GMC registration through PLAB, plus 12 months of qualifying UK practice, can meet part of Australia's Competent Authority Pathway without an AMC exam. New Zealand has accepted PLAB through a dedicated UK General Registrants pathway since 26 May 2023. Australia also launched an Expedited Specialist Pathway in 2024, covering accepted qualifications in six specialties by early 2026.
These are three distinct routes. None makes PLAB alone an automatic licence to practise.
Australia: Competent authority pathway
Australia's Competent Authority Pathway is the relevant general registration route for a doctor who qualified outside the UK, passed PLAB 1 and PLAB 2, and then built the required UK experience. Under the criteria recorded by the Medical Board of Australia, the UK experience component is Foundation Year 1 or 12 months of supervised training accepted as internship equivalent.
An ordinary year on the GMC register does not satisfy that wording.
The sequence has four practical stages:
- Pass PLAB 1 and PLAB 2, then obtain GMC registration.
- Complete the required 12 months in the UK through Foundation Year 1 or an accepted supervised Approved Practice Setting year.
- Secure a suitable Australian post and apply for provisional registration through the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency, usually shortened to Ahpra.
- Complete 12 months of supervised Australian practice, with a minimum of 47 weeks full-time equivalent, then apply for general registration.
There is no AMC multiple choice or clinical examination at any point in that sequence.
The direct Standard Pathway normally requires the AMC CAT MCQ plus either the AMC Clinical Examination or a workplace-based assessment. Competent Authority applicants still face document verification, English language and registration standards, a job search, supervision and the Australian year. The current Category A criteria should be confirmed on the Medical Board pathway page before accepting a post or paying a registration fee.
The sequence includes at least 12 months of qualifying UK practice and at least 47 weeks full-time equivalent of supervised Australian practice. Passing PLAB alone does not lead directly to unrestricted Australian practice.
Australia: the expedited specialist pathway
Australia's Expedited Specialist Pathway began on 21 October 2024. It permits doctors with an exact qualification on the accepted list to apply directly for specialist registration without an individual specialist college assessment. It normally includes about six months of supervised specialist practice, with no AMC examination or individual college comparability assessment.
General practice came first. The UK qualification accepted at launch was Membership of the Royal College of General Practitioners from 2007, with the associated accepted training requirements.
By early 2026, the route covered six specialties: general practice, anaesthesia, obstetrics and gynaecology, paediatrics, general medicine and psychiatry. Diagnostic radiology was still under assessment, so the live accepted list needs to be checked before relying on it.
The listed specialist qualification is the relevant requirement. A recent PLAB pass does not create eligibility for specialist registration. For an eligible specialist, about six supervised months replaces an individual college assessment whose outcome and additional training requirement could vary.
"GMC registration Australia" is often searched as though the register itself transfers. It does not.
The Competent Authority Pathway uses PLAB plus specified UK practice to reach provisional and then general registration. The Expedited Specialist Pathway uses an accepted specialist qualification to reach specialist registration, with supervision and other conditions. One route is for general registration; the other sits years later in a specialist career.
The Australian regulator controls the accepted qualification list, recency, English language, criminal history and registration conditions. The Ahpra announcement dated 14 October 2024 describes the supervision, orientation and cultural safety education. Applicants must confirm their exact qualification and conditions on the live regulator list.
New Zealand: UK General Registrants
New Zealand created its United Kingdom General Registrants pathway on 26 May 2023. It accepts an international graduate who passed PLAB 1 and PLAB 2 within the previous five years, holds full current GMC registration, and completed one of three UK experience options: Foundation Year 1, FY2 Stand-alone, or 12 months in an Approved Practice Setting. A confirmed hospital job offer with approved supervision is also required.
After approval, the doctor enters provisional general scope with an initial six-month licence and works under supervision. Progression to general scope requires 12 months of full-time equivalent supervised New Zealand practice. The Medical Council of New Zealand also requires satisfactory supervision evidence, so neither the job offer nor the GMC licence removes the local assessment period.
There is a second PLAB route. From 3 March 2025, the Medical Council's Examinations registration pathway has accepted PLAB 1 and PLAB 2 passed within the last five years as an alternative qualifying examination to NZREX Clinical. This route requires a postgraduate year 1 job offer in accredited clinical attachments and leads into New Zealand's supervised prevocational programme. It is separate from the UK General Registrants route, which depends on qualifying UK practice and full GMC registration.
That difference gives recent PLAB candidates two possible New Zealand entry points.
