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Court of Examiners

Information about the Court of Examiners. The Court of Examiners is appointed by the Council of the College. Its purpose is to conduct the Fellowship Examination and to assess the knowledge, clinical skills, judgement, decision making and professional competencies of candidates, in order to ensure that they are safe and competent to practise as surgeons.

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Background

The Court of Examiners is appointed by the Council of the College. Its purpose is to conduct the Fellowship Examination and to assess the knowledge, clinical skills, judgement, decision making and professional competencies of candidates, in order to ensure that they are safe and competent to practice as surgeons.

The Court is composed of surgeons representing the nine different specialties in which the College conducts the examination. The number of Examiners varies in each specialty in line with the number of trainees and examination candidates.

The clinical/viva examinations are generally conducted during May and September each year in venues across Australia and New Zealand and alternate between the following locations:

  • Australia - Adelaide, Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney
  • New Zealand - Auckland and Wellington

The written exams are normally conducted in April and August each year in the following locations:

  • Australia - Adelaide, Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth and Sydney
  • New Zealand - Auckland and Wellington

Membership

2021 Court of Examiners Members (PDF 93.87KB)

Appointment to the Court of Examiners

Applications for appointment to the Court of Examiners in 2022 are now closed.

Applications for 2023 will open from September - November 2022.

  • Cardiothoracic Surgery
  • General Surgery
  • Neurosurgery
  • Orthopaedic Surgery 
  • Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery
  • Paediatric Surgery
  • Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery
  • Urology
  • Vascular

Note:  the number of vacancies for each of the Specialty Courts will be confirmed at the February 2022 meetings.

Eligibility

Please read the following policies paying particular attention to the selection guidelines:

Process/timeline

  • 26 September 2022: Application open
  • 30 November 2022: Application with CV submitted by this date
  • December 2022/January 2023: Eligibility/Governance verification and referee checks 
  • February 2023: Applications considered by Specialty Courts
  • By the end of February 2023: Applicants notified, appointment confirmed
  • March - May 2023 Examiner induction and training, including observation of the May* examination
  • June 2023:  Appointment to the Court (tenure) commences

Application Form for Appointment to Court of Examiners (PDF 142.7KB)

*Note:  Timelines may be subject to change during COVID.

Contact

Please contact the Examinations Department for further information.

Examinations Department
Royal Australasian College of Surgeons
250-290 Spring Street
East Melbourne VIC 3002 Australia

Telephone: +61 3 9249 1222
Email: Court.Examiners@surgeons.org