Subspecialty training general information
Learn more about planning your training, including key dates, prospective approvals, taking leave, accredited training units, subspecialty certification and fees.
Years 1 to 3 clinical training
All five subspecialty training programs share a common workflow and deadlines across the course of a training year. A full-time subspecialty training year consists of two consecutive six-month training periods.
Apply for Prospective Approval (PA)
Each year, you must apply for Prospective Approval of your training program, including clinical and research experience, at least eight weeks before you intend to commence training.
How to apply
Changes to approved training
If you wish to make changes to your current approved prospective approval form, you must submit a new prospective approval document to your Training Program Coordinator for approval by the relevant Committee Chair.
Please submit this document prior to commencement of subspecialty training with the Year 1 prospective approval application.
Training time
The College credits training time after each satisfactory six-month training period. Credit for training is capped at:
a maximum of 26 weeks credit for any six-month training period
a maximum of 46 weeks credit for the full subspecialty training year
Apply for overseas training
As with training in Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand, you must apply for prospective approval of overseas training, and submit all training documentation within the same specified timelines.
As part of your application for prospective approval of training, you must provide:
a plan for completing training on return to Australia or Aotearoa New Zealand
a commitment of support from a training supervisor in Australia or Aotearoa New Zealand
The guidelines and regulations that govern registration, fees and training documentation also apply to overseas training.
If your overseas training unit is unfamiliar with these processes, it’s your responsibility to provide the relevant training documents and information.
How to apply
Please note that the College will only credit training that has been prospectively approved.
Post-Year 3 training
At the completion of the three years of clinical training, you must register for Post-Year 3 training and nominate a mentor/supervisor who will provide input into a progress report as you work towards finalising any outstanding assessment requirements.
Please note that you must not identify yourself as a subspecialist until you have satisfactorily completed all training requirements and you have been certified by the RANZCOG Board.
Annual Registration and Statement of Understanding (SoU)
Please follow the steps below to submit your Post-Year 3 training registration form.
Click the ‘apply’ button below to complete the combined Subspecialty Post-Year 3 Registration and Statement of Understanding (SoU) online form.
Press the ‘submit’ button within the form.
Pay the Post-Year 3 annual training fee by 31st January (or as otherwise advised if you’re commencing training in August).
Post-Year 3 progress reports
Scholarly elective
All five subspecialty training programs require trainees to complete a scholarly elective, as outlined below.
Research stream
(CGO, CMFM, COGU, CREI, CU)
Trainees undertaking the CGO, COGU, CREI and CU training programs must complete a prospectively approved research project with relevance to their chosen subspecialty.
If you’re enrolled in the CMFM, COGU and CREI training programs, you have the option of completing a research project (research stream) or vocational training course (see non-research stream below).
All trainees must submit their research project according to the following schedule:
| Submission deadline | |
|---|---|
| Trainees who commenced training from 1st December 2018 | One year after completion of training (with satisfactory completion within three years) |
| Trainees who commenced training before 1st December 2018 | Two years after completion of training (with satisfactory completion within three years) |
Non-research stream
(CMFM, COGU and CREI only)
Trainees undertaking the CMFM, COGU and CREI training programs have the additional option of completing a prospectively approved vocational training course with relevance to their chosen subspecialty.
The training course must:
be prospectively approved by the relevant Committee
progressively build on any previous RANZCOG training and have future vocational relevance
include no repetition of previous content and/or training
focus on one course of study (not a combination of several courses)
be recognised at a tertiary institute or professional college within Australia or Aotearoa New Zealand
meet the minimum criteria of an Australian Qualification Framework (AQF) Diploma Level 5 or New Zealand Qualification Framework (NZQF) Diploma Level 5
Trainees must submit evidence of course completion to the relevant Committee within three years of completing clinical training.
Please follow the link below for more information on the core framework and approval process.
Exemption from scholarly elective
If you’ve completed a formal higher research degree qualification in an area relevant to your chosen subspecialty (or a suitable vocational training course relevant to CMFM, COGU or CREI), you may be eligible for exemption from the scholarly elective.
However, you will still need to undertake ongoing research during your training.
To apply for an exemption, you must:
Key submission dates
Please see below for a list of submission dates for prospective approvals (PA), formative appraisal reports (FAR) and training assessment records (TAR).
