Specialist International Medical Graduates

The Specialist International Medical Graduate (SIMG) pathway is for medical practitioners who have satisfied all the training and examination requirements in Intensive Care Medicine in another country and are wanting to obtain specialist registration in Australia or Aotearoa New Zealand. For detailed information, please see the following resources:

Eligibility

To determine if you are eligible for the SIMG pathway, please fill out your details in the form here.

Application Process

The application process is different in Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand. For applicants in Australia:

The applicant applies directly to the College and the College undertakes the assessment on behalf of the Medical Board of Australia (MBA).
The College completes a Preliminary Review and then (if required) an interview. The outcome of this process is communicated to the applicant after it has been ratified by the SIMG Committee.

For applicants in Aotearoa New Zealand:

The applicant applies to the Medical Council of New Zealand (MCNZ) for provisional vocational (specialist) registration in Intensive Care Medicine.
MCNZ asks the College to provide advice for the assessment, however the College only makes recommendations to MCNZ and does not make decisions on registration.
If the applicant would like to be a member of the College, Fellowship requirements will be communicated to you at the conclusion of the MCNZ process. This may require an interview with the College.

In both countries, the assessment is conducted by members of the SIMG Committee and determines the equivalence of the applicant's qualifications, training and experience in intensive care medicine to that of a newly graduated Fellow of CICM. In Australia the equivalence levels are substantially comparable, partially comparable, and not comparable. In New Zealand the equivalence levels are equivalent, as satisfactory as, and neither equivalent or as satisfactory as. Depending on the outcome of the assessment, the applicant will be prescribed a unique set of requirements to be completed before they are awarded Fellowship with the College. All SIMGs accepted onto the pathway will have a required period of supervised practice to complete. All assessments are individual and take into account the applicant’s training, specialist experience, examinations and assessments, familiarity with the Australian/Aotearoa New Zealand health landscape, and additional information presented at the interview.

As international medical graduates are not automatically eligible for unconditional medical registration in Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand, applicants may also have to fulfill several criteria set out by the relevant regulatory bodies.

Applicants may commence the assessment process from outside Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand, however we recommend careful planning as the required period of supervised clinical practice must commence within 12 months of the interim assessment outcome before lapsing.

Interview Dates
Area of Need (Australia Only)
Fees
Statistics
FAQ

There are five set interview rounds in 2026 for Australian applicants. The dates for each interview round are as follows:

Month	Dates
February	Monday 16th to Friday 20th February
April	Monday 27th April to Friday 1st May
July	Monday 6th July to Friday 10th July
September	Monday 14th September to Friday 18th September
November	Monday 23rd to Friday 27th November

For Aotearoa New Zealand applicants, interviews are held during the Australian interview weeks where possible, or on an ad-hoc basis.

Please note, an observer may be present during the interview. Please refer to T-31 Rules for Observers Attending Specialist International Medical Graduate Interviews.

Area of Need (AON) is a position located within an Australian health service (public or private) where local, state and/or national advertising has not attracted a locally registered medical practitioner. Additionally, it must be demonstrated that the delivery of health services is adversely affected by the vacancy.

The College works with employers, health authorities and Medical Boards to establish whether a particular post should be designated as AON. The College provides assessments for international medical graduates who wish to occupy specialist positions in areas of need.

Further details of the assessment process (for health services and international medical graduates) can be found in Intensive Care Services for Areas of Need.

For further information on AON, please contact the SIMG Department.

Fees are applicable for the SIMG assessment process. For Australia, please see our fees page. For Aotearoa New Zealand, please contact MCNZ. Once accepted onto the SIMG pathway, there is an annual SIMG fee to be paid, which can be seen on our fees page.

CICM provides a yearly report to Ahpra on SIMG metrics for Australia. You can view these here.

Who is the CICM SIMG pathway for?

The SIMG pathway is for medical practitioners who have already completed specialist training and examination requirements in intensive care medicine in a country other than Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand.

If an applicant attends an interview, does this guarantee entry on to the SIMG pathway?

No, attendance at an interview is not a guarantee that an applicant will be considered comparable. The interview is intended to gather further information from the applicant and it is possible that the applicant may be deemed not comparable/neither equivalent or as satisfactory as after the interview.

In Australia, what do the comparability categories "not comparable", "partially comparable" and "substantially comparable" mean?

Not comparable

The applicant is deemed unable to reach comparability within a 24-month full time equivalent time frame of supervised clinical practice.

Partially comparable

Applicants can reach comparability within a 24-month full time equivalent time frame of supervised clinical practice, with the completion of College assessments.

Substantially comparable

Applicants can reach comparability within a 12-month full time equivalent time frame of supervised clinical practice, with possible completion of College assessments.

Do SIMGs need to sit the Second Part Examination?

All applicants are assessed in the context of their completed specialist training program in intensive care medicine. Experience and examinations completed are considered, however there is a possibility that an assessment, such as the CICM Second Part Examination, will be required.

How do I withdraw from the SIMG pathway once I have accepted my requirements?

Please fill out the withdrawal form here.