Competent authority criteria

Council recognises some registration authorities as having equivalent systems to our own. We call these "competent authorities".

Currently we recognise the General Medical Council in the UK and the Irish Medical Council as competent within the criteria we apply.

Criteria

To be recognised as a competent authority, we require a registration authority to have:

  • a system for the accreditation of medical schools in its jurisdiction to ensure graduates meet required standards
  • a system of monitoring new medical graduates in their first year of registration to ensure their skill and knowledge is of a required standard
  • a system for accreditation of postgraduate training and qualifications
  • a system of assessing the knowledge and skills of overseas trained doctors who want to be registered in the jurisdiction to ensure their standard is comparable to locally trained doctors
  • a system to maintain a public register listing all doctors registered in the jurisdiction, including any conditions on their practice
  • a system for regularly reviewing ongoing practice standards – recertification, revalidation and credentialing
  • a system to ensure doctors are fit to practise
  • a system to deal with notifications about doctors performance
  • a system to issue certificates of good standing.

Competent authorities

The registration authorities we currently recognise as competent within the above criteria are:

  • General Medical Council (United Kingdom)
  • Irish Medical Council.

Registration pathway

If you completed your primary medical degree and internship under a competent authorty, you can apply for registration. See the link below for more information.

  • Competent authority pathway

    12 June 2023

    You can apply for registration through this pathway if you have a primary medical degree from the UK or Ireland and have completed your internship within the UK or Ireland.