirements. 

You cannot use the same time/work experience towards both PMET and a recognition of prior learning (RPL) application. So, if you’re planning to submit an RPL application, make sure you have enough PMET time that won’t overlap with anything used for RPL. 

Depending on which health system you’ve been working in, your PMET will usually come from: 

• A centralised management system that you can pull records from.
• A one or two-page document written up by HR or a hospital administrator from the hospital or LHN/DHB that you’ve been working at.

The key information we need to see on your PMET evidence is: 

• The hospital you were working at.
• The department/s you were working in including beginning and end dates.
• The amount of leave taken.

The maximum leave (of any type) you can have taken during the 104 weeks PMET is a maximum of 12 weeks as per Regulation 37.4.5.  

You’ll need to mail us your supporting documents so they can be certified. If you scan a certified document to email in, then it becomes a copy, not an original. 

You are welcome to email us a copy of your application or registration paperwork (including supporting documents), however we still require you to post everything in as well.  We strongly recommend you track your mail or send through your tracking ID to [email protected] to ensure we have received your application. 

We won’t start progressing your application until we have everything we need to complete it, so it’s best to wait until you have everything required. 

No, if it’s not convenient to get a signature from one of the SOTs there are a few other options: 

• The SOT or ROT can email us verification.
• If you are in a rotation/scheme, they will usually send us verification of all the new trainees appointed.
• If you’re in a rotation/scheme you can include a copy of your offer letter from the rotation/scheme with your registration paperwork as verification of being in a training position.

We’ll accept certifications from any of the people listed on this webpage (non-ANZCA resource): 

https://www.justice.vic.gov.au/certifiedcopies 

Most people will use another doctor to get the documents we need certified, which is acceptable to ANZCA. 

Your best option is to print out the documents you have and then ask someone to certify them as a “true copy from a digital source”. 

If you have trouble with that, you’ll need to sign a statutory declaration that the documents are correct and haven’t been altered.  

You will need to pay the: 

• Application fee.
• Registration fee.
• Annual training fee prorated to the month you start training.

If you’re already an active applicant with the college then you won’t need to pay the application fee again. 

We release application and registration forms for the following year around mid-November. So, you have a few options between now and then. You can: 

• Wait for next year’s registration forms to be released and register then.
• If you’re starting training at the start of the hospital employment year (HEY) which is usually mid to late January in New Zealand and the first week of February in Australia, then you can become an applicant now and submit the registration form later this year/next year once its released. This means you can get your supporting documents sorted out now and you’ll pay the application fee for this year (before it gets adjusted for inflation).
• If you’re starting training after the start of the HEY then you may want to wait until the new application and registration forms are released, depending on your start date. Your applicant status runs through till 31 December of the current year. After that you need to pay an application maintenance fee to maintain your applicant status. We allow ~4 weeks of grace for the people starting training at the start of the HEY. If you’re starting later than that, you would have to pay the maintenance fee to maintain your applicant status. So only sign up now if you want the applicant benefits such as access to the ANZCA library.
• Your applicant status is valid until the end of the current Hhospital employment year. If you are currently an applicant and will be starting ANZCA training after the start of the next HEY, you will need to pay a maintenance fee to maintain your applicant status into the following year. You may also choose to wait and apply during the year you plan to register and commence training. 

Yes, you can. The RPL and registration processes are separate and don’t need to be completed at the same time. 

You can apply for RPL at any point in the training program. However, if you are planning to wait to submit RPL paperwork, you might miss out on some credits. You should also speak with your SOT about the implications of RPL on your training. Please contact the college by email via phone or [email protected] to discuss your individual RPL situation if you have any questions. 

The introductory training (IT) core unit is structured so you need to complete it in one continuous block of time, 26 weeks total. Therefore, you need to be contracted as a trainee anaesthetist at one of our accredited training sites for at least 26 weeks continuously to sign up as a trainee. 

We can backdate your start of training by up to 4 weeks from the date we receive your completed registration paperwork. ANZCA training always starts on a Monday. So, the maximum backdating will be to the first Monday within the 4 weeks backdating window.