The highest entry bar in the country and the lowest offer rate (48 -> 8, 16.7%, for 2026).
Typical start years; people vary by a year or two. Diamonds are exams. Stage list and sources in the pathway tab.
6-9 appointed nationally per year; lowest offer rate of the nine; an operative logbook gate that can only be built in a CT unit. 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.
You need 12 months of cardiothoracic in >=6-month blocks at PGY3+ covering cardiac AND thoracic, 12 months of non-CT terms, a verified operative logbook (10 chest drains; secondary sources add 50 conduits incl. 10 radial harvests), EMST and CCrISP before you apply. Scoring is multiplicative: (CV 20 + unit-based competency assessment 20 + interview 60) x a referee percentage from two referees drawn at random. Three attempts; 6-year program.
I was a cardiothoracic registrar on this unit and had the pleasure of working with artyom. … He was a registrar in Armenia but came to Australia to seek a better life. … He finally joined as a registrar in 2025 with the intention of getting onto the SET program and becoming a pediatric heart surgeon.
I work in a surg-adjacent reg role at RHH, and the Cardiothoracics team there works so damn hard. They're under the pump all the time and having to provide consulting services at peripheral hospitals in the north just adds to their workload.
All 5 curated quotes by topic, trajectories and threads.
surgeons.org for the facts and summary · rating and pathway encoded by hand from the same sources · quotes are verbatim r/ausjdocs comments, community view not policy
Number = distinct authors who said it; dashed chips are single reports (under three authors). Hover or long-press a chip for the why.
Stages: surgeons.org, ausdoc.com.au · 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.
Only the chest-drain figure is confirmed from the regulations; the other logbook minimums are from secondary sources.
Society-set SET fees are not published centrally by RACS; scrape each society annually.
Canberra Health Services campaign May 2026 - Feb 2027; most registrar and unaccredited registrar positions opened 29 Jun and closed 2 Aug 2026; RMO and Service SRMO 31 Aug - 27 Sep. CHS publishes standalone PDs per role that disclose unit composition. Cardiothoracic unaccredited lines are scarce: WA SSR (FSH, SCGH), SALHN Flinders Cardiothoracic Service Registrar ('at least 6 months prior CT experience at PGY3 level and above'), NSW Trainee-Unaccredited Cardiothoracic ($89,095-$139,187), RMH unaccredited thoracic.
SET selection is national (college). Feeder jobs (SRMO, Trainee-Unaccredited Position PGY4+) sit in the NSW Health Annual Medical Recruitment main round on the JMO Career Portal, but the LHD/unit selects - no surgical specialty is a statewide centralised panel. HETI's six Surgical Skills Training Networks list PreSET jobs in the same campaign. SRMO is paid at Resident award rates; Trainee-Unaccredited at Registrar rates. Cardiothoracic unaccredited lines are scarce: WA SSR (FSH, SCGH), SALHN Flinders Cardiothoracic Service Registrar ('at least 6 months prior CT experience at PGY3 level and above'), NSW Trainee-Unaccredited Cardiothoracic ($89,095-$139,187), RMH unaccredited thoracic.
Separate Top End and Central Australia campaigns (~1-28 Jun 2026) via jobs.nt.gov.au. Registrar contracts must start 1 Feb or 31 Aug - a formal mid-year entry point. Cardiothoracic unaccredited lines are scarce: WA SSR (FSH, SCGH), SALHN Flinders Cardiothoracic Service Registrar ('at least 6 months prior CT experience at PGY3 level and above'), NSW Trainee-Unaccredited Cardiothoracic ($89,095-$139,187), RMH unaccredited thoracic.
NT dates triangulated from secondary aggregators; verify on jobs.nt.gov.au.
SET selection is national (college). One RMO & Registrar Campaign covers registrars, PHOs (QLD's unaccredited-registrar grade, L4-L7), SHOs and JHOs. Round 1 = registrars + PHOs; Round 2 = SHO/JHO; Round 3 open round for remaining vacancies from 9 Nov. QLD also centrally allocates SET1 PHO posts in General Surgery and Plastics inside the campaign. Late applications are not accepted. HHS-level ads also run on SmartJobs outside the window. Cardiothoracic unaccredited lines are scarce: WA SSR (FSH, SCGH), SALHN Flinders Cardiothoracic Service Registrar ('at least 6 months prior CT experience at PGY3 level and above'), NSW Trainee-Unaccredited Cardiothoracic ($89,095-$139,187), RMH unaccredited thoracic.
