Ask early, ask for a strong reference, and give them the deadline. Queensland's referee reports for the 2027 year were due 30 August 2026, two months after applications closed 1; SA's were due 8 July and an incomplete report makes you ineligible 2. Then chase by phone, not email.
Know the deadline before you ask. In the 2026 campaigns for the 2027 clinical year, Queensland applications closed 29 June with referee reports not due until 30 August 1, South Australia's expressions of interest closed 1 July with referee reports due 8 July and incomplete reports rendering the applicant ineligible 2, and NSW does its referee checks only after you are invited to interview 3. Victoria's match wants referees who supervised you within the last 12 months, and no more than 24 4.
Check they are eligible before you ask. RANZCO requires a referee to have observed you at least twice a week for at least ten weeks, and then randomly selects which of your nominees it actually contacts 5. Dermatology requires all six nominated referees to be acquainted with your work within the last two years, chooses itself which one to ring, and the privacy consent you sign lets the College contact anyone you have worked with, nominated or not 6. You are not curating a panel; you are declaring one.
Ask the right question. The line the sub converges on is to ask whether they can give a strong reference, not whether they will be a referee 7 — the second question gets a polite yes from people who will then damn you with faint praise. Ask in person, give the deadline, offer to send your CV and the form, and make declining easy 8.
Then chase properly. Call or see them; do not send a second email 8. A consultant who said yes has accepted the obligation, and your job depends on ten minutes of theirs 8. Thank them afterwards whatever the outcome 9.
The counter-argument. Some seniors think asking a referee how they would score you is close to a bribe 7. Others offer references unprompted precisely because the annual begging round is degrading 10. Read the person.
r/ausjdocs — community view, not policy; verbatim, cautionary beside positive where both exist, every quote linked to the comment.
Come on, this is possibly the worst way to ask for a referee. It's akin to a bribe.
I just ask directly if they feel comfortable giving a strong reference in the first place. NB not a reference, but a strong reference.
The best way to approach a referee is the most difficult way: ask them whether they'd support you
I offer my juniors references so they don't have to ask.
Remember to thank all your referees after you hear the outcome, regardless of the outcome itself.
Give a clear deadline, an offer of assistance, a convenient way to decline, and gratitude.
Asked 10 times on r/ausjdocs (title-regex count) · encoded by hand from the numbered sources, retrieved 12 Sept 2026; no AI wrote any of it. how the count was made
asked_count = posts in r_ausjdocs_posts.jsonl (19,145 posts, 2022-09-13 to 2026-09-12) whose title matches /(ask|approach|request).{0,30}(refere|reference)|refere+.{0,25}(ask|approach|etiquette)/i. Quotes are the highest-scoring comments across the asking-for-references threads, including the direct disagreement about whether asking how a referee would score you is acceptable.