Elevation to Fellowship

The trainee becomes eligible to apply for Fellowship upon completion of all training and program requirements.

Elevation to Fellowship

A trainee is eligible to apply for Fellowship once all outstanding invoices have been paid and the following requirements have been satisfactorily completed:

At least 184 weeks of credited Basic Training (including rural, tertiary base, non-base requirements being met)
At least 66 weeks of credited Advanced Training
All assessment requirements (with the exception of Advanced Training Pathway requirements and Acquire CET Part 1 online module)

Apply

1. Trainee contacts FRANZCOG training team

Once the eligibility criteria are fulfilled you can contact the FRANZCOG training team via training@ranzcog.edu.au to request application.

Deadline for requesting applications

1 February
1 June
1 October

You will then be sent an application form for completion summarising your training history and confirming all training requirements are met.

Deadline for submitting applications

8 February
8 June
8 October

Please submit your application to training@ranzcog.edu.au.

2. Training Audit is sent to trainee for verification

A confirmed training audit is sent to trainee.

Trainees are asked to confirm that all details on application form are correct, or if corrections are required, a revised form prepared and returned to the trainee for signing. Elevation to Fellowship date is agreed and confirmed by trainee.

3. Trainee sends signed pre-board application statement

Trainees will be emailed the Audit and Pre-Board Declaration. Once completed and signed, please send to FRANZCOG training team training@ranzcog.edu.au.

4. Application ratification by TAC and consideration by Board

Your confirmed application is reviewed and endorsed by your State/Territory TAC and RANZCOG TAC, and then sent to the RANZCOG Board recommending elevation to Fellowship.

5. Application approved

Following Board approval, you will be notified of the outcome of your application and instructions for next steps.

Please note that eligibility to apply for Fellowship and Board approval do not equate to elevation.

Post approval

Following application approval, the trainee is required to:

Satisfactorily complete 146 weeks Basic Training and 96 weeks Advanced Training (if applicable) including approval of the final Six-Monthly Summative Assessment by the relevant State/Territory/NZ TAC chair
Contact the FRANZCOG Training Team to arrange chair review of online training documentation
Sign RANZCOG post-Board Fellowship declaration
Pay elevation to Fellowship fee (as invoiced by RANZCOG Finance Department upon confirmation of Board approved elevation)
Pay all outstanding invoices
Complete mandatory Trainee Exit Survey

Please note that applicants for elevation to Fellowship must complete all administrative requirements within six months of the Fellowship elevation date, or the date of the Board meeting at which their application for elevation to Fellowship is approved, whichever is the latter.

Otherwise, the offer of Fellowship will lapse and an additional application will need to be made. More information can be found in the RANZCOG Regulations (see Sections B11.2 and C11.2).

If you are a FRANZCOG trainee with a paper based logbook or a subspecialty trainee please contact training@ranzcog.edu.au for more requirements.

Trainees will be sent the FRANZCOG certificate upon satisfactory completion of all outstanding requirements. Certificates cannot be sent prior to the Board-approved Fellowship date.

Medicare (Australian Fellows) and the Medical Council of New Zealand (New Zealand Fellows) are notified of the trainee’s elevation date to Fellowship.

For Australian trainees, the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA) is notified of the trainee’s elevation date to Fellowship.

Frequently asked questions

Before applying

When am I eligible to apply?

To be eligible to apply for elevation, you must have:

Confirmed that you meet eligibility requirements
Completed at least 184 weeks of credited Basic Training
Completed at least 66 weeks of credited Advanced Training (including satisfactory approval of all six-monthly assessments contributing to this time)
Completed all assessment requirements (apart from any due ‘Prior to Fellowship’ in the requirement summary)
Paid all outstanding fees

How do I apply?

Once you have completed all necessary requirements, you can request an Elevation to Fellowship Application Form from the RANZCOG Training Team by email: training@ranzcog.edu.au

What is the elevation process?

Request an Elevation to Fellowship Application Form from the FRANZCOG Training Team by email: training@ranzcog.edu.au
Submit your completed Elevation to Fellowship Application Form to the FRANZCOG Training Team.
FRANZCOG Training Team undertakes an audit of your training records, time in training and extended leave.
FRANZCOG Training Team provides you with the training audit (including an estimated Fellowship date) and pre-Board declaration.
Return your signed audit and pre-Board declaration.
Training Accreditation Committee (TAC) reviews and endorses your application at their next meeting; RANZCOG Board reviews and ratifies applications (March, July and November).
FRANZCOG Training Team provides you with an application outcome and outlines the requirements you must complete prior to elevation to Fellowship (including payment of the associated fee).
Complete all outstanding training requirements (including the mandatory Six-Monthly Trainee Feedback Survey and Trainee Exit Survey).
FRANZCOG Training Team completes the administration process, provides your Fellowship certificate, and notifies Medicare/AHPRA or MCNZ.

What are the deadlines to request an application form?

Please request and submit your Elevation to Fellowship Application Form by email: training@ranzcog.edu.au.

