GPs: your next chapter

Start with the work you want to do

• Check specialist or vocational recognition against your exact qualifications.
• Investigate provider-number, billing and any location restrictions that apply to you.
• Compare employee pay with contractor income after practice expenses.

Australia: identify the right pathway

The Australian Government outlines four IMG routes: Standard, Competent Authority, Specialist and Expedited Specialist. The applicable route depends on your credentials and experience.

Investigate specialist assessment against your exact qualification. An expedited route is only relevant where the accepted-qualification criteria are met; a UK title alone is not enough.

Confirm the employer’s proposed grade, supervision arrangements and whether the post counts towards any training you want to pursue. Plan the registration and employment steps together, and check work rights separately.

New Zealand: match your background

Check vocational specialist registration. The VOC4 route applies only to approved qualifications and areas of medicine, with recent-practice and job-offer requirements. Other specialist routes may be relevant if those criteria do not fit.

Registration and a practising certificate must be in place before you practise. Confirm any supervision and role-specific conditions with the Medical Council.

Other destinations and recognition routes

Explore UK-linked local registration, UK qualification agreements, and routes for eligible GPs and specialists. Each destination still has its own registration and employment conditions.

Questions to put to an employer

• What is the full roster, including nights, weekends and on-call duties?
• Who supervises me, and how much protected teaching or development time is included?
• Is the post formally recognised for training, and by which body?
• Which registration and immigration steps depend on the offer?
• Which relocation costs are paid, when, and what could I have to repay?