The First Step to Working as a Doctor in Australia: Is Your Medical Degree Acceptable?
For many international medical graduates, the journey to Australia feels like it starts with exams, visas or job applications. In reality, the very first step is much simpler and even more important:
confirming that your primary medical qualification is acceptable.
Before you spend money on exams, verification fees or registration applications, you need to make sure that your medical school, your degree title, and your graduation year are all eligible for the Australian process.
If this step is missed, doctors can lose time, money and momentum very early.
Why This Step Matters
Australia does not accept every medical degree automatically.
To proceed through the AMC and Medical Board process, your primary medical qualification must be:
a qualification in clinical medicine and surgery
awarded by a training institution recognised by both the Australian Medical Council (AMC) and the World Directory of Medical Schools (WDoMS)
linked to an eligible degree title
linked to an eligible graduation year
This is not something to assume. It must be checked carefully.
What Is a Primary Medical Qualification?
Your primary medical qualification is your final medical diploma or medical degree that confirms you have completed your course of study in medicine and surgery and have been awarded the qualification that allows you to pursue medical registration.
This is not the same as:
internship or housemanship documents
registration or licence to practise
PhDs or research degrees
partially completed postgraduate training
short courses
Australian or Australasian postgraduate qualifications
These are not acceptable substitutes for your primary medical qualification in the AMC process.
What You Need to Confirm
Before you do anything else, you need to confirm three things:
1. Your medical school is eligible
Your school must be listed appropriately in the World Directory of Medical Schools and meet the relevant ECFMG Sponsor Note requirements.
2. Your degree title is eligible
The exact title of your medical degree must be one that is recognised as an acceptable primary medical qualification.
3. Your graduation year is eligible
Even if your school is listed, your graduation year must also fall within the years covered by the relevant sponsor note and credential guidance.
All three matter. It is not enough for only the school to appear in a directory.
The World Directory of Medical Schools and Sponsor Notes
The AMC uses the World Directory of Medical Schools as its main reference point for medical schools, their dates of operation and the degrees they award.
However, for Australian eligibility purposes, the key detail is the ECFMG Sponsor Note attached to the school’s World Directory listing.
That sponsor note is what helps determine whether students and graduates of that school are eligible for the verification and certification processes used in Australia.
When checking your school, you need to go beyond simply finding its name. You need to check the Sponsor Notes tab and confirm that:
there is an ECFMG Sponsor Note
your graduation year is covered
your degree title is covered
If there is no ECFMG Sponsor Note, or your year and degree are not included, you may not be eligible to proceed.
What If Your School or Degree Details Are Missing?
If you cannot find your school, degree title or graduation year, the first step is to contact your medical school.
Students and graduates cannot request these updates themselves. The request must come from an official of the medical school, who must apply to ECFMG to add or amend the relevant information.
That means this issue can take time to fix. It is one of the reasons why checking eligibility early is so important.
What Is Primary Source Verification?
Once you have confirmed that your qualification is eligible, the next major step is Primary Source Verification (PSV).
Primary Source Verification means confirming your qualification directly with the institution that awarded it. In other words, your credentials are checked with the original source rather than simply relying on a copy you submit.
This is required for all international medical graduates seeking medical registration in Australia.
How Primary Source Verification Works
The AMC uses ECFMG’s MyIntealth platform for primary source verification.
This means that doctors need to:
create an AMC account
establish an AMC initial portfolio
create a MyIntealth account with ECFMG
establish an EPIC portfolio
submit their qualification for verification through ECFMG
Once the qualification is verified, the result is uploaded to the doctor’s AMC account. That information is then used by the Medical Board of Australia for registration purposes, and by specialist colleges if relevant.
The AMC is Australia’s verification authority for these purposes, but the verification itself is performed through ECFMG.
Which Documents Can Be Verified?
For a primary medical qualification, the AMC can only accept three credential categories from ECFMG:
Final Medical Diploma
Final Medical Transcript
Alternate Graduation Document
These are the only categories that can be used to verify a medical degree for AMC purposes.
If you use a final transcript or alternate graduation document, the Medical Board may later still require your final medical diploma when you apply for registration. This can mean extra time and extra cost, so it is worth planning carefully.
What If You Have Not Yet Been Issued Your Final Diploma?
Some doctors have completed all requirements but are still waiting for their final diploma to be issued.
In those cases, ECFMG may accept other documents such as:
an alternate graduation document
a final medical school transcript
These must confirm that you have completed all requirements and are eligible to receive your medical degree.
However, you should be aware that the Medical Board may still ask for the final diploma later.
What Does Not Need Verification?
Not every document belongs in your AMC account.
For most doctors, the key document is the primary medical qualification. If you are pursuing specialist pathways, specialist qualifications may also need verification or direct submission depending on the pathway.
But the following should not be added as primary medical qualifications:
medical licences or registrations
PhDs
research degrees
internship documents
partially completed training
scientific degrees
short courses
Australian or Australasian qualifications
Adding ineligible documents can result in unnecessary administration fees and delays.
Do Previous Verifications Still Count?
Yes. Qualifications previously verified through older AMC systems, including EICS and EPIC, remain valid.
If a qualification has already been verified successfully, that verification status should appear in your AMC account and does not usually need to be repeated.
New Zealand Medical Degrees
If you hold an eligible New Zealand medical degree, you do not need to obtain verification of that primary medical qualification through ECFMG.
This is an important exception, but it applies only to eligible New Zealand primary medical degrees.
Final Thoughts
The first step in moving to Australia as a doctor is not sitting an exam or finding a job. It is confirming that your primary medical training is acceptable.
That means checking your school, your degree title and your graduation year carefully, then beginning the primary source verification process through the AMC and ECFMG.
It is a simple step in theory, but it is one of the most important in the entire IMG journey. Get it right early, and everything that follows becomes much easier.