Deadlines to request an application form are as follows:

March

Request form by: 1 February

Submit form by: 8 February

July

Request form by: 1 June

Submit form by: 8 June

November

Request form by: 1 October

Submit form by: 8 October

Please note that there is some flexibility around these deadlines for requesting forms (if the College is aware that a six-monthly approval is pending sign-off) and submitting forms (until all audits have been completed).

What do I need to know about six-monthly assessments?

The six-monthly assessment process is as follows:

Trainee initiates the six-monthly assessment
Training supervisor sends out consultant feedback forms
Training supervisor meets with trainee to discuss feedback
Trainee and training supervisor sign off the six-monthly assessment
Relevant State/Territory/Aotearoa New Zealand office reviews six-monthly assessment
Relevant Chair/Deputy Chair reviews and approves six-monthly assessment (if satisfactory)
Time in training credited (if satisfactory)

As outlined above, time in training is credited following satisfactory completion of a six-monthly assessment. To be eligible to apply for elevation, you must have completed: at least 184 weeks of credited Basic Training, and; at least 66 weeks of credited Advanced Training.

As a result, your credited time in training can be impacted by:

Six-monthly assessments marked as not satisfactory
Time in training deductions due to late six-monthly assessment submissions

Deadlines for six-monthly assessment are the same throughout your training, so you can expect a similar turnaround time for time in training to be credited, regardless of whether you intend to apply for elevation.

As outlined above, six-monthly assessments are managed by your local RANZCOG office in Australia or Aotearoa New Zealand, and are approved by the relevant State Chair/Deputy Chair.

What if I started training with a paper logbook?

If you started training before 2016 with a paper logbook, you need to:

Complete a Certificate of Satisfactory Completion of Training (CSCT) to consolidate your paper-based and online training
Submit your completed CSCT to the relevant Training Assessment Committee (TAC) Chair for review and sign-off

After applying

How often are applications reviewed?

Elevation to Fellowship applications are reviewed three times per year, at meetings of the Training Accreditation Committee (TAC) and RANZCOG Board, which occur in March, July and November.

This review schedule also takes into account the six-monthly assessment process, whereby time in training is credited as follows:

Semester 1: credited in February to March
Semester 2: credited in August to September

How can I expedite my elevation to Fellowship?

Check My.RANZCOG to ensure that your approved leave is correct and has been tallied accurately to reflect your approved time in training.
Complete and submit six-monthly assessments prior to the deadline.
Complete all other outstanding requirements within designated timeframes (including those with deadline extensions) prior to elevation.
Ask your training supervisor to bring forward the consultant feedback deadline.
Ask your local RANZCOG office in Australia or Aotearoa New Zealand to prioritise review of your six-monthly assessment with the relevant Training Accreditation Committee (TAC).

What does the audit process involve?

The RANZCOG Training Team usually takes between two and four hours per trainee to conduct a full training history audit (approximately 6-11 years of training).

This audit includes a check of the following:

Every upload in My.RANZCOG: to demonstrate completion of training requirements
Forms in My.RANZCOG: to confirm correct and accurate completion
All three-monthly appraisals and six-monthly assessments
All prospective approvals (excluding submissions for the final six months of training)
Completion of Rural/ Base/Not Base/Tertiary training requirements
Leave summary
Training transfers
Exams and assessments
Requirement summary

What if I haven’t completed all my training requirements in time?

If you haven’t completed all necessary training requirements (including time in training) by your approved Fellowship date, you may need to re-apply to the Training Accreditation Committee (TAC) and RANZCOG Board for a new date.

At elevation

When will I be elevated to Fellowship?

Elevation to Fellowship only occurs once a trainee has been approved by RANZCOG Board and has completed all training requirements including completion of the Post Board Declaration, Elevation Fee and Exit Survey.

Elevation will occur on or after the day of Fellowship (as stated on the post-Board approval letter). If a trainee completes all requirements before their Fellowship date, College staff will send out your Certificate (via email and post) on the day of Fellowship.

Do I need to contact the College when all requirements are met?

There is no need to contact the College when all requirements are met, College staff will be actively checking your outstanding requirements and will process your elevation once requirements have been met.

Trainees are more than welcome to reach out to the training team at training@ranzcog.edu.au to expedite the process.

How will my Fellowship certificate be sent?

Fellowship certificates will be posted and sent via email on the day of elevation, the postal tracking number will be included in your elevation to Fellowship email.

Will Medicare/AHPRA/MCNZ be notified of my Fellowship?

College staff will email Medicare/AHPRA/MCNZ as part of the elevation process. Trainees will not be copied into these emails by the request of Medicare/AHPRA/MCNZ.

What fees am I expected to pay after elevation to Fellowship?

Upon elevation to Fellowship, you will be required to pay the Annual Subscription Fellows Fee (pro rata) from the date of Fellowship.

If you are a Subspecialty Trainee, you will be required to pay the reduced Annual Fellow-in-Subspecialist-Training Fee (pro rata) from the date of Fellowship.

All Membership fees can be viewed on our Fees page.

Do I have any Continuous Professional Development requirements now that I have become a Fellow?

Yes, you will soon receive a welcome email from the CPD team.

This email will outline your CPD requirements calculated pro-rata from your elevation date, reference links and resources you can use to log your CPD activities.