2023 dates
Semester 1
Monday 6th February to Sunday 6th August (2023)
| Requirement | Submission deadline |
|---|---|
| Prospective approval (PA) of training (Semesters 1 and 2, 2023) | Monday 12th December 2022 |
| Three-monthly Formative Appraisal Report (FAR) (for the three-month period prior to Sunday 7th May) | Sunday 4th June 2023 |
| Training Assessment Record (TAR) (for period ending Sunday 6th August; includes six-monthly consultant summative assessment) | Sunday 17th September 2023 |
Semester 2
Monday 7th August (2023) to Sunday 4th February (2024)
| Requirement | Submission deadline |
|---|---|
| Prospective approval (PA) of training (for Semester 2, 2023 — only if not already approved) | Monday 12th June 2023 |
| Three-monthly Formative Appraisal Report (FAR) (for the three-month period prior to Sunday 5th November) | Sunday 3rd December 2023 |
| Six-monthly Training Assessment Record (TAR) (for period ending Sunday 4th February; includes six-monthly consultant summative assessment) | Sunday 17th March 2024 |
2024 dates
Semester 1
Monday 5th February to Sunday 4th August (2024)
| Requirement | Submission deadline |
|---|---|
| Prospective approval (PA) of training (Semesters 1 and 2, 2024) | Monday 11th December 2023 |
| Three-monthly Formative Appraisal Report (FAR) (for the three-month period prior to Sunday 5th May) | Sunday 2nd June 2024 |
| Six-monthly Training Assessment Record (TAR) (for period ending Sunday 4th August; includes six-monthly consultant summative assessment) | Sunday 15th September 2024 |
Semester 2
Monday 5th August (2024) to Sunday 2nd February (2025)
| Requirement | Submission deadline |
|---|---|
| Prospective approval (PA) of training (for semester 2, 2024 — only if not already approved) | Monday 10th June 2024 |
| Three-monthly Formative Appraisal Report (FAR) (for the three-month period prior to Sunday 3rd November) | Sunday 1st December 2024 |
| Six-monthly Training Assessment Record (TAR) (for period ending Sunday 2nd February; includes six-monthly consultant summative assessment) | Sunday 16th March 2025 |
Taking leave
During each training year, you’re entitled to take:
six weeks of annual leave
two weeks (10 days) of study-conference leave (which is recognised as active clinical services professional development)
To document annual or professional development leave, you and your supervisor must sign off on the type of leave and number of weeks taken when submitting the relevant six-monthly summative assessment.
The College does not require prospective approval of annual or professional development leave.
Extended leave
If you choose to take extended leave from the training program, you’re entitled to:
take a maximum of 104 weeks of extended leave (cumulative)
apply for no more than 52 weeks of extended leave at any one time (including parental leave)
Effective 1st August 2019, the ‘clock will stop’ on your extended leave, which means it will not be included in aggregated time requirements.
All extended leave must be prospectively approved by the Chair of the relevant Subspecialty Committee, and taken with the knowledge and agreement of your training supervisor.
How to apply
Complete the online Subspecialties Extended Leave Application.
Press the ‘submit’ button and your completed application form will be sent to the relevant Subspecialty Coordinator.
Subspecialty certification
To apply for subspecialty certification, you must:
Meet all certification requirements — please do not apply until the College has confirmed that you’re eligible to do so.
Complete the Subspecialty Certification Application Form.
Press the ‘submit’ button and your completed application form will be sent to the relevant Subspecialty Coordinator.
Fees
All training and examination fees are payable in Australian dollars (AUD), and are not subject to Australian GST.
Contact
For more information about subspecialty application and selection, please contact your relevant Training Program Coordinator.
Gynaecological Oncology (CGO)
Maternal Fetal Medicine (CMFM)
Email: cmfm@ranzcog.edu.au
Phone: +61 3 9412 2956
Obstetrical and Gynaecological Ultrasound (COGU)
Email: cogu@ranzcog.edu.au
Phone: +61 3 9412 2956
Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility (CREI)
Email: crei@ranzcog.edu.au
Phone: +61 3 9412 2990
Urogynaecology (CU)
Email: cu@ranzcog.edu.au
Phone: +61 3 9412 2990