One national ACD process delivered through five State Faculties (NSW, VIC, QLD, SA, WA) plus an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander pathway.
Typical start years; people vary by a year or two. Diamonds are exams. Stage list and sources in the pathway tab.
Fewest places of any mainstream program and falling. 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.
Applications open February, close early April, MMIs are held in person in Sydney in August, offers in October. The CV has six named categories but no published weights, points or rubric of any kind — the only numbers ever disclosed are 2017 multipliers via the AMC. Entry numbers have more than halved (39 in 2023 to 18 FTE + 2 PTE in 2026; WA took zero for two straight years). The real gate is a dermatology research fellow year, which selects on the same six criteria one year earlier. No attempt cap since 2019.
They took one trainee last year in WA. One. Do West Australians not have skin?
GP special interest derm is faster and the pay is insanely good if you stick to the skin cancer stuff
Artificial scarcity. Any other sector and the ACCC would be onto them for anti-competitive behaviour.
That’s malarkey. They’re PGY 2. Derm is competitive but it’s not *that* bad.
All 67 curated quotes by topic, trajectories and threads.
dermcoll.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
Number = distinct authors who said it; dashed chips are single reports (under three authors). Hover or long-press a chip for the why.
Stages: dermcoll.edu.au, skinhealthinstitute.org.au, reddit.com +1 · 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.
ACD weights unpublished; 2017 multipliers are second-hand via the AMC and the category set has since changed.
ACD weights unpublished.
ACD weights unpublished; AMC recorded a 2017 multiplier of x1.5 for the whole category.
Designated Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander training position funded via the Commonwealth STP: 1 FTE in each of 2022-2025, 0 in 2026. Written Confirmation of Aboriginality from an incorporated corporation required; must be willing to train in any faculty state; AMC states selection standards are comparable between streams.
Nationally standardised assessment (each written application scored by a minimum of four Fellows in a faculty role, same-state assessors avoided), state-based allocation: applicants ranked per Faculty, matched against preferences; State Faculty chairs meet in conference to agree final offers. Five stages: applications → CV/reference assessment → shortlisting → MMI → final allocation. Feedback: 'limited feedback… upon written request' only; 'The College does not provide advice on areas for improvement'.
'Late July' and 'typically October' are approximate; dates shown as month-end/month-start placeholders.
8 FTE places in 2026 — the most of any Faculty. 'Dermatology Senior Resident Medical Officer' is a named specialty in the NSW state campaign, main round only. The Skin Hospital / Skin & Cancer Foundation Australia (Darlinghurst) runs a Dermatology Research Fellow (clinical trials sub-investigator) and privately funds training positions. Trainees appointed via college allocation, not the campaign.
3 FTE + 1 PTE in 2026. Applicants must also apply via the Queensland RMO campaign (1-29 June) listing Dermatology as primary preference. Medi-Nav: 24 eligible applications, 6 selected.
1 FTE + 1 PTE in 2026; SA includes rotations to Darwin (NT has no Faculty positions of its own).
6 FTE in 2026. The pipeline is the Skin Health Institute (Carlton) 'Melbourne Pathology Research Fellow' x3 (Trials, Education/Transplant, Occupational Dermatology/ODREC) — applications by email to rnixon@skinhealthinstitute.org.au, due midnight Friday 7 August, interviews Monday 24 August evening — and Alfred's 'Fellow - Dermatology Clinical and Trials' (0.37 EFT, 'ideally combined with a VMS Registrar position'). Barwon Health advertises a regional Dermatology Unaccredited Registrar.
Zero entry positions in 2025 and 2026. Choose your state preference on where places exist.
Dates drift a week or two each year; the calendar has confirmed vs expected windows.
Weightings NOT PUBLISHED. 'The overall ranking of an Applicant is determined by the combined score of the assessment of the Applicant's CV and the score in the Structured Interview Assessment' — no points, no percentages, no rubric anywhere public. Six referees in three tiers (2 peers, 2 supervisors, 2 nursing/paramedical); telephone/verbal checks on shortlisted applicants only; no written reports or testimonials; no scored weight published.
Requirements and rubric: dermcoll.edu.au · state mechanics: dermcoll.edu.au, health.nsw.gov.au, nqrth.edu.au +1 · community rows from r/ausjdocs
Dots are sittings the college has dated; "approx." means only a month was published.
"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: dermcoll.edu.au, 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 Dermatology rules — whether or not the title names the specialty — highest first, closing soonest next.