A doctor with the specified UK year and full GMC registration can examine the UK General Registrants criteria. A doctor without that UK year may examine the Examinations pathway, but still needs the required PGY1 post and cannot regard a PLAB pass as registration by itself. Both routes depend on a job offer and current Medical Council approval.
Both New Zealand routes also require an acceptable primary medical qualification and fitness for registration. Those checks remain when PLAB is used as the accepted examination evidence.
The 5-year detail that changes planning
New Zealand's five-year rule puts an expiry clock on the value of PLAB for these pathways. A candidate who passed PLAB 2 in October 2024 should treat October 2029 as the latest possible outer boundary, subject to the Medical Council's calculation, but an earlier PLAB 1 pass can bring the deadline forward because both parts must remain within five years. Waiting until the fifth year to search for a supervised job leaves little room for recruitment, document verification or a delayed start.
Planning should begin from the PLAB 2 pass date, then use the earlier PLAB pass as the conservative deadline if PLAB 1 was completed sooner. The UK General Registrants page requires both PLAB parts and the qualifying UK experience within the previous five years immediately before application. Its experience options are narrowly named, so a candidate should retain contracts, job descriptions, supervision reports and GMC evidence from the full 12-month UK period.
Australia's Competent Authority Pathway has no equivalent PLAB-within-five-years rule in the verified fact base. It does, however, require the specified UK experience component and then at least 47 weeks full-time equivalent of Australian supervised practice. Australia may therefore remain available after the New Zealand PLAB window closes, but only when the doctor can prove the exact UK experience that the Medical Board accepts.
Anyone considering New Zealand needs to allow time for the UK year where required, GMC status, document verification and the supervised job search before the five-year window closes.
Comparing the UK-first and direct routes
Qualifying UK practice can support general registration routes in Australia and New Zealand. An accepted UK specialist qualification can also support Australia's expedited route later in a career. UK specialty recruitment remains subject to the constraints described in the 2026 training prioritisation guide.
The 2026 exam-fee comparison shows why the no-AMC-exam feature matters. From 1 April 2026, the GMC fees page lists PLAB 1 at £283 and PLAB 2 at £1,036. The figures below cover first-attempt examination charges only, not English testing, travel, visas, preparation, registration, credential verification or living costs. A fuller PLAB 2 cost plan from India therefore produces a much higher personal budget than the £1,319 exam subtotal.
| Route | Required examinations | 2026 first-attempt exam subtotal |
|---|---|---|
| PLAB, then qualifying UK practice and Australia CAP | PLAB 1 at £283, PLAB 2 at £1,036 | £1,319 |
| Direct Australia Standard Pathway, approximate | AMC CAT MCQ at A$2,920, plus in-person AMC Clinical at A$3,000 | About A$5,920 |
As verified on 4 August 2026, the AMC figure comes from the Australian Medical Council's fees page and rises to about A$6,320 if the A$3,400 online clinical examination is used. The direct route also had an A$642 initial portfolio fee before verification and registration costs on that date. The currencies should not be converted into a false single comparison because exchange rates, UK earnings during the required year and travel patterns change the personal total.
Money is only one constraint. The PLAB route demands a qualifying UK job and 12 months of accepted experience before Australia CAP becomes usable. A candidate pursuing UK training also faces the recruitment rules in force from 2026 and, for several specialties, the separate selection mechanics covered in the MSRA after PLAB guide. The AMC route demands its own examinations but does not require building the UK experience component first.
A doctor who wants UK clinical experience can compare these later options once the correct post and documents are secured. Someone aiming directly for Australia needs to compare the time required for qualifying UK practice with the approximately A$5,920 direct AMC examination subtotal. For general practice, anaesthesia, obstetrics and gynaecology, paediatrics, general medicine or psychiatry, the live accepted-qualification list determines whether the expedited specialist route is available.
Questions candidates actually ask
Can you move to Australia after PLAB without the AMC exam?
Yes, but PLAB alone is insufficient. The corroborated Competent Authority requirements include PLAB 1 and 2, the specified 12 months of UK experience, then 12 months of supervised Australian practice with a minimum of 47 weeks full-time equivalent. Candidates must confirm the live criteria with the Medical Board before applying.
How long must you work in the UK before Australia accepts GMC registration?
The route requires 12 months of qualifying UK experience, either Foundation Year 1 or 12 months of supervised training treated as internship equivalent. Candidates should confirm that their post satisfies the current Medical Board criteria before relying on it.
Does New Zealand accept PLAB?
Yes. New Zealand has a UK General Registrants pathway for doctors with recent PLAB passes, qualifying UK practice and full GMC registration, and its Examinations pathway also accepts PLAB 1 and 2 passed within the last five years.