ROYAL AUSTRALASIAN
COLLEGE OF SURGEONS

ROYAL AUSTRALASIAN
COLLEGE OF SURGEONS

Selection Requirements and SET Application

Home > Becoming a Surgeon > Surgery as a Career / JDocs > Selection Requirements
/becoming-a-surgeon/surgery-as-a-career/selection-requirements/

Find a surgeon

The Find a Surgeon directory is a listing of active Fellows of the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons who meet the requirements of the College's Continuing Professional Development (CPD) Program and have opted to be on the list. This list excludes retired or inactive Fellows.

 

Selection Requirements and SET Application

Registration for the 2020 SET Program intake is now closed. Applications to the 2020 SET Program will open on Wednesday 27 February 2019 at 12 noon (AEDT). 

Please download and read the Registration for Selection into SET Policy prior to applying for SET

You will find detailed information about SET training in the  Guide to SET Booklet  (PDF 658 KB) 

For further enquiries that cannot be answered by the website information, please contact:  SET.Enquiries@surgeons.org

 

Generic eligibility requirements for selection into the SET program

Any person wishing to apply for selection into the training program of one (or more) of the surgical specialties must fulfil all of the generic eligibility criteria, plus the eligibility criteria for the specific specialty (or specialties).

The generic eligibility requirements which apply across all nine specialties are:

  • Permanent residency1 or citizenship of Australia or New Zealand at the time of registration.
  • General (unconditional) registration in Australia or general scope or restricted general scope registration in the relevant specialty2 in New Zealand.
  • Successful completion of the RACS Hand Hygiene Learning Module from Hand Hygiene Australia since 1 January 20133 (NZ registrants please note: Hand Hygiene New Zealand uses the Australian Learning Module as its default program. NZ registrants must also complete the Hand Hygiene Australia Learning Module.) Registrants must complete the RACS Module which is available on the Hand Hygiene Australia website. No other module will be accepted.
  • Completion of the RACS Operating with Respect eModule4

All generic eligibility requirements must be satisfied at the time of registration. At the time of registration applicants must consent to a full criminal history check including submission of relevant documentation on request to enable this to be undertaken.  

Registrants are required to download and read the following documents prior to registration, to ensure that they are fully informed about the SET Program registration and selection process:

Notes:

  1. Permanent (non-citizen) residents of New Zealand are not automatically entitled to residential approval in Australia. New Zealand (non-citizen) residents who apply for a program with Australian rotations will be responsible for securing a visa. In the event that a visa cannot be obtained no special arrangements can be made, and the offer of a place on the program may be withdrawn, or the trainee dismissed.
  2. Doctors with restricted general scope registration can only apply for training in the specialty to which they are restricted.
  3. Hand Hygiene module must have been completed since 1 January 2013. Your certificate must reflect this otherwise you will be asked to complete it again to ensure recency of skills. Your certificate must be the RACS specific Hand Hygiene Australia module.
  4. You must have completed the RACS Operating with Respect eModule prior to registering for SET. Please log into your RACS Profile to access. If you have any problems please contact elearning@surgeons.org

back to top

Specialty-specific eligibility requirements and selection processes

Applicants may apply for selection into SET if they can demonstrate, at the time of submitting their application that they have completed, or will complete prior to the start of the next training year, all the mandatory clinical requirements of the specialty to which they are applying. If a selected applicant does not fulfil the specialty requirements prior to the start of the next year of training the offer will be withdrawn.

For those specialties that conduct separate selection processes in Australia and New Zealand, an applicant may only apply for selection in one or the other country. Applicants will be required to nominate which country they are applying for at the time of registration.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Selection Initiative (ATSI)

As outlined in the Diversity and Inclusion Plan, RACS is committed to promoting an increase in the number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander doctors within the medical workforce. This selection initiative is designed to address the low participation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander doctors in the surgical specialties that RACS trains in.