Faded bars are expected, not confirmed. Only 1 dated offer reports mention Dermatology, too few for a chart. 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.
They took one trainee last year in WA. One. Do West Australians not have skin?
That’s malarkey. They’re PGY 2. Derm is competitive but it’s not *that* bad.
Artificial scarcity. Any other sector and the ACCC would be onto them for anti-competitive behaviour.
Have been told anecdotally by people in the field that, despite its reputation, if you grind, check the boxes and do the right things for the right people, it’s more of a when you’ll get on rather than if.
Classic survivorship bias I reckon
My wife is a derm reg and knowing a lot about what goes on with her cohort this is 100% the case. Its not as hard as people think and if you show interest early and put in the work you will be fine
At this point, it just looks like they're waiting to admit overseas specialists rather than train their own. I know the demand exists, so thats the only way theyre going to fill it.
Couldn't be more wrong, they're pulling out all the stops getting creative with supervision arrangements to permit more training places and are admitting IMGs regularly.
restart life with a parent in derm
Derm is competitive but it's not that insanely competitive. GPs also apply for and do Derm after building up some cv stuff so you aren't late. Is it the most optimal?
Derm is one of if not the highest paid specs. Due to artificial supply restrictions by the college, it is probably more competitive than cardio and gastro.
This is an old tale. Like 1 out of 20 regs in my state have a derm parent
I think this gives people false hope. It absolutely is as hard as it seems. The people who actually get on usually have a skewed view regarding HOW they actually got on.
Literally 1 current trainee out of like 20 have a derm family member.
Serious flare or not, if you're going into it for the money, you're going about it wrong. You practice the medicine earnestly and the billings follow.
Community involvement means you were born into the dermatologist community where your parents are esteemed member. /s
Competitive but so are most surgical subspecialties, ophthalmology , etc etc these days. Take the following as speculation and with a grain of salt as OP not involved in selection.
Almost impossible. They take single digit applicants each year and are incredibly opaque on how they judge them. Expect to do many years of HQ top-tier research, significant brown-nosing and making sure you were born with a derm as a parent.
There are no “artificial supply restrictions imposed by College”. Look at the Skin Hospitals in NSW and the Skin and Cancer Foundations in other States.
Up there amongst the most competitive specialties. Harder than some surgical ones
129 trainees nationwide so about 30 accepted per year. But does vary slightly year to year.
Biggest artificial scarcity in medicine. There could be 5x as many dermatologists in Australia. GPs are doing 90% of the skin work while derm gets to scoop off the cream of the crop and command the high gap fees.
Most people would get in after PGY5. This year was exceptional because it was such a large intake, the largest in the history of the program in fact.
It's very hard. As per the college's own report, there are only about 100 trainees at any one time. The joke is that most of those are relatives of the Fellows.
You will be competing against people who have been specifically honing their resume and career around getting into dermatology for years. All the competitive subspecialilties are like this.
Derm competitiveness is NOT comparable to gastro/cardio which is a walk in the park compared to derm.
As long as you show some interest, Psych is almost guaranteed entry after PGY1 (if you can get the right rotations) or PGY2. Derm is almost impossible to get into unless you have been gunning for it since med school.
There’s like one or two trainees per year. Almost impossible to get in unless you know the right people.
Something to consider is length of training and dedication required. As an above poster put it, getting onto Derm is extremely competitive. For example, at my hospital there is a single accredited derm Reg who has just recently gotten on to the program.
These are very different specialties and it's more important that you enjoy the work rather than worrying about which one pays more. Psychiatrists, particularly those in public hospitals, work with a different patient cohort than what you would see in a private dermatology clinic.
Just looking at the college website, as of 2023, there are 28 FTE training positions nation wide. Each year only a small number of those become available as fourth year registrars finish their training.
Not going to say too much as like many others asking the same questions every so often, this post is likely to be deleted because you don’t like the answers or you got the answers you came for.
I looked into this (GP reg currently on parental leave) and spoke to a few derms including former GP derms and decided personally for me- no it wasn’t worth it.
Agree, knew someone who only really committed to derm around intern year. Got on the program pgy3 to start training pgy4. It may not be common, but is still doable
The thing is, it's not that it will likely be a "dealbreaker" but that the calibre of applicants is insane. If youre close enough with a reg maybe ask them to show you their cv if theyre willing.
