How to get into medicine in Australia

What are your options?

You have three ways in. You can start medicine straight from school, hold a place from school while you finish another degree first, or finish any degree and then apply to a graduate medical school. They differ in the tests you sit and the age at which you win your place.

  • Direct entry. For you if you want to start medicine straight after school and have strong school results. You sit the UCAT ANZ in Year 12.
  • Provisional entry. For you if you want the security of a place from school, and do not mind a first degree before medicine. You also sit the UCAT ANZ in Year 12.
  • Graduate entry. For you if you decide on medicine later, missed out from school, or want a degree in another field first. You sit GAMSAT, a different test, during or after your degree.

None of these is the "real" route. All three lead to a medical degree.

How does direct entry work?

You apply in Year 12 and, if you win a place, start a medical degree the next year. Most direct entry courses weigh three things: your ATAR or its equivalent, your UCAT ANZ result and an interview. Each university sets its own mix and its own thresholds.

Three rules about the UCAT ANZ shape your timing.

  • You sit it in Year 12, not before. Australian Year 11 students are not eligible, even with a Year 12 subject.
  • You sit it once a year. A second sitting in the same year cancels all your results.
  • A result lasts one admissions cycle. If you apply again the next year, you sit it again.

The universities guide lists every course that uses the test.

How does provisional entry work?

You apply from school, as for direct entry, but the place you win is in a graduate medical course. You first complete a set bachelor degree and keep your place by meeting its conditions, such as a minimum grade average. These pathways are on the UCAT ANZ list, though at some the test is optional.

The universities guide shows several of these pathways:

  • The University of Queensland. A provisional entry pathway into its Doctor of Medicine, including regional pathways that start at CQUniversity and the University of Southern Queensland.
  • Griffith University. A provisional pathway that starts in a Medical Science degree at the University of the Sunshine Coast.
  • The University of Western Australia. An assured pathway into its Doctor of Medicine through the Bachelor of Biomedicine (Specialised).

A provisional place gives you security early. In exchange you study longer, and you must meet the conditions of the first degree to keep it.

How does graduate entry work?

You finish a bachelor degree in any field, sit GAMSAT and apply to a graduate medical school. This is the route for anyone who decides on medicine at university, misses out at school, or simply wants a first degree in something else.

GAMSAT is run by the Australian Council for Educational Research. You can sit it once you have completed, or are enrolled in, a bachelor or honours degree. It runs twice a year, there is no limit on how many times you sit it, and it has three sections: two written essays, a humanities and social sciences paper of 62 questions, and a biological and physical sciences paper of 75 questions. How long a result stays valid depends on the university.

GEMSAS is the shared application system for graduate medical schools. For the 2027 intake it served ten: the Australian National University, Deakin, Griffith, Macquarie, The University of Melbourne, The University of Notre Dame (Fremantle and Sydney), The University of Queensland, The University of Western Australia and Wollongong. If a school you want is not on that list, its own admissions page tells you how to apply.

To apply through GEMSAS you need a three-year bachelor or honours degree in any discipline, or to be in its final year. GEMSAS gives no preference to any field of study. Each school ranks applicants in its own way, mostly by combining your grade point average with your GAMSAT score, and makes offers only to applicants it has interviewed.

What can you do in Years 10 to 12?

Most of what matters in school is in your control well before Year 12.

  • Choose subjects that meet the prerequisites. Each course lists its own. James Cook University, for example, requires English, Mathematical Methods and Chemistry for medicine. Check before you choose your senior subjects.
  • Keep your school results strong. They count alongside the UCAT ANZ at school-leaver courses.
  • Plan the UCAT ANZ for Year 12. Booking opens early in the year and closes in May. The fees and dates guide has the exact dates.
  • Prepare steadily. The preparation guide sets out the official resources and a plan, and you can try free practice questions.
  • Apply widely. You can apply to universities in several states through each state's admissions centre: UAC, VTAC, QTAC, SATAC and TISC.

Medicine deadlines are often earlier than for other courses, and some universities add their own form. Read each university's admissions page in Term 2 of Year 12, so nothing closes before you notice it.

What if you are already at university?

You still have two ways in, and you may be able to try both.

Through the UCAT ANZ. University students and graduates are eligible to sit it. Not every course that uses it accepts applicants who are no longer school leavers, so check each one. James Cook University, for example, assesses non-school leavers on their grade point average, with at least one full-time year of bachelor-level study in the last ten years.

Through GAMSAT. You can sit GAMSAT while you are enrolled, and apply through GEMSAS in the final year of your degree, with any offer conditional on finishing it.

Either way, your grades from now on matter. Most graduate schools rank applicants partly on their grade point average, so it pays to treat your degree as part of your application.

What are medical school interviews like?

Many courses interview the applicants they shortlist, and GEMSAS schools make offers only after an interview. Formats vary, so read what each university publishes about its own.

Some use a multiple mini interview, or MMI: a series of short stations, each with its own question. At the University of Western Australia, for example, the MMI has eight stations of seven minutes each, with two minutes to read the question and five to talk to the interviewer.

Through GEMSAS, an interview score can travel. If the school that interviewed you does not offer you a place, your standardised score may be considered by schools lower on your preference list.

A sensible way to prepare is to practise answering out loud, on questions you have not seen before, within a time limit.

Related guides

Sources

Each university's own website is the authority on its course. Check it before you apply.

MyelinMed is not affiliated with UCAT ANZ, the UCAT Consortium, Pearson VUE or any university.

Common questions

Can you sit the UCAT ANZ again if you miss out?

Yes, in a later year. You may sit it once in each yearly cycle, and a result counts for one admissions cycle only, so each year you apply you sit it again.

Does a gap year change how you are assessed?

It can. At James Cook University you still count as a school leaver if you finished school in the two years before the course starts and have not completed a full-time year of bachelor study. Each university sets its own definition.

Is the UCAT ANZ the same as the UCAT in the UK?

No. They are separate tests, and universities in Australia and New Zealand accept UCAT ANZ results only. A UCAT ANZ result can be used to apply to UK universities, but you may not sit both tests in the same year.

Do you need a science degree for graduate-entry medicine?

Not for GEMSAS as a whole, which gives no preference to any field of study. Individual schools can set their own requirements, so read the admissions guide for each school you apply to.

← All UCAT ANZ guides

For parents: How to get into medicine in Australia from high school