The following surgical specialties have implemented the initiative within their selection processes for 2019:

  • Cardiothoracic Surgery
  • Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery AU
  • Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery AU 
  • Paediatric Surgery
  • Vascular Surgery 

Generic Surgical Sciences Examination (GSSE)

All specialty training boards have now made the successful completion of the GSSE a mandatory eligibility requirement for the 2019 (2020 intake) selection process. 

All enquiries regarding the GSSE should be directed to the RACS Examinations Department.

back to top

Stages of the Selection Process

There are two stages in the selection process:

Stage 1

Stage 1 is the registration stage.

Anyone intending to apply for selection in 2019 must have registered their intention to apply within the specified time-frame. At the time of registration applicants must be able to meet the generic eligibility requirements. The fee for registration must be paid by any applicant who is not a current trainee in SET programs or Fellow. IMGs who have been recommended to apply to SET must pay the registration fee. All stage 1 registrations are conducted on-line through RACS. Potential applicants for selection into SET cannot register via specialty societies and associations.

back to top

Stage 2

Stage 2 is the application and selection stage.

Doctors who have registered for selection and have been confirmed as satisfying the generic eligibility requirements may lodge an application for selection from 27 February 2019.

The following specialties accept applications for selection through the RACS web-based application system:

  • Cardiothoracic Surgery
  • Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, Australia and New Zealand
  • Paediatric Surgery
  • Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, New Zealand

The following specialties accept applications for selection through their specialty societies:

Applications for selection to Surgical Training close at 12pm (AEDT-Australian Eastern Daylight Time) on Wednesday 27 March 2019.  No extensions will be available. Applicants are therefore encouraged to submit their applications as soon as possible.

Fees for selection

Stage 1:

  • Selection Registration Fee AU $570 (incl GST) - There is no refund on this fee

Stage 2:

  • Selection Processing Fee for AU only or bi-national programs $880 (incl GST1) - There is no refund on this fee
  • Selection Processing Fee NZ programs $995 (incl GST2) - There is no refund on this fee

Note 1: AU GST only payable by AU residents

Note 2: NZ GST only payable by NZ residents

This Selection Processing Fee applies to:

  • Cardiothoracic Surgery
  • Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery (Australia and New Zealand)
  • Paediatric Surgery
  • Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, New Zealand

The following specialty programs will publish their own Selection Processing Fees:

  • General Surgery
  • Neurosurgery
  • Orthopaedic Surgery - Australia and New Zealand
  • Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Australia
  • Urology
  • Vascular Surgery

Applicants applying to more than one specialty are required to pay for a Selection Processing Fee for each specialty at the time of submitting their application/ CV.

Timeline for selection 2019

Stage 1 Selection registration Opens: Friday 4 January 2019 (12.00 noon AEDT) Closes: Friday 1 February 2019 (5.00 pm AEDT)
Stage 2 Selection application Opens: Wednesday 27 February 2019 (12.00 noon AEDT) Closes: Wednesday 27 March 2019 (12.00 noon AEDT)
Stage 3 Referee reports collected 24 April 2019 - 22 May 2019 (5.00 pm AEST)
Stage 4 Interviews June / July 2019
Stage 5 Announcement of offers NZ only 1 July 2019
Stage 6 Announcement of offers AUS and bi-national programs 22 July 2019

If you wish to apply in 2019 for the SET program, you must have registered for selection between 4 January and 1 February 2019. 

Applicants offered a position on a training program must accept within stated time frame in letter of offer. Offers not accepted within the nominated timeframe will be automatically rescinded.

back to top

Specialty-specific eligibility requirements for selection into the SET program

Cardiothoracic Surgery
General Surgery - Australia
General Surgery - New Zealand
Neurosurgery
Orthopaedic Surgery - Australia
Orthopaedic Surgery - New Zealand
Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery - Australia
Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery - New Zealand
Paediatric Surgery
Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery - Australia
Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery - New Zealand
Urology
Vascular Surgery

Contact

For further enquiries that cannot be answered by the website information, please contact SET.Enquiries@surgeons.org or phone +61 3 9249 1114

back to top