Certain centres are known for fostering interested juniors and have consultants who take on research fellows as mentees. They'll explain what is that you need to do, direct research opportunities your way, review your papers, etc.
For a lot of specialists training selection, most candidates are "over- prepared" with more on their CV, eg publications (i had two in major journals), high profile professors as my referees, and extra-curricular activities.
Fam I failed my final year osces and had to repeat and I got into dermatology-which people feel is a relatively difficult speciality to get onto
Not a dermatologist. Currently a GP registrar In the GP land, the number of times I have to refer to a retiring dermatologist’s child who would be taking over the practice, indicate to me there is a strong component of family history - something I do not observe as often in any other specialties I have to refer to.
observe and help out in clinics when time permits, volunteer to scribe, send referrals, chase results -be nice, team player, recognise your limits as a student, don't overstep on other toes
100% they check
Talk to derm consultants, registrars and send them your CV for review and feedback. They would know more about training capacity in your state (may be a low selection year) and be able to give you more specific advice.
It’s a completely separate pathway. No BPT requirement, though a few people do BPT before getting on the program.
Not worth it, If that is your income and you could see yourself doing gp in the long term. I have seen a few gps retrained into derm. Some got in and some still trying.
Do the smart thing and start pathology training, pass the first exam then apply for derm showing you have the path down already 🤣🤣
I think alot of people go and work for the "famous" derm research gurus for a few years (usually unpaid to try and get research under their belt and references), then get into the dermatology.
No, you don't. But if you do top your cohort that is obviously looked upon very favourably. No, we don't all have PhDs, and in fact most people would not.
When it comes to close knit communities like derm, you're better off finding a well known dermatologist associated with your medical school and having a casual chat.
Can you give more information? Obviously if you are PGY-12 and have worked for every dermatologist in your state and aren't getting on there is a problem and you should look for alternatives.
It's going to sound very lame, but being exceptional at my job. Going above and beyond to impress my consultants/mentors. Being reliable and available, even after hours.
3rd year derm reg. 3 common pathways to Derm training. 1, Research eg MPhil and then PHO position (most common way) 2. BPT training, and 3. GP training
None - Masters as a Tickbox exercise is unlikely to set you apart from all the BPTs who are trying to jump ship to Derm. You are way better off cold calling HOD or trainees or fellow to get a research project and then suck up to the fellow to get into a clinic for experience.
Do GP w/ derm SI first and use that as clout to get onto derm.
Ours will be between 10-14 k this coming year
I make around $500k/year working 30 hours a week
This depends upon what state you work in and what job you are doing. It would probably range from 130k - 170k. In Victoria, this is highly dependent on the amount of on call you do and the number of calls you receive.
Not sure about the retraining. But i spoke to a skin specialised GP the other day (she’s in her late 30’s and completed a masters in skin). She said she, allegedly, earns 2-3 times more than what a regular GP makes (600-800k).
Roughly 250k for each day of week worked. Much higher if procedural/Mohs or cosmetic. Most derms work part time with a day or 2 for admin
I’m a Derm reg. That’s pre tax not gross billing. A full time Derm making only 700k is doing something very wrong
What advice are you after? Special interest skin GP = dermatology? It’s not. You get skin checks, excisions, cosmetics. You don’t get biologics, complex inflammatory/bullous disease, dermpath at that level, or day-to-day proximity to consultant dermatologists.
GP special interest derm is faster and the pay is insanely good if you stick to the skin cancer stuff
There is very little a specialist interest gp can’t do compared with a Dermatologist. The main things are access to restricted drugs Roccutane in some states and biologics.
I think this could be true for malignant lesions but that is not true inflammatory/medical dermatology. Derms on average hands down know more about bullous dermatoses, dermatopathology, systemic immunosuppression, etc.
The sheer case load of skin cancers in this country means the there is no way dermatology/plastic surgery could manage all of them. Also rural areas (often where disease burden is very high) are underserved by these specialties, and GPs fill this gap.
Thank you. Not the first try. Seems one has to know the right people and be in right place right time. i don't want to waste more years when its never going to happen
Program Interviews were only held last week and I believe that formal offers for the program will be out mid October. I know some health services won’t offer unaccredited interviews until the program jobs are announced (as this can significantly affect the amount of movement in the unaccredited space) and they don’t…
They are known to call up non referees eg ward clerks from past junior doctor rotations Repeating a year is not a deal breaker, but a good reason eg hardship, would help
r/ausjdocs comments and posts, hand-curated from the dermatology 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.