Accreditation

The Australian Medical Council (AMC) conducts two processes that assess standards of medical education and training. These apply to:

• basic medical education programs provided by university medical schools and
• specialist medical training and continuing professional development programs; the training organisations for these programs are national specialist medical colleges

AMC processes entail both accreditation (validating that standards are met) and peer review to promote high standards of medical education, stimulate self-analysis and assist the training organisation under review to achieve its objectives. Accreditation is conducted in a collegiate manner that includes consultation, advice and feedback to the training organisation under review.

Using a peer review process, AMC expert assessment teams assess medical training programs against standards set by the Council. The standards define the knowledge, skills and professional attributes expected at the end of basic medical training and specialist medical training, and good practice in the delivery of medical education and training. Training organisations that meet AMC standards are granted accreditation.

For more information on the accreditation standards and processes please use the links:

Assessing Basic Medical Education

Assessing Specialist Medical Education and Training

Recognition

The AMC advises the Australian Government Minister for Health and Ageing on the recognition of fields of medical practice as medical specialties.

The AMC includes specialist training programs which lead to qualifications for practice in recognised medical specialties in its program of accreditation of specialist medical training programs.

For more information on the recognition process, please see Recognition of medical specialties.

Evaluation of AMC processes and standards

The AMC regularly reviews its own accreditation and recognition processes, standards and criteria through:

• Feedback from AMC expert teams and institutions undergoing accreditation or recognition
• Reports by AMC team chairs
• Regularly reviewing government policy and health services developments which effect clinical training
• Periodically establishing working parties to review standards and procedures with extensive stakeholder consultation
• Networking with other regional, national, international medical education standard setting & accreditation agencies
• Regular review against national and international standards for good practice in accreditation.

AMC accreditation calendar – 2010 to 2011

• assessment of new developments before the new program begins, including:
  o assessment of proposed new medical course or program
  o assessment of proposals for major change in an established medical course or program
• assessment for the purposes of re-accreditation of an established medical course or program
• assessment of specialist training programs to complete the two-stage process for recognition of new medical specialties.

Where conditions on accreditation require it, the AMC also conducts more limited follow-up reviews of medical programs, for example to consider the later stages of a new medical course, or to assess the progress of an institution which has been granted accreditation with conditions. 

2010

• University of Notre Dame Australia Sydney School of Medicine (follow up)
• The University of Western Australia Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences (re-accreditation)
• Flinders University School of Medicine (Major Change) - June
• The University of Melbourne Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences (Major Change) - July
• James Cook University School of Medicine and Dentistry (re-accreditation) - July
• The University of Queensland School of Medicine (Major Change) - August/September
• Australasian College of Rural and Remote Medicine (Accreditation) - March
• Royal College of Pathologists of Australasia (review)
• Australasian College of Dermatologists (review)

2011

• Royal Australasian College of Surgeons (review)
• Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Ophthalmologists (review)
• The University of Adelaide School of Medicine

Contacts

• Enquiries about medical school accreditation - This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
• Enquires about AMC accreditation of Australian specialist medical training programs - This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
• Enquires about AMC process to recognise new medical specialties - This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Note: Staff responsible for these email addresses cannot answer questions from international medical graduates about recognition of individual doctors' training in Australia.