Ophthalmology Training Pathway
How to become an ophthalmologist in Australia — the RANZCO Vocational Training Program, how national selection works, the exams, and why ophthalmology is one of the highest-earning specialties by ATO data.
Ophthalmology is one of the hardest specialties to enter — RANZCO publishes the numbers, and only around one in four applicants is selected, typically after several pre-vocational and unaccredited years.
- Training length
- 5
- Competitiveness
- Very high
- Exams
- Ophthalmic Sciences + OBCK + Pathology + RACE
- Lifestyle
- Largely office hours; light on-call
- Fellowship
- FRANZCO
- Time to qualify
- 7–10 years
Why ophthalmology
You diagnose and manage eye disease across medicine and microsurgery — cataract and refractive surgery, retina, glaucoma, cornea and oculoplastics — mixing high-volume day-surgery lists with clinic-based medical and laser procedures. Hours are largely sociable with comparatively light on-call.
- Microsurgical and procedural work with high day-surgery volume
- Largely sociable hours and light on-call for a surgical field
- Among the highest-earning specialties by average ATO taxable income
- Strong, growing demand from an ageing population
- One of the most competitive specialties to enter (~1 in 4 selected)
- Years of pre-vocational/unaccredited CV-building before selection
- A demanding exam load across four assessments and a research requirement
- Heavily private — building a practice takes time and capital
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?
Unusually for Australian training, RANZCO publishes the numbers: roughly 150–160 applicants a year for about 30–42 places — 158 applicants and 39 selected for 2024, 151 and 36 for 2025 — so only around one in four is selected (roughly three to four and a half applicants per place). Counts are bi-national, New Zealand taking about seven to ten places a year. Successful applicants average around five years since graduating, reflecting the pre-vocational and unaccredited service-registrar years most spend building a CV; ophthalmology experience is explicitly rewarded. The AIHW recorded about 1,004 ophthalmologists in Australia in 2023.
Unaccredited time: In practice, usually — there's no formal requirement, but most successful applicants spend pre-vocational and unaccredited ophthalmology years (service-registrar time is heavily rewarded in scoring) building a CV before selection.
Sources: RANZCO — Vocational Training Program selection, RANZCO — selection statistics 2017–2025 (applicants & intake), RANZCO — selection FAQs, AIHW — eye health measures 2024 (ophthalmologist workforce).
Selection criteria & how to apply
Selection is national and two-step. RANZCO runs a centralised selection — CV, referee reports and an Asynchronous Video Interview (AVI, formerly the MMI) — feeding a national pool; regional networks then make employment offers and allocate places. The score is out of 100 points, 65 fixed centrally and 35 controlled by the network. RANZCO publishes the centralised maxima — CV/portfolio 29, referees 6 and the interview 30 — so the steps below carry those published point values. The assessed steps:
Key documents: RANZCO — VTP Selection & Appointment Policy (2023), RANZCO — selection scoring criteria.
How it works, network by network
NSW
Who runs selection: Two networks — the Sydney Eye Hospital (SEH) Network (Sydney plus regional NSW, and host to ACT, NT and Tasmanian posts) and the Prince of Wales Hospital (PoWH) Network. Selection is national; the network is where you're employed and rotate.
Where to apply: RANZCO national selection + network allocation — application portal.
Worth knowing: NSW has the largest training footprint, anchored by Sydney Eye Hospital. Smaller jurisdictions' posts (ACT, NT, parts of TAS) sit within the SEH network rather than standalone networks.
Links: RANZCO — training networks, RANZCO — accredited training positions.
VIC
Who runs selection: The Victorian Network, anchored by the Royal Victorian Eye and Ear Hospital, spanning metropolitan and regional Victoria and hosting some Tasmanian and ACT posts. National selection applies.
Where to apply: RANZCO national selection + network allocation — application portal.
Worth knowing: The Royal Victorian Eye and Ear Hospital is one of the country's two largest standalone eye hospitals and a major subspecialty-fellowship centre.
Links: RANZCO — training networks.
