Perioperative medicine emphasises the importance of an integrated, planned, and personalised approach to patient care before, during, and after any surgical procedure involving anaesthesia.

One in five people in Australia and New Zealand will experience chronic – or persistent – pain at some stage in their lives.

The pain medicine training program comprises a minimum of two years clinical experience directly related to pain medicine, which allows specialists and those completing a speciality training program to become a specialist pain medicine physician.

The Australian and New Zealand College of Anaesthetists and the Faculty of Pain Medicine have several pathways open to overseas trained anaesthetists and pain medicine specialists. Information on these pathways can be found below.

The ANZCA Course in Perioperative Medicine enables specialist doctors, such as anaesthetists, surgeons, physicians, intensivists, and general practitioners to enhance their skills and knowledge in perioperative medicine​.

We accredit hundreds of hospitals and private practices in Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong and Singapore to deliver elements of our anaesthesia, pain medicine, and diving and hyperbaric medicine (DHM) training programs.

We're reshaping the way our educational offerings are delivered to support lifelong learning.

We're responsible for setting the standards of clinical practice for anaesthesia and pain medicine in Australia and New Zealand. Our activities include issuing safety alerts; developing professional documents; and overseeing incident reporting.

Explore the history of our college and the history of anaesthesia and pain medicine in Australia and New Zealand, including the museum and oral histories.

From formal submissions to social media campaigns, we leverage our professional reputation and relationships to advocate on issues affecting our specialties; our members; and the patients under their care.