Ahead of the AHPRA expedited pathway going live for procedural specialist IMGs, the surgical college is calling out a lack of data.
AHPRA has not yet shown that its fast-track pathway for specialist international medical graduates contributes to the “safe, appropriately distributed and sustainable specialist workforce” that Australian patients need, the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons says.
The college was responding to an evaluation of the pathway released by AHPRA last month, which revealed that the regulator had granted 476 SIMG registrations between October 2024 and December 2025.
Just 11% of those 476 doctors went on to work in a regional, rural or remote location.
“Registration reform is not, in itself, workforce planning,” RACS president Dr Philip Morreau said.
“Expedited pathways need to be part of a broader approach to workforce planning and distribution.”
Dr Morreau also called AHPRA out for its focus on the number of specialist doctors it had registered and the speed at which it had done this, instead of whether it was resulting in improvements to patient care.
“Australia has a strong pipeline of junior doctors” he said.
“The challenge is ensuring they transition into the specialist workforce Australia needs, in the specialties and locations where they are needed.
“The issue is not simply how many doctors we have.
“What is required is targeted, evidence-based workforce planning and distribution alongside changes to specialist registration pathways, whether these are for overseas-trained or homegrown doctors.”
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While RACS is not alone in its criticism of AHPRA’s SIMG pathway, its commentary is noteworthy because surgeons have not yet been added to the list of specialties included on the pathway.
As in: no specialist IMG surgeons have come through the fast-track pathway.
General surgeons and otolaryngologists are, however, listed as priority targets for the new pathway on the medical board website.
RACS said it would call for specific quality and safety evaluation as those specialties were added to the list, and that it had already written to AHPRA and to health ministers calling for stronger quality and safety monitoring.