SET selection is national (college). SA MET centralised PGY2+ EOI (up to 4 program preferences). The Surgical Resident Medical Officer program (PGY2+, up to 3 years, 83 posts: CALHN 50, SALHN 25, NALHN 8) is purpose-built with rotations 'designed to provide the mandatory requirements for SET entry'. Registrar-grade unaccredited roles are advertised individually as Service Registrar / Senior Service Registrar (MDP2) on careers.sahealth.sa.gov.au. Cardiothoracic unaccredited lines are scarce: WA SSR (FSH, SCGH), SALHN Flinders Cardiothoracic Service Registrar ('at least 6 months prior CT experience at PGY3 level and above'), NSW Trainee-Unaccredited Cardiothoracic ($89,095-$139,187), RMH unaccredited thoracic.
Statewide RMO application for resident-level roles; registrar-level 'Doctors in Training Recruitment Campaign 2027' roles advertised individually with rolling Aug-Sep closes. Clinical year starts 11 Jan 2027. Tasmanian orthopaedic unaccredited posts (RHH, LGH) go through the Victorian PMCV match. Cardiothoracic unaccredited lines are scarce: WA SSR (FSH, SCGH), SALHN Flinders Cardiothoracic Service Registrar ('at least 6 months prior CT experience at PGY3 level and above'), NSW Trainee-Unaccredited Cardiothoracic ($89,095-$139,187), RMH unaccredited thoracic.
SET selection is national (college). Feeder jobs: PGY2 HMO2 via the PMCV PGY2 Match (some competitive surgical HMO2 roles sit outside the match and are managed directly by health services); HMO3+ and unaccredited registrar roles direct to each health service. Only orthopaedics has a centralised unaccredited-registrar match; everything else is direct. Cardiothoracic unaccredited lines are scarce: WA SSR (FSH, SCGH), SALHN Flinders Cardiothoracic Service Registrar ('at least 6 months prior CT experience at PGY3 level and above'), NSW Trainee-Unaccredited Cardiothoracic ($89,095-$139,187), RMH unaccredited thoracic.
SET selection is national (college). WA runs the cleanest unaccredited-surgical mechanism in the country: the Service Surgical Registrar (SSR) centralised recruitment - 'ONE application to cover THREE site and specialty preferences', self-described as 'ideal for doctors aspiring to enter surgical training'. Salary ~$155,932-$208,619, 1 Feb 2027 start. Separate RMO/SMR centralised round for resident-level jobs. Cardiothoracic unaccredited lines are scarce: WA SSR (FSH, SCGH), SALHN Flinders Cardiothoracic Service Registrar ('at least 6 months prior CT experience at PGY3 level and above'), NSW Trainee-Unaccredited Cardiothoracic ($89,095-$139,187), RMH unaccredited thoracic.
Dates drift a week or two each year; the calendar has confirmed vs expected windows.
Requirements and rubric: surgeons.org · state mechanics: canberrahealthservices.act.gov.au, health.nsw.gov.au, jobs.nt.gov.au +5 · community rows from r/ausjdocs
Dots are sittings the college has dated; "approx." means only a month was published.
Hollow dots are hearsay — the poster was not citing a figure. A bar spans the components or years quoted; hover for the exact words.
"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: surgeons.org, reddit.com, 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 Cardiothoracic Surgery 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.
I was a cardiothoracic registrar on this unit and had the pleasure of working with artyom. … He was a registrar in Armenia but came to Australia to seek a better life. … He finally joined as a registrar in 2025 with the intention of getting onto the SET program and becoming a pediatric heart surgeon.
I work in a surg-adjacent reg role at RHH, and the Cardiothoracics team there works so damn hard. They're under the pump all the time and having to provide consulting services at peripheral hospitals in the north just adds to their workload.
Otherwise, in terms of escalation, just make sure your concerns are in writing and sent to the college … It does happen. RPA Cardiothoracics and Westmead ICU
Two of my friends tried to get into cardiothoracic. Both failed. One has people skills so she “reverted back to anaesthetics” … and she is now in her 4th year of training. The second has zero people skills … so he is now a pathologist.
Also heard a horror story about a guy who knows a guy who couldn't get onto CT by like PGY10 and “settled” for ortho and got on lol
r/ausjdocs comments and posts, hand-curated from the surgery 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.