Can I Keep My IMC Registration While Working in Australia?

Yes. IMC (Medical Council of Ireland) registration and AHPRA registration are entirely independent. There is no requirement to surrender your IMC registration when you register with AHPRA, and Irish GPs working in Australia routinely maintain both simultaneously. As with any decision to let a home-country registration lapse, the question is whether the ongoing cost and obligations are worth preserving your return optionality — for most GPs in their first few years in Australia, they are.

Why keeping IMC registration matters

  • Return optionality — if you decide to return to Irish practice, holding continuous IMC registration is straightforward; letting it lapse and reapplying is significantly more complex and time-consuming
  • European practice rights — IMC registration underpins your right to practise across EU member states; AHPRA does not confer EU practice rights
  • Credential continuity — a gap in IMC registration is visible to any future Irish or European employer and requires explanation

The annual IMC retention fee is modest relative to Australian GP earnings. The cost of reapplying as a lapsed registrant — including the documentation, assessment, and processing time — far exceeds several years of retention fees.

IMC competence assurance while overseas

Ireland operates a competence assurance framework through the Medical Council. Unlike the UK's GMC revalidation (which requires a Responsible Officer and a Designated Body), the IMC framework is based on continuing medical education (CME) credits and professional development activity tracked through your college (ICGP for GPs).

When working overseas, you remain responsible for maintaining your CME requirements as set by ICGP and for engaging with any Medical Council competence assurance process when required. In practice, most Irish GPs working in Australia:

  • Maintain ICGP membership and fulfill CME obligations through online and distance-learning activity
  • Declare their overseas practice status to the Medical Council when required
  • Continue to pay the annual retention fee to remain on the register

The IMC does not require you to have an Irish employer or an Irish-based supervisor to maintain registration while overseas — this is a practical advantage over the UK GMC system, which has more complex revalidation obligations tied to a Responsible Body.

Certificate of Current Professional Status — your AHPRA application needs this

Your AHPRA application requires a Certificate of Current Professional Status (sometimes called a Certificate of Good Standing) from the IMC. This confirms you hold full registration with no current fitness to practise proceedings, conditions, or undertakings.

Request it from the IMC before submitting your AHPRA application. Processing typically takes a few business days. The certificate has a limited validity period, so time your request to coincide with your AHPRA submission — do not request it months in advance.

Annual retention fee

The IMC charges an annual fee to remain on the medical register. The fee applies regardless of where you are practising. Non-payment results in removal from the register, which is reversible but administratively disruptive.

Set up an ongoing payment method before leaving Ireland. If you close Irish bank accounts, ensure you have an alternative payment route — an international card or a retained Irish account — to avoid missing the annual payment.

Voluntary removal from the register

If you are confident you will not return to Irish or European practice, you can apply for voluntary removal from the IMC register. This ends all fees and obligations. Restoration requires a new application assessed under the current registration requirements, which may include additional evidence of fitness to practise and competence depending on how long you have been off the register.

Do not apply for voluntary removal speculatively. Most Irish GPs leave for Australia intending to stay but end up returning within three to seven years. The cost of maintaining registration is low; the cost of unnecessary removal is high.

The IMC and ICGP — two separate memberships

IMC registration (the statutory requirement to practise) and ICGP membership (the professional college) are separate. ICGP membership carries its own annual fee and is the mechanism through which you accumulate CME credits toward the Medical Council's competence assurance requirements. If you want to maintain both your registration and your CME standing while in Australia, you need to manage both.

See also: Is MICGP recognised in Australia? · How long does the CA pathway take? · Working as a GP in Sydney as an Irish Doctor

Source: Medical Council of Ireland — Registration · AHPRA — Registration Requirements