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In this month's issue:
As the year begins, we welcome interns as they start practice and join the medical profession. Medicine is built on intergenerational exchange and late career doctors also make a valuable contribution to our communities as part of the medical workforce. Through an advisory group, we will be seeking a nuanced and collaborative approach that supports late career doctors to continue practising and delivering safe and high-quality care to patients. Read more in the article below. Dr Susan O’Dwyer Chair, Medical Board of Australia
The Medical Board will work with the medical profession on strategies to support late career doctors to keep practising safely as they age.
The Board consulted on possible compulsory health checks for late career doctors but, after listening to feedback and doing further analysis, has opted to seek a more nuanced and collaborative solution.
New analysis of the outcome of complaints to Ahpra shows some clear issues in the practice of some doctors aged over 70 that health checks alone won’t address.
The analysis showed there are relatively more complaints about late career doctors, and more regulatory action taken for doctors aged over 70 for a range of concerns including communication, clinical care, pharmacy/medication, as well as health.
The Board values the contribution of late career doctors to their patients and wants to work with the profession to find a proportionate solution to a nuanced and sensitive problem.
The Board will trial profession-led support over new regulatory rules to mitigate the risks identified in the consultation and the data. We are keen to collaborate with the profession on supporting this group of doctors to practise safely and keep their knowledge and skills up to date.
The Board will actively monitor complaints data to make sure emerging profession-led approaches effectively manage risk to patients from the practice of late career doctors.
Through an advisory group, the Board will work with groups representing older doctors, specialist colleges, doctors’ health organisations, CPD homes, medical defence organisations, the Australian Medical Association (AMA) and other relevant groups on strategies to keep late career doctors in safe practice.
More detail is in our media release and on our Past consultations page.
Well‑credentialled internationally trained general physicians and general paediatricians from similar health systems can now access the Expedited Specialist registration pathway.
The Expedited Specialist pathway – a fast track to specialist medical registration in Australia – opened to eligible internationally qualified general medicine physicians and general paediatricians on 19 January 2026.
Specialist international medical graduates (SIMGs) with specific qualifications in general paediatrics or general medicine can now apply for registration directly to Ahpra and the Medical Board of Australia.
The specific qualifications have been added to the list of pre‑approved qualifications (the Expedited Specialist pathway: accepted qualifications list), which is the gateway to the Expedited Specialist pathway.
All qualifications on the list have been assessed by the Australian Medical Council (AMC) and approved by the Medical Board as substantially equivalent or based on similar competencies to the relevant Australian specialist qualifications.
Accepted qualifications in general practice, anaesthetics, obstetrics and gynaecology and psychiatry were added to the list in 2024 and early 2025. Diagnostic radiology qualifications are currently being assessed.
To assess its impact after 12 months and identify areas for improvement, Ahpra and the Medical Board are evaluating the Expedited Specialist pathway.
We will be inviting people closest to the pathway to share their firsthand experience and using their feedback to inform future improvements.
In the weeks ahead, we will be inviting specialist international medical graduates (SIMGs) who are (or were) on the pathway and their supervisors and employers, to do an online survey about their experiences. There will also be focus groups aimed at gaining deeper reflections and insights from people keen to share their feedback.
We will be inviting government departments, the Council of Presidents of Medical Colleges (CPMC), the relevant specialist medical colleges and the Australian Medical Council (AMC) to participate. An independent evaluation consultant will interview participants to ensure the evaluation is robust and participants feel free to share their views.
Ahpra will email eligible SIMGs, supervisors and employers with a link to the survey. The evaluation is expected to be completed by mid 2026.
We are keen to hear from SIMGs and others interested in the Expedited Specialist pathway and appreciate the valuable perspectives they bring. For more information, contact the project team at [email protected].
Seven years’ data from the Medical Training Survey (MTS) is now accessible and searchable with the online data dashboard on the MTS website.
