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Guides for Australian Doctors
Plain-English guides to the parts of a medical career that aren't taught at medical school — getting an internship, the international-graduate pathway, how pay compares between states, and the tax and money decisions that shape your take-home.
Starting out
Intern applications
How internship offers work in every state and territory — timelines, priority groups and how to apply.
IMG internship
The internship route for international medical graduates — eligibility, the assessment pathways and where to apply.
PESCI explained
What a PESCI is, who needs one for GP registration, the AMC-accredited providers, and 2026 fees.
Ahpra English requirements
Ahpra's English language standard for IMG doctors and nurses — accepted tests, minimum scores and the combining rules.
Pay & money
Pay comparison
Junior doctor base salary and take-home pay compared side by side across the states and territories.
Salary packaging
How salary packaging works for hospital doctors — what you can package and how it changes your take-home.
HECS/HELP
Managing a HECS/HELP debt as a junior doctor — indexation, repayment thresholds and how packaging interacts.
Locum work
Where locum work fits alongside a salaried job — how rates compare and what to weigh up before taking it on.
Salaries by specialty
Every medical specialty ranked by average and median taxable income, straight from ATO 2023–24 data.
Unaccredited registrar pay
Why service and unaccredited registrars are paid on the same award scale as accredited registrars — rates by state.
Staff specialist vs VMO
The two consultant models compared — salaried staff specialist vs sessional or fee-for-service VMO, and which earns more.
Tax deductions for doctors
What Australian doctors can and can't claim at tax time, mapped to the ATO's occupation guide — memberships, indemnity, self-education, car and more.
GP salary explained
What GPs actually earn on ATO data, why taxable income sits below gross billings, and how GP pay really works.
GP registrar pay
GP registrar pay under the NTCER — base rates by level, the percentage-of-billings floor, super, and how it compares to hospital registrar pay.
Rural doctor incentives
How rural and remote work can wipe a doctor's or nurse practitioner's HELP debt, plus the state and Commonwealth cash incentives on top.