The Australian Medical Council (AMC) completed its Stage 1 assessment of the case for the recognition of sexual health medicine in 2007.

A copy of the assessment report is available for purchase in our online store.

In March 2008, the Minister for Health and Ageing, The Hon Nicola Roxon MP, informed the Australian Medical Council that she considered a case had been made for sexual health medicine to be recognised as a medical specialty.

This decision does not automatically lead to the inclusion of this specialty on Schedule 4 of the Health Insurance Regulations 1975, which would grant patients access to rebates through Medicare Australia.

In 2008, the AMC completed the accreditation assessment of sexual health medicine. This is Stage 2 of the recognition process. A copy of the executive summary of the accreditation report is available here.

In December 2009, following on the advice received from the Australian Medical Council, the Minister for Health and Ageing, The Hon Nicola Roxon MP, announced that she has decided to recognise sexual health medicine as a medical specialty for the purpose of inclusion in the AMC List of Australian Recognised Medical Specialties. The Minister’s decision does not automatically lead to the inclusion of this specialty on Schedule 4 of the Health Insurance Regulations 1975, which would grant patients access to rebates through Medicare Australia.

The process for recognising sexual health medicine as a new medical specialty is now complete as this decision constitutes the last step in the recognition process.