Specialist international medical graduates

If you trained as a specialist anaesthetist or specialist pain medicine physician overseas, we offer a number of pathways for you to practice in Australia or New Zealand.

Use the self assessment tool to identify which option(s) may be available to you.

Self assessment tool


We strongly recommend that you contact the Department of Home Affairs (in Australia) or the Department of Immigration (in New Zealand) before applying for any of our SIMG streams.

SIMG clinical practice assessment period

The clinical practice assessment (CPA) period is the period of supervised clinical practice an SIMG must complete during their individual program.

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SIMG preliminary review (SPR)

The SPR is prepared for all applicants in Australia and summarises the initial assessment of an SIMG’s suitability to enter the SIMG process.

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SIMG assessment process

Our SIMG assessment process evaluates the ability of a specialist to practise as an unsupervised specialist anaesthetist and/or pain medicine specialist at a standard comparable to that required of a fellow of ANZCA (FANZCA) or fellow of the Faculty of Pain Medicine (FFPMANZCA).

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Short-term training pathway

Applicants who wish to enter a short-term specialist anaesthetic training or pain training (STT) position in Australia must be assessed for the purpose of medical registration. This pathway does not lead to fellowship.

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Area of Need pathway

The Area of Need (AoN) process applies to Australia only and is used to address medical workforce shortages in designated areas. It doesn't directly lead to fellowship or specialist registration by the Medical Board of Australia.

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SIMGs and COVID-19

ANZCA is committed to supporting current and prospective SIMGs during the COVID-19 restrictions. Find out more here.

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SIMG resources library guide

This guide has been designed to support SIMGs participating in the ANZCA SIMG program, and contains resources intended to help support the overall experience.

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Last updated 16:07 20.12.2022