QLD
Who runs selection: The Queensland Network, rotating across the Royal Brisbane & Women's, Princess Alexandra, Mater, Queensland Children's, Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast hospitals. National selection applies.
Where to apply: RANZCO national selection + network allocation — application portal.
Worth knowing: Queensland Health careers material describes the usual build-up through ophthalmology RMO and service-registrar roles before national selection.
Links: RANZCO — training networks, Queensland Health — ophthalmology.
SA
Who runs selection: The South Australian Network, rotating the Royal Adelaide, Flinders, The Queen Elizabeth, Modbury and Women's & Children's hospitals, and hosting the Alice Springs (NT) post. National selection applies.
Where to apply: RANZCO national selection + network allocation — application portal.
Worth knowing: A cohesive statewide network; the NT's Alice Springs training sits within it.
Links: RANZCO — training networks.
WA
Who runs selection: The Western Australian Network across Royal Perth, Sir Charles Gairdner, Fremantle and Perth Children's hospitals, with regional sites. National selection applies.
Where to apply: RANZCO national selection + network allocation — application portal.
Worth knowing: WA careers guidance is explicit that you usually work as an unaccredited service registrar before getting onto the program.
TAS
Who runs selection: Tasmania has no standalone network — accredited posts sit within the Sydney Eye Hospital, Victorian and Western Australian networks. Selection is national.
Where to apply: RANZCO national selection + network allocation — application portal.
Worth knowing: Training is delivered through host networks rather than a Tasmanian network, so rotations include interstate time.
Links: RANZCO — training networks.
ACT
Who runs selection: The ACT has no standalone network — Canberra Hospital posts sit within the Sydney Eye Hospital and Victorian networks. Selection is national.
Where to apply: RANZCO national selection + network allocation — application portal.
Worth knowing: Canberra training is embedded in the larger east-coast networks rather than run as its own.
Links: RANZCO — training networks.
NT
Who runs selection: The NT has no standalone network — Darwin posts sit within the Sydney Eye Hospital network and Alice Springs within the South Australian network. The Regionally Enhanced Training Network also covers northern Australia. Selection is national.
Where to apply: RANZCO national selection + network allocation — application portal.
Worth knowing: Distinctive remote and Aboriginal eye-health exposure, delivered through host networks and the Regionally Enhanced Training Network.
Links: RANZCO — training networks.
How to optimise your application
- Build ophthalmology experience (tied to CV / experience score, start PGY1–3) — Ophthalmology RMO and unaccredited service-registrar terms are heavily rewarded in scoring; continuous recent eye-unit time counts most.
- Publish and present (tied to Scholar points (max 8), start early) — A first-author publication and conference presentations both score and help meet the later research requirement.
- Prepare hard for the interview (tied to Interview (max 30), start pre-application) — Practise for the Asynchronous Video Interview (AVI) — as noted above, it's what most separates selected candidates.
- Use regional exposure (tied to Regional points (max 7), start PGY1–3) — Eligible regional experience scores directly and the Regionally Enhanced Training Network offers additional pathways.
Key documents & official links
- RANZCO — Vocational Training Program
- RANZCO — selection & scoring criteria
- RANZCO — examinations
- RANZCO — Specialist International Medical Graduates
FAQ
Is ophthalmology hard to get into?
How long does training take?
Is selection national or state-based?
What are the exams?
Do ophthalmologists really earn the most?
Trained overseas? (IMG pathway)
How overseas-trained ophthalmology doctors get recognised
Overseas-trained ophthalmologists are assessed by RANZCO as a Specialist International Medical Graduate (SIMG) for comparability to an Australian-trained ophthalmologist, after AMC verification. Substantially comparable applicants do up to 12 months of oversight (minimum 3); partially comparable applicants do up to 24 months FTE of supervised practice in an Australian public hospital, reviewed every three months, and may sit the RACE clinical exam.
See the RANZCO — Specialist International Medical Graduates and our IMG internship guide.
Related specialties
Last reviewed 2026-06-09.