Clinical examination

Important update

If you are located outside Australia and are affected by war, conflict or political unrest, and are unable to attend your scheduled MCQ or Clinical exam, support is available.

Eligibility

To be eligible for the clinical examination, you must have passed the AMC CAT MCQ examination.

Clinical examination structure

The examination comprises 16 assessed stations and four rest stations. 

During the examination, you will rotate through these stations and undertake a variety of clinical tasks.  

Stations are of 10 minutes duration comprising: 

• two minutes reading time, and  
• eight minutes assessment time. 

Stations may use simulated patients, or videotaped patient presentations.  

Other relevant materials, such as charts, digital images and photographs may also be used in the examination. 

Assessment criteria

Stations assess clinical skills relating to presentations of medical, surgical, women’s health, paediatrics and mental health.  

The assessments cover both community and hospital settings. 

Each station focuses on one of four predominant assessment areas, being either: 

1. history taking 
2. examination 
3. diagnostic formulation 
4. management/counselling/education. 

Examples of material that could be included in the stations can be found in the Clinical examination specifications. 

Indigenous Health

Please visit the AMC Indigenous Health webpage to learn about our commitment to ensuring culturally safe practice to improve health outcomes for Indigenous peoples.

Preparing for the clinical examination

To prepare for the clinical examination it is recommended that you: 

1. Familiarise yourself with the clinical examination specifications. The document contains guidelines and specifications to assist IMGs for the AMC clinical examination. The guidelines contain information about: 

• the format and content of the examination 
• the levels of clinical knowledge, skills and attitudes required to satisfy the requirements of the examination 
• the areas and topics covered in the examination 
• preparing for the examination 
• suggested reading lists for the examination. 

2. Watch the briefing video

3. Review the suggested reading list for the clinical examination

4. Review the Tips from Examiners

Online clinical examinations

Briefing video

The briefing video provides information about the: 

• examination structure 
• examination stations 
• allowable and prohibited materials. 

It is recommended that you watch this video prior to attending the clinical examination. 

Report time

You must be logged into the designated link by the time specified for the examination. 

Use of mobile phones during the examination

For the AMC to communicate with you in the event of a technical issue, you are permitted to have your mobile phone switched to silent in the same room. You are required to show the invigilator that your phone is switched to silent, with the vibration function off. Only one phone is permitted. 

Technology requirements

You must comply with the following technology requirements: 

Desktop or laptop
The device used to undertake the examination must be either a desktop or laptop computer.  

• Tablets and mobile devices cannot be used 
• You need to ensure you have administrator privileges on the device to enable software installation 

Windows 11 operating system
The device must be running the Windows 11 operating system.  

• This can be PC, or an Apple computer set up to dual-boot into Windows 10/11 
• OS X is not supported 

Screen size
The screen size for your device must be a minimum of 14 inches. 

Webcam
A webcam must be used and positioned at roughly eye level. 

Headphones
Use of headphones is compulsory. These must be plug-in headphones with a microphone.  

• Wireless or Bluetooth headphones are not permitted due to risks of battery failure and poor-quality audio connection.  
• You must have a second pair of headphones ready in case there are technology issues with your first pair.  
• Failure to wear headphones will result in you being unable to continue with your examination.

Internet connection
There must be a reliable, high speed internet connection available in the examination location. 

Room setup
You must be the only person in the examination room, and it must be free of distractions for entire examination period. 

If you are unable to comply with these requirements, you will not be permitted to sit the online clinical examination. 

Refer to the Clinical examination specifications for further information.  

Conduct of candidates

It is expected that during the examination, you will: 

• comply with the Clinical examination specifications
• conduct yourself in a courteous manner in all contact with examination staff, employees and stakeholders of the AMC and other IMGs.  
• comply with all instructions of the clinical examination staff.  

Failure to do so will constitute a breach of examination procedures and may lead to one or more of the following: 

• your result not being awarded or withdrawn. 
• being excluded from the examination.  
• being refused the opportunity to sit future examinations. 

If you cross professional boundaries while undertaking the clinical examination you may be guilty of professional misconduct and may be subject to disciplinary action by regulatory authorities. 

Clinical examination scheduling release for February to June 2027

The November scheduling release will allow eligible AMC candidates to submit examination preferences for the February–June 2027 series. The AMC will continue its three-stage release process with revised priorities.

The scheduling release will take place from November to early December in the three stages shown below.

Stage 1 – 23 November 2026 – 10:00 am AEDT

Criteria – This is open to all eligible candidates who applied in both the February and July 2026 releases but did not secure a place in either, regardless of registration status or location.

Exclusions

• Candidates who applied but did not complete payment.
• Candidates who retained a placement and later withdrew.
• Candidates who have since been offered a placement.

Important note

Candidates who meet this criteria will be emailed exam dates and scheduling instructions by Thursday 5 November 2026.