Static reports detailing 2025 results nationally and by college, jurisdiction, gender and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander trainees are published. You can create a tailored report in pdf or excel format from 2025 results or spot trends by comparing data across years since 2019.
A one-page infographic report makes national data easily accessible. Snapshot results for 2025 for colleges and jurisdictions are also available.
Visit the MTS website to access the 2025 results, reports and dashboard.
There are some new faces on our state and territory medical boards, as some of our long-standing chairs finish their terms and new leaders are appointed. We thank all outgoing chairs for their thoughtful and diligent contributions and welcome new skilled members to our boards. We are grateful to all for past and future contributions to protecting the community and supporting the medical profession, through health practitioner regulation.
Thanking outgoing state and territory medical board chairs:
Dr Patel and Dr White continue on the National Board.
The current state and territory medical board chairs are:
Visit About us on the Board’s website for current members of state and territory medical boards.
We are seeking applications from registered medical practitioners for vacancies on the medical boards in the Australian Capital Territory and Northern Territory.
There is also a community member vacancy on the NT board.
Applications opened on Monday 9 February and will close Sunday 8 March 2026.
To apply and for more information visit Ahpra’s Board member recruitment page.
The Board has approved the following:
The Board is reviewing the Registration standard: recency of practice. We want to make sure it remains relevant and effective, contributes to patient safety and facilitates access to a sustainable health workforce.
The standard sets out how much practice is needed to be registered and what may be required to bridge gaps when the standard isn’t met.
We’re proposing increased flexibility for practitioners to support their return to practice after more than three years. Some minor changes to wording and formatting are also in the mix.
The public consultation paper is on the Board’s website and we encourage you to provide feedback on the proposed changes by 2 March 2026.
Progress on regulatory changes to reduce practitioner distress during the regulatory process are underway. A new report shows 13 actions have now been completed, including changes to the way Ahpra collects information and manages notifications about a practitioner’s health.
The actions were recommended by the Expert Advisory Group (EAG) on minimising practitioner distress, which includes practitioner members with lived experience of the notifications process. The EAG recommended 33 actions across four areas: managing practitioner health concerns; being open, transparent and fostering hope; supporting practitioners throughout the process; and learning from the practitioner experience. Visit the EAG page to read the report.
Read more on our webpage: Improving the notifications experience.
The Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) has issued a safety alert about imported, unregistered melatonin products bought by consumers from overseas websites.
TGA lab testing found significant discrepancies in the actual melatonin content compared to the stated amount on the label. One product contained more than 400% of the labelled content and another contained no melatonin at all.
Dose variability detected in imported unapproved products poses a serious risk of overdose, particularly in children, and particularly when they are in gummy form. Symptoms of melatonin toxicity in children can include:
There appears to be an increasing trend of consumers accessing unapproved melatonin products online.
Medical practitioners and pharmacists play a key role in identifying and managing risks associated with unapproved melatonin products. Practitioners can help by:
The melatonin products listed on the Australian Register of Therapeutic Goods (ARTG) have been assessed for quality, safety, and efficacy. They are available as:
The safety alert and a list of melatonin products tested is on the TGA website.
The Medical Board of Australia and Ahpra can be contacted by phone on 1300 419 495.
For more information, see the Medical Board of Australia website and the Ahpra website.
Lodge an enquiry form through the website under Contact us at the bottom of every web page.
Mail correspondence can be addressed to: Dr Susan O'Dwyer, Chair, Medical Board of Australia, GPO Box 9958, Melbourne, VIC 3001.
Please note: Practitioners are responsible for keeping up to date with the Board’s expectations about their professional obligations. The Board publishes standards, codes and guidelines as well as alerts in its newsletter. If you unsubscribe from this newsletter you are still required to keep up to date with information published on the Board’s website.
Comments on the Board newsletter are welcome, send your feedback and suggestions to [email protected].
For registration enquiries or contact detail changes, call the Ahpra customer service team on 1300 419 495 (from within Australia).
