The AMC Pathway for International Medical Graduates, Step by Step
Published Oct 9, 2026 · Updated Oct 10, 2026
The AMC CAT MCQ examination is one step of the AMC standard pathway, the route to general registration in Australia for international medical graduates who aren’t eligible for the competent authority or specialist pathways. Here is the whole pathway in order, from the AMC’s and Ahpra’s own pages.
Is the standard pathway for you?
The AMC says the standard pathway suits you if you are seeking general registration with the Medical Board of Australia, hold an eligible medical degree in medicine and surgery, and aren’t eligible for the competent authority pathway. The AMC’s self-check tool confirms your pathway and whether your medical school, degree title and graduation year are eligible.
Step 1: AMC account and primary source verification
You create an AMC account and establish an AMC portfolio. Primary source verification through ECFMG is required for every international medical graduate seeking medical registration in Australia: your medical degree is verified with the institution that awarded it, using ECFMG’s MyIntealth platform.
The AMC accepts three credential categories for verifying a medical degree: Final Medical Diploma, Final Medical Transcript and Alternate Graduation Document. If you submit a transcript or alternate document, the Medical Board may still ask for your final diploma to be verified when you apply for registration. Verification outcomes are uploaded to your AMC account, where the Board can use them.
English language proficiency is a Medical Board requirement, not an AMC one. The Board requires proof for all registration categories unless it grants an exemption, and the AMC advises arranging it before you apply under any pathway.
Step 2: How does the AMC CAT MCQ examination fit in?
Once you are eligible, you apply through your AMC account for an authorisation, which is valid for 12 months, and then book a venue directly with Pearson VUE. The exam has 150 multiple-choice questions, each with one correct response from five options, in one 3.5-hour session.
It tests the principles and practice of medicine in general practice, internal medicine, paediatrics, psychiatry, surgery, and obstetrics and gynaecology, at the level of newly qualified graduates of Australian medical schools about to begin intern training. How it is scored is covered in AMC CAT MCQ results and the pass standard, and booking in applying for the AMC CAT MCQ.
Step 3: Clinical examination or workplace based assessment
After the CAT MCQ you choose one of two routes. The AMC clinical examination is open once you have passed the CAT MCQ. It has 16 assessed stations, including two pilot stations, plus four rest stations. Each station lasts 10 minutes: two minutes of reading and eight minutes of assessment. Your result is based on 14 scored stations, and you pass with 9 or more.
Instead of the clinical exam, you can complete an AMC-accredited workplace based assessment (WBA) program, which assesses your knowledge and performance over 6 to 12 months. To start one, you must have passed the CAT MCQ and hold registration with the Medical Board so you can be employed in an approved clinical position.
Step 4: The AMC certificate
The AMC issues its certificate once your primary source verification is confirmed and you have passed the CAT MCQ plus either the clinical exam or a WBA program. After your results are published, allow up to 5 business days for the electronic certificate to be generated in your AMC account. The certificate enables you to apply for registration with the Medical Board of Australia, and the Board and Ahpra can view it through the AMC portal.
Step 5: Registration with the Medical Board and Ahpra
Ahpra states that to work as a medical practitioner in Australia you need to be registered with the Medical Board of Australia, and that every assessment pathway for medicine requires your qualifications to be assessed before you apply. The Board sets the registration requirements for international medical graduates; read them on the Medical Board’s international medical graduates page.
Visas and immigration
Registration is not a visa. Ahpra notes that you also need a visa issued by the Department of Home Affairs, must meet immigration requirements and must secure employment, and that these are separate processes Ahpra can’t help with. See the Department of Home Affairs website for visa information.
Starting with the CAT MCQ? Try AMC CAT MCQ practice questions, then practise full sessions in the TopQbank AMC CAT MCQ question bank, reviewed by licensed doctors.
Study takeaway: start primary source verification and your English language evidence early, since both sit outside the exams themselves. The CAT MCQ authorisation lasts 12 months, so book the exam once your practice scores are steady across all six disciplines.