Key Scheduling Dates

Stage 2 – 30 November 2026 – 10:00 am AEDT

Criteria – This stage is open to candidates who missed out on a placement during the July 2026 release AND currently hold Ahpra limited registration.

New AMC Candidate Account feature: Ahpra registration details 

Candidates can enter their Ahpra registration number, registration type and expiry date on their AMC Candidate Account homepage.

These details will help the AMC identify candidates with limited registration who may qualify for priority scheduling.

Candidates must submit accurate, up-to-date Ahpra details by Thursday 19 November to be included in priority 2 scheduling. The AMC will verify the information through quality assurance checks.

Please note that after 19^th November 2026 any registration details entered into your candidate account will not be eligible for Stage 2 scheduling release.

Stage 3 – 7 December 2026 – 10:00 am AEDT

Criteria- This stage is open to all eligible candidates, regardless of application history or registration status.

Submitting exam date preferences

The AMC has increased the number of exam date preferences candidates can submit from a minimum of three to a maximum of five exam dates. Candidates are encouraged to select preferences across different months. Examination places will be allocated in the order preferences are submitted.

Waitlist

A limited waitlist for the upcoming scheduling event will be open to candidates currently residing in Australia. The AMC is restricting waitlist eligibility to candidates in Australia because examination places typically become available at short notice, requiring candidates to accept and attend at short notice.

Candidates are responsible for ensuring their residential address recorded in their candidate account is accurate and up to date prior to scheduling, as the address listed at the time of scheduling will be used to determine waitlist eligibility.

Waitlist positions will be allocated based on the timestamp of preference selections and will be capped at a set number of candidates. Candidates can only be waitlisted for one month, which will be the month selected as their first exam preference.

Please note that being placed on the waitlist does NOT guarantee an exam place.

Payment

The AMC will be accepting both Mastercard and Visa credit and debit card payments.

Online clinical examination scheduling

Priority Scheduling for Online Clinical Exams: Supporting IMGs in Rural and Remote Australia

The AMC will continue implementing priority scheduling for the online clinical exams. This initiative reflects the AMC’s commitment to supporting international medical graduates working in rural and remote areas of Australia.

Clinical examination pass requirements

You will need to complete 16 assessed stations including two pilot stations. 

A pilot station serves as a trial or test run to evaluate the station’s instructions, materials, and the overall process. Pilot stations help identify any issues, gather feedback, and make necessary adjustments before incorporating them into the main clinical examination. 

Pilot stations: 

• have been developed by a discipline writing group and approved by the Clinical Assessment Panel for pilot status 
• have no statistics from previous examinations. 

 Pilot stations may also be stations requiring trialling for administrative purposes including stations with special operational and technology requirements. 

Your overall examination result (pass or fail) will be determined by 14 scored stations.  

Usually, the scored stations will not include either of the two pilot stations, but if there is an issue with one or two of the non-pilot stations the Clinical Results Panel may determine that one or both of the pilot stations will be substituted. If this occurs the IMG’s result will still be determined on the basis of 14 stations.  

Over the 14 stations IMGs will be graded as pass or fail, as follows: 

• Pass – obtain a pass score of 9 or more of the 14 assessed stations 
• Fail – obtain a pass score in 8 or less of the 14 assessed stations 

Clinical Examination results

You can download your clinical examination results by signing into your AMC account.  

Your results will be available to download at 4.00pm on the Friday, three weeks following your clinical examination.  

To access your clinical examination results: 

1. Log onto your AMC account 
2. Select AMC Examinations on your landing page
3. Select Clinical Results (at the top of the menu list) on your dashboard
4. Select the examination under the Details column 

In each station, the examiner is required to determine a global rating for that station. The overall result for each station is based on:  

• key steps relating to the station 
• the relevant assessment domains for each station. 
• an assessment of the overall performance of the candidate in that station.  

 The overall result of the clinical examination is based on the number of individual stations passed. 

For IMGs with a pass result, refer to the AMC certificates. 

Fees

Fees for clinical examinations are payable when an examination session is scheduled. Payment can only be made by credit card – either Mastercard or Visa. 

We have reduced the fee of the AMC in-person clinical exam from $3,991 to $3,000 and the online clinical exam from $4,391 to $3,400.

Withdrawal from the clinical examination

Unsatisfactory results and irregular behaviour

Any attempt to circumvent the objectives or processes of the examination, the reliability of your assessment or the security of the examination or examination content, may: 

1. produce examination results which cannot be confidently accepted as reflecting your true ability 
2. compromise the integrity and security of the clinical examination and examination content, and/or 
3. detract from or impede the AMC purpose of protecting the health of Australian patients and communities. 

For full details of the process refer to the Clinical examination specifications.

COVID safety

Where clinical examinations are held in person, the AMC COVID Safe Workplace Policy applies.  

 The policy applies to any person who enters the NTC including, but not limited to, staff, contractors, visitors and exam participants. 

This policy also outlines vaccination requirements for those visiting the NTC. Find out more in the AMC COVID Safe Workplace Policy.