Australian Government Department of Health and
Ageing

The vision of the Department of Health and Ageing is Better health and active ageing for all Australians. The department is responsible for achieving the Government's priorities for population health, aged care and population ageing as well as medical services, primary care, rural health, hearing services and indigenous health. The department administers programs to meet the Government's objectives in health system capacity and quality, mental health, health workforce, acute care, biosecurity and emergency response as well as sport performance and participation. The department supports the Australian community's access to affordable private health services and is responsible for policy on Medicare and the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme.

Australian Medical Council

The Australian Medical Council (AMC) is a national standards body for medical education and training. Its mission is: “To promote and protect public health and safety by ensuring a safe and competent workforce distributed across Australia to meet community needs.”

The AMC assesses the standard of education and training in basic medical courses offered by university-based medical schools and in specialist medical training programs. It accredits programs which meet its accreditation standards. The AMC also assesses international medical graduates to establish if they have the necessary knowledge and clinical competence to practice medicine with safety, in the Australian community.

It also provides advice to Health Ministers on a range of issues including the recognition of new medical specialties; and on matters pertaining to the registration of medical practitioners and the maintenance of professional standards in the medical profession.

Confederation of Postgraduate Medical Education
Councils (CPMEC)

The Confederation of Postgraduate Medical Education Councils (CPMEC) is the peak body for State and Territory Postgraduate Medical Councils (PMCs) or equivalent in Australia, and includes the Education Committee of the Medical Council of New Zealand. CPMEC strives to provide leadership, advocacy, research, and standards in clinical training placements, accreditation, assessment, supervision and professional development of prevocational doctors.

A key role that nearly all CPMEC members play is accreditation of Postgraduate Year 1 (PGY1) internship training positions allowing for general registration with their respective Medical Boards. Increasingly, many PMCs are now also undertaking accreditation beyond PGY1 to cover the first two years of prevocational medical training. In addition, a number of our members are now getting involved with the assessment and up-skilling of International Medical Graduates who laterally enter the medical workforce, and other medical officers who are not part of any vocational college training program.

Committee of Presidents of Medical Colleges
(CPMC)

The Committee of Presidents of Medical Colleges (CPMC) is the unifying organisation of and support structure for the 12 specialist Medical Colleges of Australia. The CPMC seeks to ensure that individual medical specialties have a broad base of intercollegiate knowledge so as to enable them to provide for the Australian community the highest quality of medical care delivered in accordance with accepted clinical principles and to improve, protect and promote the health of the Australian public.

The individual member Colleges are responsible for the determination and maintenance of standards for their respective disciplines and for the training and education of medical specialists in that discipline.

The CPMC is also involved in policy development and, as the peak specialist medical body in Australia, provides objective advice on health issues to Government and the wider community.

Medical Deans Australia and New Zealand

Medical Deans Australia and New Zealand Inc (Medical Deans) is the peak representative body of medical education and medical research in the 20 Australian and New Zealand universities with Medical Schools. Medical Deans also works closely with the Deans of medical schools in Fiji and Papua New Guinea, providing a broad focus to the development of undergraduate medical education in the Australasian region.

Medical Deans is committed to the continual development of professional entry medical education in Australia and New Zealand, leading to medical graduates who are competent, humane, and dedicated to improving the health and well-being of the broader community. The organisation aims to foster communication and relationships amongst the medical schools, government bodies and the medical education and training continuum in order to obtain the highest possible standards in education, clinical training & research.