PESCI in Australia: What It Is, Who Needs One, and What It Costs

If you're an international medical graduate heading for general practice in Australia, the PESCI (Pre-Employment Structured Clinical Interview) is usually the last gate before you can start work on limited or provisional registration. This guide explains what it is, who has to sit it, who runs it, what it costs in 2026, and where it fits in the Medical Board's registration process.

• Cost
• Who needs one
• The interview
• Registration

What a PESCI actually is

The AMC PESCI Guidelines define a PESCI as an objective assessment of the clinical experience, knowledge, skills and attributes of an international medical graduate, used to decide whether you are suitable to practise in a specific position. It takes the form of a structured interview built around clinical scenarios, tied to the job you applied for, not an examination of your overall performance as a doctor.

The standard you're held to is one of safe practice, not perfection, and the outcome is simply suitable or unsuitable for the position.

What a PESCI costs in 2026

The interview fee depends on which of the three AMC-accredited providers you book with. As at July 2026:

Fees are set by each provider and change: the figures above are verified on each provider's own page as at 3 July 2026, so re-check the provider's page before you pay. The add-on administration, rescheduling and withdrawal fees sit on top of the interview fee, so the headline number isn't the whole cost.

These fees cover the PESCI only. The AMC exam fees for the AMC CAT MCQ and, where relevant, the AMC Clinical Examination are separate; see IMG doctor registration costs for the AMC exam and Ahpra registration fees.

Who needs a PESCI

The Medical Board of Australia has decided a PESCI is mandatory for IMGs seeking limited or provisional registration to practise in general practice, and that includes IMGs on the standard pathway and those on the competent authority pathway. If your job offer is a GP role and you'll be registered on one of those limited/provisional bases, expect to sit a PESCI.

What a PESCI is not is a universal requirement for every IMG:

• Required: general-practice roles on limited or provisional registration (standard or competent authority pathway).
• Generally not required: hospital and specialist-pathway roles that a specialist college assesses directly.
• Everything else: the Board decides on a per-position basis, weighing the level of risk of the role.

Who runs it

PESCIs are conducted by providers accredited by the Australian Medical Council (AMC), through its Prevocational Standards Accreditation Committee. As at July 2026 there are three AMC-accredited providers:

• RACGP: the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners.
• ACRRM: the Australian College of Rural and Remote Medicine; positions itself for rural and broad-scope roles.
• IME: the Institute of Medical Education, headquartered on the Gold Coast.

All three are accredited to the same AMC standard, and the outcome report goes to the Medical Board regardless of which provider you use. The practical differences are delivery mode, scheduling, scenario mix and fees (see the cost table), not the standard you're measured against.

What you need before you can sit one

To be eligible for a PESCI on the standard pathway, you must have passed the AMC CAT MCQ examination (the written, computer-adaptive multiple-choice exam) or have qualified for the competent authority pathway. Passing the AMC Clinical Examination is not a prerequisite for a PESCI. Some applicants will have sat it, but it isn't required to book a PESCI.

Providers layer their own conditions on top. The RACGP, for example, also requires a primary medical qualification listed in the World Directory of Medical Schools and a valid job offer in Australian general practice before it will schedule you.

The process, and what happens in the interview

A PESCI is assessed by a panel of medical practitioners and community members against your specific job's position description. The AMC requires a minimum of four standardised clinical scenarios; in practice the RACGP uses five. For each RACGP scenario you get three minutes' reading time and ten minutes to answer, alongside general questions about your experience and your expectations of practising in Australia.

The RACGP panel has three members, at least two of whom are experienced GPs and Fellows of the RACGP, and the panel members may not work in the same state as the practice you applied to. Delivery is by videoconference where the provider deems it appropriate (the AMC notes face-to-face is preferable); each provider's delivery mode is in the cost table.

On timing, plan for weeks, not days: the scheduling lead time and results turnaround each provider states are in the cost table above.

How it fits Ahpra limited and provisional registration

A PESCI doesn't grant registration on its own. It's one input the Medical Board weighs when deciding whether to grant you limited or provisional registration for a specific position. The outcome report goes to the Board, which then makes the registration decision.

An outcome is valid for 12 months: the RACGP states 12 calendar months from the date of the report with no extension; ACRRM states one year. Because it's position-specific, a change of job can trigger a fresh PESCI.

If your circumstances change after a successful result, you can apply to the Board for approval to use an existing PESCI for a new position, but the Board may still require a new one if the new role carries a different level of risk.

A note on the 2025–26 pathway reforms

There has been a lot of noise about IMG reform, including the Expedited Specialist Pathway and new RACGP fellowship options for experienced overseas GPs. These are real, but they do not remove the standard/competent-authority-pathway PESCI requirement for general practice.

As at July 2026, if you're taking a GP role on limited or provisional registration via those pathways, the PESCI rule still applies. Treat recruiter blogs that imply the PESCI has been abolished with caution, and confirm anything you read against the primary sources below.

FAQ

Sources & methodology

Every figure on this page is drawn from primary regulator, AMC and provider sources, listed below. The definition, mandatory-for-GP rule, scenario minimum, eligibility prerequisite and area-of-need sequencing come from the AMC PESCI Guidelines (March 2024) and the Medical Board of Australia. The fees, panel composition, five-scenario format and 12-month validity come from each provider's own PESCI page or handbook, verified as at 3 July 2026.

Fees are provider-set and change, so treat them as a snapshot and confirm on the provider's page before booking. AMC exam fees are kept on our IMG doctor registration costs page rather than restated here. Nothing on this page is personal or legal advice.

• AMC – PESCI Guidelines and Criteria for AMC Accreditation of PESCI Providers (updated March 2024)
• Medical Board of Australia – Pre-employment structured clinical interview (PESCI)
• Medical Board of Australia – Standard pathway for international medical graduates
• Medical Board of Australia – Limited registration for area of need
• RACGP – Pre-Employment Structured Clinical Interview (PESCI)
• RACGP – PESCI Handbook (fee AU$2,450; panel of three; five scenarios; 12-month validity)
• ACRRM – PESCI ($2,495 inc GST; $150 admin fee; one-year validity; results in 14–21 days)
• Institute of Medical Education (IME) – PESCI Interview ($2,497 AUD; Gold Coast face-to-face or virtual)