How to Become an Emergency Physician in Australia
How to become an emergency physician in Australia: the ACEM pathway, the two-step way selection actually works, and what FACEMs earn.
Entry is a two-step gate: first you have to land a registrar job at an ACEM-accredited emergency department (run by the states), and only then does ACEM enrol you in the training program nationally. Getting the job is the competitive part, because the enrolment itself has no interview or entry exam.
- Training length
- 5 (after prevocational)
- Competitiveness
- Moderate
- Exams
- Primary + Fellowship
- Lifestyle
- Shift-based, 24/7 roster
- Fellowship
- FACEM
- Time to qualify
- 7–10 years
Why emergency medicine
You're the first doctor for everyone who walks or is wheeled through the door. It's resus and trauma one minute, undifferentiated chest pain, paediatrics, mental health and minor injuries the next, so you make fast decisions with incomplete information while running the department's flow.
- Huge clinical variety and acuity
- Shift work means clean handover and no take-home practice
- Procedural and resuscitation-heavy
- Works anywhere; strong locum market
- 24/7 rostering across nights, weekends and public holidays
- Little private-billing income vs procedural specialties
- Access block and overcrowding pressure
- Exam-heavy training
Subspecialties
The training pathway
The same fellowship, two very different timelines. The fast route assumes everything goes right; most people land on the realistic one.
How competitive is it?
No national match exists, and no jurisdiction publishes EM-specific applicant, offer or position counts, so a clean state-by-state table doesn't exist. The one hard national figure is ACEM's trainee headcount: 2,019 FACEM trainees residing in Australia at 31 December 2024 (92% of all ACEM trainees). The real contest is securing an accredited-ED registrar job (see the intro above and the selection section).
Unaccredited time: No unaccredited grade as such, but you must first land a registrar job at an accredited ED, and that hospital step (run by the states) is the genuine competitive gate.
Sources: ACEM Demographic & Workforce Report (data to 31 Dec 2024), How to apply (ACEM, national selection).
Selection criteria & how to apply
Two gates, run by different people. The competitive one is landing a registrar job at an accredited ED, which state health services or hospital networks run (see your state below). The second, ACEM enrolment, is national and standards-based: no interview, no entry exam, no SJT. ACEM grades three things against its curriculum framework:
Key documents: How to apply (ACEM), Where can I do my training? (ACEM accredited sites).
Preparing your application? See how specialty selection actually works — structured panels, MMIs, referee reports and scored CVs — and how to prepare for each.
How to land the accredited ED job, state by state
NSW
Who runs selection: Decentralised and recruited network-by-network. EM is not one of NSW Health's centralised-panel specialties, so Local Health Districts, networks and individual hospitals run their own recruitment through the statewide JMO campaign.
Where to apply: NSW Health JMO recruitment campaign — application portal.
When: For the 2027 clinical year: early round applications open 4 May 2026 (close mid-May–18 June, offers from 2 June); main round opens 14 July 2026, closes 4 August 2026, offers late August–October.
Interviews: Set by each network or hospital, so there's no single statewide EM format or weighting.
How they choose you: Assessed on your application, CV, interview and references against each site's criteria; numeric weightings aren't published and vary by network.
Worth knowing: Around 40 ACEM-accredited EDs statewide, so which network you target matters, though you can apply to several. JMO support line 1300 566 321.
Links: NSW Health JMO recruitment, NSW Health JMO campaign dates, HETI Emergency Medicine (EM Networks Training Program).
VIC
Who runs selection: Decentralised, with individual health services advertising EM registrar posts directly. Victoria's PMCV runs centralised matches for intern, PGY2, BPT and psychiatry, but emergency medicine is NOT a PMCV match, so there's no statewide EM match.
Where to apply: careers.vic.gov.au and the ACEM Jobs board — application portal.
When: Position-by-position (e.g. a Barwon/Geelong EM registrar role for Feb 2027 closed 5 July 2026). No single statewide EM timeline.
Interviews: Run per employer; format and criteria aren't published centrally.
How they choose you: You apply directly with a CV plus a cover letter tailored to each position description, and the employing health service assesses it.
Worth knowing: The most decentralised big state: you chase individual job ads rather than lodge one application. The ACEM Jobs board is the best single place to see accredited vacancies.
QLD
Who runs selection: The statewide RMO & Registrar Campaign (Queensland Health) gives you one application portal, but recruiting hospitals contact applicants directly to interview and select on merit. Queensland Health's EM page spells out the 'get the accredited job first, then ACEM enrols you' sequence.
Where to apply: Queensland Health RMO & Registrar Campaign — application portal.
When: For 2027: applications close Monday 29 June 2026, 3 pm; registrars commence across 2–4 terms from 1 February 2027.
Interviews: Arranged and run by each recruiting hospital (e.g. RBWH assesses EM house officers with a joint Anaesthetics/ICU/EM panel). No published weightings.
How they choose you: One application via the campaign; use the position-search tool to preference sites. Selection complies with Queensland Health HR/EEO policy. Enquiries: RMO-Recruitment@health.qld.gov.au.
Worth knowing: The cleanest single-portal entry of any state, with a dedicated EM specialty page explaining the two-gate sequence.
Links: Emergency Medicine (QLD Health), QLD Health RMO & registrar campaign.
SA
Who runs selection: Centralised through the SA MET Unit, which runs a single PGY2+ Expression of Interest process on behalf of SA Health. EM is one of 35+ programs you can preference (up to four) in one EOI.
Where to apply: SA MET centralised PGY2+ EOI — application portal.
