Cost

The candidate will be responsible for any personal expenses when attending the face-to-face interview. The interview fee is payable upon application.

Cancellation, Rescheduling & Re-sit Policy

Cancellation

If a candidate wishes to withdraw from the process after having paid the full amount, a request must be received in writing as soon as possible.

Should a candidate wish to withdraw their application prior to scheduling their PESCI, $2,000 will be refunded to the candidate.

If the candidate has scheduled an interview and they wish to cancel with more than 21 business days notice, $1,000 of the application fee will be refunded. If the request is received less than 21 business days prior to the interview date, the candidate will forfeit the application fee. A full refund will only be given if IME is unable to facilitate the interview.

Rescheduling

An administration fee of $500 will apply for any further administration efforts that extend the usual PESCI process. This may include a request to change an already submitted PESCI application, or to reschedule the date & time of PESCI. Candidates are advised that they may only reschedule their PESCI once, and must provide notice in writing no less than 21 days prior to the interview. After this time, the cancellation policy will apply.

Re-sit Policy

A candidate may reapply to re-sit PESCI anytime following an unsuccessful result. Prior to scheduling a subsequent PESCI, it is recommended that candidates engage with the recommendations present within their outcome report. Candidates re-sitting PESCI are required to complete a new application to which the usual application fees will apply. 

Outcome

Upon completion of PESCI, the panel members will send a formal recommendation report to the Medical Board of Australia (the Board) within 14 business days. This report contains detailed information about the content and outcome of the PESCI. To ensure the integrity of the interview content is not compromised, this report will only be provided to the Medical Board of Australia and the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA).  It will not be provided to the applicant, their employer, sponsor or other third party. An applicant who is not deemed suitable for this position may be suitable for another position. The Board may require a PESCI if the applicant applies to practise in another position.

The Institute of Medical Education will also provide an outcome report to the candidate. The process of sending the outcome report to the candidates mirrors the process outlined above. The outcome report will provide information such as:

• Whether the application is suitable or unsuitable
• Comments on the performance of the applicant within each domain
• Specific recommendations for further training and upskilling

This report will be completed and submitted to the candidate within 14 working days.

For Institute of Medical Education to release the outcome report to an employer, the candidates must submit a written request to IME. 

Review and Appeals Policy

The purpose of the Reviews and Appeals Policy is to define the decisions made by the Institute of Medical Education that can be reviewed or appealed. The policy aims to define the expected timeframe, processes and potential outcomes. The Institute of Medical Education strives to promote reconciliation of disputed decisions at the lowest level prior to escalation. This policy can be found here.

Candidates must submit their request to a review or appeal no more than 14 days after receiving their outcome report. An administration fee of $1,000 will apply and is serviceable by the applicant. 

As per the Medical Board of Australia, a change of employment is not an applicable reason for a review or appeal claim.