The AMC remains committed to delivering quality clinical examinations to international medical graduates (candidates) seeking medical registration in Australia.
In response to the COVID pandemic, the AMC temporarily closed, in March 2020, the National Test Centre (NTC) in Melbourne. To ensure candidates could continue with the clinical examination, the AMC developed an online clinical examination delivery format. This new format was launched in March 2021.
However, the online clinical examination format is significantly less economic for the AMC than the face-to-face examinations conducted at the NTC.
To explain:
- For the online examination format a maximum total of only 18 candidates can be assessed per examination day compared to 36 candidates at the NTC.
- A large increased volume of additional resources are necessary to successfully conduct the online examination format. Although the same number of examiners and simulated patients are used for both examination formats, the online examination format requires the services of additional invigilators and coordinators. These additional resources incur high expenses.
Following review of these additional expenses, the AMC has found it necessary to apply a $400 levy to the online clinical examination fees. This will be introduced on 1 January 2023, and is additional to the $200 fee increase.
The levy will be reviewed as changes are made to the online clinical examination format.
The NTC was re-opened in March 2022 and this $400 levy does not apply to clinical examinations conducted at the NTC.
