What is the quickest way to finish my moratorium?

A Medical Practitioner who completed their degree outside of Australia or New Zealand, or who was a temporary resident when they enrolled in their Australian Medical Degree will be required to work in a DPA location for a period of 10 years. This is referred to as the 10-year moratorium. 

You can reduce your moratorium by using ‘Scaling’. This can happen in 2 ways—

General Scaling 

This will allow you to reduce your moratorium by up to 5 years by working in rural and remote areas. For example, if you work in an RA 5 location for 5 years, then you will have an exemption for the remaining 5 years. If you work in an RA 4 for 6 years, then you’ll have an exemption for the remaining 4 years.

The 5-year Overseas Trained Doctors Scheme

You can reduce your moratorium to as little as 3 years under this program. It is administered by the Rural Workforce Agencies in each state and each state has different criteria and applications. The basic criteria is that you’ll have completed Fellowship within 2 years of commencement of the program, and remain working in that location for the duration of the placement. Locations must be within MM 3 – 7. 

Read more about the eligibility criteria and how to reduce your moratorium here on our Reducing your 10-Year Moratorium blog.

Note: The information presented above has been gathered from AHPRA web pages and has been updated as of 16.06.2023.

References:

• Department of Health – 10-year moratorium and scaling
• Department of Health – Section 19AB exemptions 
• Department of Health – Five Year International Medical Graduate (IMG) Recruitment Scheme Guidelines – Feb 2023

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