Same two-door structure as palliative: BPT plus both divisional exams, or a fellowship from RACP, ACEM, ANZCA, CICM, ACRRM, RANZCP, RACGP or RNZCGP — the majority of trainees are GP background.
Typical start years; people vary by a year or two. Diamonds are exams. Stage list and sources in the pathway tab.
The softest entry on this list for anyone already eligible: no competitive national selection, no chapter exam, strong consultant job prospects outside metro. Ratings are the encoder's 1–5 call from college numbers and r/ausjdocs; applicant-to-place ratios double-count people who apply in several states. Evidence rows are in getting selected.
36 months FTE (at least 18 core), no addiction-specific exam, assessment entirely work-based with a Public Health Workbook; RPL must be applied for within 3 months of entry. Roughly 160 fellows nationally, no competitive national selection, and 'one of the few specialties with a genuine shortage of consultants nationwide'. The alternative door is addiction psychiatry inside the RANZCP program. Take a D&A/AOD registrar job early: they are plentiful and reveal fast whether the work suits you.
As a fellow addiction med AT this sums up my experiences perfectly. I'm also taking a break from training, but still enjoy the complexity the work can bring. Just seconding this comment!
Addiction Medicine seems great for lifestyle
In reality it is a tough gig, have to really want to do it. Feel free to PM me
Chronic pain is an option. But may I suggest addiction medicine. Satisfying work with astronomical need public and private which huge comorbidty and brief health interventions which would dovetail your FACEM skills.
All 15 curated quotes by topic, trajectories and threads.
racp.edu.au for the facts and summary, read 12 Sept 2026 · rating and pathway encoded by hand from the same sources · quotes are verbatim r/ausjdocs comments, community view not policy
Term advice: nothing encoded yet — not published.
Stages: racp.edu.au, reddit.com · terms: r/ausjdocs term-strategy collection, counted by distinct author, community view not policy
"Mandatory" is the college's word. Amber "community" rows are what the sub says panels actually want.
RACP prospective approval deadlines 28 Feb / 31 Aug.
'Drug Health Services Registrar' / 'Drug and Alcohol Registrar' (LHD wording) via jobs.health.nsw.gov.au and the JMO main round.
Eastern Health and Western Health (Footscray/Sunshine) advertise 'Addiction Medicine Registrar' posts explicitly badged as AChAM trainee positions, Aug-Oct for a February start.
Employer ad URLs not captured; advertised via Victorian health services, Seek and Workforce Australia.
Dates drift a week or two each year; the calendar has confirmed vs expected windows.
No competitive national selection and no chapter exam; gate is the parent fellowship or BPT + both exams; employer-set recruitment.
Requirements and rubric: racp.edu.au · state mechanics: racp.edu.au, health.nsw.gov.au · community rows from r/ausjdocs
"Cost to get on" is a name-based pick of the one-off fees paid before or at selection. The college schedule is a lifetime-of-training list at each item's own year, not one bill; community amounts overlap it and are never summed. Courses, travel and repeat sittings are the part the sub complains about.
Exams and fees: racp.edu.au, medicalboard.gov.au · claims, prep and costs quoted: r/ausjdocs exams-and-costs collection, community view not policy · paid prep products need three independent non-suspect authors and a free alternative to appear
Scored by the Addiction medicine rules — whether or not the title names the specialty — highest first, closing soonest next.
Faded bars are expected, not confirmed. Full detail on the calendar.
Jobs: last night's scrape, scored by hand-written rules (no AI) · units and offer reports: r/ausjdocs, counted by distinct author · campaign windows: canberrahealthservices.act.gov.au, health.nsw.gov.au, healthjobs.nt.gov.au +4
Verbatim, one caution beside one encouragement per topic where both exist, the rest folded. Every quote links to the comment.
Im a current trainee. Background as a GP (FRACGP) but I did a lot of AOD work within my GP work so this year I took the plunge and started AT. It is one of the specialties that has a prior fellowship pathway so don’t need BPT (for now).
Psychiatry has the addiction psychiatry subspecialty, which you can enter into via advanced training. It overlaps quite a lot with the addiction medicine physician program and I know a few psychiatrists that are dual accredited because there is some recognition of prior learning. Addiction is an interesting hybrid area…
Addiction medicine and addiction psychiatry are two closely related specialities which look at slightly different issues of addiction with good enough common issues. But there is a difference.
To add a few Mental Health Occupational Medicine AMS/NACCHO Prison Health Urgent Care Academic Medicine Travel Medicine/Yellow Fever You can also go retrain and go directly into AT in Palliative Care Medicine and Addiction Medicine with RACP if you are already a FRACGP These are probably not as sexy as the other…
[2 pathways of entry into Advanced Training in Palliative Medicine or Addiction Medicine.](https://www.racp.edu.au/trainees/advanced-training/palliative-medicine)
It is a subspecialty under psychiatry, there is a 2 year advanced training certificate in addiction
If you want to deal with the complex mental health issues that often coexist with substance misuse disorders, then become a psychiatrist that subspecialises in addiction medicine. This is particularly useful in private rehab or psych facilities to have a dual-trained psychiatrist and addiction medicine physician. If…
Dual training is not particularly uncommon. GPs can enter other Fellowship programs. The common ones I've seen are Palliative care, addiction medicine and dermatology.
Agree with other comments here. It’s a small field at the intersection of psychiatry and general medicine. Good mix of pharmacology, mental health, chronic disease. Colleagues are generally good to work with, with less “type A’s” than other specialities and some very compassionate/laid back people. Scope is…
Addiction Medicine seems great for lifestyle
I'm not in the field, however, Addiction Medicine involves whole-of-person care. The specialists I've met are GPs who love the patients, the med/psych aspect as well as variety (GP + hospital -based) in work week.
As a fellow addiction med AT this sums up my experiences perfectly. I'm also taking a break from training, but still enjoy the complexity the work can bring. Just seconding this comment!
In reality it is a tough gig, have to really want to do it. Feel free to PM me
Chronic pain is an option. But may I suggest addiction medicine. Satisfying work with astronomical need public and private which huge comorbidty and brief health interventions which would dovetail your FACEM skills.
Welcome we need more!
r/ausjdocs comments and posts, hand-curated from the addiction collection; scores as at the dump · community view, not policy
Knowledge rows last loaded 13 Sept 2026, encoded by hand from the sources linked on each panel; no AI wrote any of it. Compare specialties · calendar · all guides.