Australian psychiatry training interview: 2026 dates, format and scoring

When to apply

• RANZCP applications open in May and June; the state health service applications for Stage 1 positions open in June and July through the JMO campaigns.

When interviews run

• RANZCP interviews run in July; health service interviews in August and September, with the NSW recorded video in that window. Offers follow in September and October.

The format

• The college interview: a panel of four or five including a trainee, twenty to thirty minutes. The health service interview: a merit selection panel, or in NSW a one way recorded video with a fixed time per question.

Who is on the panel

• College: four or five psychiatrists and a trainee. Health service: two or three, or none in the room for the recorded format.

How it is scored

• College: weighted on foundations of psychiatric practice, interpersonal and communication skills, diverse experience and performance, alongside the CV, three referee reports and a written statement. Health service: criterion mapped rubric.

What to prepare

• The why psychiatry story told through patients.
• The risk assessment and agitated patient scenarios with your state's mental health legislation.
• Recorded practice against the time limit if in NSW.
• The experiences outside medicine that shaped how you understand people.

Practise the australian psychiatry training interview