When: For the 2027 clinical year: EOI opens 10 June 2026, closes 1 July 2026 (referees by 8 July); interviews August; Round 1 offers 17 September 2026, further rounds to 8 October.
Interviews: The related acute/critical-care stream uses a Multiple Mini-Interview (MMI), a set of timed situational stations scored on the clarity and depth of your reasoning. Program-specific detail is in the SA MET information packs.
How they choose you: Centralised EOI with referee reports and MMI; exact EM weightings sit in the program information pack rather than being aggregated publicly.
Worth knowing: Genuinely coordinated and MMI-based, which makes it the closest thing to a single managed process among the smaller states.
Links: SA MET PGY2+ recruitment, SA Health careers in Emergency Medicine.
WA
Who runs selection: Centralised annual registrar intake through MedCareersWA (Department of Health WA), with country posts via the WA Country Health Service (WACHS) registrar pool.
Where to apply: MedCareersWA (metro) and WACHS pool (country) — application portal.
When: Annual intake plus mid-year/ad-hoc rounds; a 2027 EM trainee registrar intake is confirmed, though exact statewide EM dates aren't itemised on the public pages.
Interviews: Not published centrally. The public MedCareersWA pages don't detail the format or criteria.
How they choose you: Apply via MedCareersWA (and JobsWA); country applicants also go through the WACHS registrar pool.
Worth knowing: Metro and country run as somewhat separate streams, so decide early whether you're targeting Perth tertiary EDs or regional WACHS sites.
TAS
Who runs selection: Statewide RMO recruitment (Tasmanian Department of Health), with emergency medicine running an aligned campaign across Royal Hobart, Launceston General and North West Regional.
Where to apply: Tasmanian Government Jobs + statewide RMO campaign — application portal.
When: Annual statewide RMO campaign (the 2027 campaign is advertised). ED-specific interview and selection dates aren't published, so contact the Medical Staffing Unit at your preferred hospital.
Interviews: Not published; arranged through the hospital recruitment team.
How they choose you: Through the statewide RMO campaign with an ED-aligned process; direct hospital contact is expected.
Worth knowing: It's a small program, and direct contact with the Medical Staffing Unit at your preferred site is the real route in.
Links: Tasmanian Doctors in Training, Tasmanian ED recruitment information.
ACT
Who runs selection: Canberra Health Services (and North Canberra Hospital) runs a single structured annual campaign, so it's one employer and one process.
Where to apply: CHS Career Portal (Taleo) — application portal.
When: For a 2027 EM registrar post: advertising opens 1 June 2026, closes 28 June 2026; the clinical year commences 1 February 2027.
Interviews: Three stages: shortlisting, then interview plus referee checks, then an offer. You're assessed against the published key selection criteria, with no numeric weightings.
How they choose you: Application is a CV, written responses to the selection criteria and two referee reports (one from your current supervisor on the CHS template). EM registrar roles typically require PGY4+ by commencement.
Worth knowing: Single-employer territory: one campaign and one portal, but a limited number of posts.
Links: Canberra Health Services JMO careers, CHS EM Registrar position description.
NT
Who runs selection: Recruitment is hospital-direct and there's no centralised NT-wide EM match. Top End Health Service (Royal Darwin & Palmerston, max 24 months ACEM-accredited) and Central Australia Health Service (Alice Springs, 18 months accredited) recruit separately.
Where to apply: NT Health Jobs plus direct email to the ED — application portal.
When: Not published. There are no fixed public dates, and positions are advertised and filled through the year.
Interviews: Not published; arranged directly with the department.
How they choose you: Apply via NT Health Jobs, or email the ED recruitment contact for Top End (TEHSEMDocJobs.DoH@nt.gov.au) or Alice Springs (MedicalRecruitmentASH@nt.gov.au).
Worth knowing: The most informal entry: direct email to the ED is the real-world route. Drawcards include a high-trauma, high-sepsis casemix, strong paediatric logbook coverage, protected teaching and subsidised accommodation.
Links: Emergency Medicine (NT Health), NT registrar positions.
How to optimise your application
- ED + ICU + anaesthetics terms (tied to the job & CV, start PGY1–2) — The experience that wins an accredited-ED post and meets entry prerequisites.
- Strong references from ED consultants (tied to Selection & institutional references, start ongoing) — Work where the ED Director and senior staff will know you and rate you credibly.
- Target accredited EDs (tied to the job, start pre-application) — Apply to ACEM-accredited departments, because only those let you enrol. Check the ACEM accredited-sites list.
- Sit the Primary early (tied to progression, start PGY2–3) — Getting the Primary done early de-risks the timeline; it's not required to be selected.
Key documents & official links
- How the FACEM Training Program works (ACEM)
- ACEM examinations
- ACEM Jobs board (accredited ED vacancies)
Model what you'd earn
FAQ
How long does it take to become an emergency physician?
Is there an interview or entry exam to get onto ACEM training?
How long does it take?
How competitive is it?
What are the exams?
Do emergency physicians earn less than other specialists?
Trained overseas? (IMG pathway)
How overseas-trained emergency medicine doctors get recognised
Overseas-trained emergency physicians take the SIMG pathway: the AMC does Primary Source Verification of qualifications, then ACEM makes the comparability assessment against its curriculum. That runs as a paper-based review followed by a structured interview. Outcomes are substantially, partially or not comparable, with supervised practice (and, if partially comparable, ACEM exams) before fellowship. Around 41% of active FACEMs gained their primary degree overseas (ACEM data to 31 Dec 2024).
See the ACEM SIMG assessment page and our IMG internship guide.
Related specialties
Last reviewed 2026-08-06.
Last updated: