To be eligible to sit the examination, you must be an AFOEM trainee in Stage B training with:

• current general AMC/MCNZ medical registration
• approved registration for the current training period
• an Educational Supervisor
• a minimum of 18 months completed and certified active Stage B training (3 training period)
• your most recent training period certified with all teaching and learning activities and assessments complete
• a relevant University Graduate Diploma (or equivalent) and proof of completion received by the Faculty

You must also have:

• paid all College training fees
• applied by the exam due date

If you have outstanding training fees, you’re ineligible to sit the exam. See College Fees Terms and Conditions.

Exam attempt limit and progression

You can't continue Advanced Training if you exceed the examination attempt limit, which is based on when you commenced training.

See Progression Through Training Policy for more information about examination attempts.

The exam isn't a prerequisite for attempting the AFOEM Stage B Practical Examination.

Overseas trained physicians: Check eligibility requirements with your overseas trained physicians case officer before applying.

Fees

Australia: AUD $2329.00
Aotearoa New Zealand: NZD $2678.35 

To be eligible to sit the exam, you must be up to date with all your College training fees.  

See College Fees Terms and Conditions to learn more about paying your exam fees.  

Exam fees support the delivery of the exam and fund the complex operational and logistical requirements involved in managing the assessment across multiple locations.  

Fees contribute to a wide range of essential costs, such as:  

• venue hire and invigilation services 
• production and manual processing of exam materials 
• contracts with external companies for scanning and data verification 
• meetings of the Written Examination Committee and Exam Working Parties 
• travel, accommodation, and catering for those involved in exam development and setting the standards 
• licensing and maintenance of secure digital platforms used for exam administration and results management 

These costs ensure that each exam is conducted fairly, securely and in accordance with the RACP's high standards of quality and professionalism. 

Special consideration

Throughout RACP training programs, trainees may experience exceptional circumstances that impact their assessment activities. These circumstances are not ordinarily encountered or anticipated and are beyond the trainee’s control and may affect their ability to attend or perform optimally in an exam, or complete or submit a work-based assessment requirement.

We're committed to supporting all trainees by providing reasonable adjustments where necessary to ensure equitable access to assessment activities, in a manner that is transparent, fair, respectful, responsive, accountable and people-focused.

Before the exam

Special consideration may be approved for:

• permanent or long-term disability
• temporary disability due to medical or other relevant conditions
• pregnancy, lactation and infant-feeding needs
• essential religious, cultural, social or legal commitments
• compassionate grounds or other significant disruptive events occurring before the examination

Applications should be submitted at the time of the exam application, where possible, or up to the commencement of the exam for compassionate or disruptive events.

During the exam

Special consideration may be given for technical or procedural issues. Candidates must notify the examiner or invigilator of the issue immediately so the incident can be acknowledged, mitigated where possible and documented.

After the exam

Special consideration may be requested for:

• technical or procedural issues that could not be resolved during the exam
• temporary disability that occurred during the exam and prevented completion
• racism, discrimination, or bias experienced during the exam

Applications must be submitted within 5 calendar days of the exam and before results are released. Temporary disability, where the candidate elected to continue the exam, isn't eligible for post-exam consideration.

Impaired preparation isn't grounds for special consideration. Candidates who believe their preparation has been significantly affected should withdraw before sitting the exam. All applications require supporting documentation and are reviewed confidentially. Special consideration may result in reasonable adjustments or alternative arrangements but will not change your marks or exam result.

For full details and application requirements, see the Special Consideration for Assessment Policy and the Special Consideration for Assessment application guide and form (PDF).

Withdrawal and refund

Withdrawals aren't counted as an exam attempt.

If you withdraw, you may be eligible for a refund. The refund amounts depend on when you withdraw.  See College Fees Terms and Conditions.

To request a refund on medical and non-medical compassionate grounds, submit an application form (PDF) under the Special Consideration for Assessment Policy (PDF).

If you withdraw, you may reapply to take the exam the following year if you meet the eligibility criteria. Note that application fees aren't carried over from one year to the next.

To withdraw from the 2026 exam, email faculty.examinations@racp.edu.au.

Prepare

Exam format

15 min reading time | 3-hour exam | 2 papers split over 2 consecutive days

The paper-based exam is a summative assessment that tests your knowledge through several short answer questions. The paper is made up of 2 papers split over 2 consecutive half days: 

• Day 1 – Saturday
  Paper 1 – 5 scenarios including sub questions
• Day 2 – Sunday
  Paper 2 – 5 scenarios including sub questions

Each paper has 5 equally weighted questions. Each of the 5 main questions is a scenario and includes a variable number of sub questions.

Scenarios are sampled from the Occupational and Environmental Medicine Training Curriculum (PDF):

• Paper 1 | Domains 10, 30, 40 and 80 (but may refer to other domains) 
• Paper 2 | Domains 10, 20, 50, 60, 70, 80 and 90 

You have 15 minutes reading time before each paper. You have 3 hours to complete each paper.

The exam is designed to determine if you have reached the appropriate level to proceed to Stage C, a competent occupational medicine practitioner who is not yet a specialist occupational physician. 

See pages 296 to 297 in the Occupational and Environmental Medicine Training Curriculum (PDF) for a list of references.

Preparation tips

Start your exam preparation early

Start preparing as early as possible. Most successful candidates start 12 months ahead of their exam.

Practice your approach

A supervisor or mentor can help you with practice questions. Go through your thought process out loud with them as you construct an answer. This approach helps you obtain valuable feedback and provides a better insight into your approach.

Organise and equip yourself

Having a quiet, comfortable place to study is important. Find a way to study that best suits your individual learning style. Develop a study plan and revision timetable. Use different learning approaches such as flashcards, mind maps, diagrams or opportunities to teach others as part of your revision.

Study with others

The shared experience of studying with others helps many trainees feel motivated, confident and on-track during the preparation period.

Many have joined or created support groups that meet regularly, share resource ideas and provide a forum for constructive feedback.

Join the RACP Trainee Facebook group (a closed group) to meet other trainees, share experiences, tips, events and ideas.

Attempting the Exam again

Meet with your supervisor

If you're actively training, meet with your supervisor if you're on Interruption of Training, to talk through your previous exam attempts. They'll have valuable insights to share about areas to focus on and improve.

Use the Improving Performance Action Plan template and plan your study to maximise time spent on these focus areas. For example, once a week, you could spend time on each area to make sure you have a thorough understanding of each topic.

You could also ask your supervisor to share trial case studies and cross-reference them with the Basic Training Curricula and the Knowledge Guides.

Repeat what worked

What study materials did you use last time? What was helpful and what wasn't? Review your materials and look for additional materials and opportunities, especially onsite learning.

Academic integrity

Some actions are seen as attempting to gain an unfair advantage and are in breach of academic integrity. For example, attempts to:

• find out who examiners are
• contact potential examiners and seek guidance on improving performance
• contact examiners on exam day

Any actions that breach the Academic Integrity in Training Policy (PDF), could lead to your disqualification and affect your progress through training.

You’re required to sign an Annual Participant Agreement (confidentiality agreement) before taking the exam. This is emailed to you with your allocation letter.

If your supervisor is an examiner, they must declare a conflict of interest and direct you to an alternative supervisor for exam guidance. Contact us with questions.

Exam day

Exam day safety

Your safety is a priority during all exam activities, as it is in your workplace. If at any time you feel unsafe, you should stop and seek assistance immediately. Doing so will not adversely affect your assessment. Support is available from examiners and College staff throughout the examination. 

In line with the Review of Paediatric Clinical Examination in Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand, additional measures are being introduced to further strengthen safety for candidates, examiners, patients and their families/whānau/carers. These changes aim to ensure a safe, supportive and respectful environment for everyone involved in the examination. 

To learn more, refer to the Review of Paediatric Clinical Examination in Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand. 

Timetable

Personal items

Bring

• Printed or digital copy of your candidate allocation letter confirming your name, candidate number and session time
• Current valid photo ID with your full name and signature, for example a passport or driver's licence – a digital valid photo ID is acceptable, a picture of your ID isn't acceptable
• Blue or black ballpoint pens (no pencils, gel or felt-tip pens)
• 1 x highlighter (optional)
• 1 x ruler (optional)
• Basic analogue watch (optional)
• Water in a clear plastic bottle (optional)

Lunch isn't provided, and many venues don't have food vendors on site. You may need to leave the venue to purchase lunch or bring your own on the day. 

Tip: Wear additional clothing layers to adjust to the room temperature.

Not permitted during the exam

• Written material (other than your candidate allocation letter)
• Recording and electronic devices including digital watches, smart pens, tablets, scanners, dictionaries (that function in a similar way to a tablet) 
• Wearable AI devices, e.g. smart glasses, smart watches
• Pagers
• Laptop computers
• Personal communication aids
• Calculators
• Ear plugs (unless special permission has been granted by RACP)
• Headphones
  
• Food and beverages (other than still water) to be consumed during the exam unless special permission has been granted by RACP 
• Dictionaries
• Pencils or pencil cases
• Frixton (erasable) pens, gel pens or felt tip pens

Devices and unauthorised materials 

Carrying recording devices on your person, including mobile phones and wearable AI devices, will result in automatic disqualification.  

All mobile phones, digital watches, sport watches, smartwatches (including but not limited to Apple Watch, Garmin, Fitbit, Samsung), pagers and electronic communication devices must be: 

• switched off 
• placed on the floor under your chair
• clearly visible to invigilators 

Devices that sound during the exam are subject to an incident report.

Seating arrangements

Seating lists showing your allocated seat number are displayed near the venue entrance.

Desks will be labelled with your name and candidate ID number.

Discuss seating enquiries with the Chief Supervisor as early as possible on exam day.

Apply for special consideration for exceptional circumstances by the due date.

Completing the exam

At your seat, you receive:

• a question booklet
• answer booklets (1 for each question)

When instructed, write your name, candidate number and exam city on all materials.

You have 15 minutes reading time at the beginning of each paper. During this time, you must not write on or mark the paper in any way.

Write your responses neatly using black or blue ballpoint pen only.

You must use a separate booklet for each question. If you run out of space, ask an invigilator for an additional booklet to continue your response.

If you use more than 1 answer booklet for a question, you must indicate this on the front of each answer booklet (for example, 1 of 2 and 2 of 2).

Where a question asks for 4 answers and you provide 5, only the top 4 responses will be marked (unless clearly crossed out). Any extra responses will be ignored whether they are correct or not.

Tips 

• Time your responses.
• Attempt all questions.
• Address the question requirements – marks are not awarded when requirements haven’t been addressed.
• Give well-structured answers demonstrating your organised approach – good written communication is essential to patient safety. 
• Write clearly as marks aren't awarded for illegible answers. 
• Use generic names for medications and pharmacological treatments in your responses. Don't use abbreviations. 

Issues on exam day 

If you experience issues leading up to the exam or on exam day that prevent you from attending, contact us. This may include illness, natural disasters or personal/family issues. 

If you arrive up to 30 minutes late, you can attempt the exam, but you won’t get additional time. 

If you arrive more than 30 minutes late, you won’t be permitted to enter the exam.

Leaving the exam room

Don't leave the exam room without an invigilator’s approval. If you need the toilet, an invigilator will escort you. If you want to leave before the end of the exam, stay seated and raise your hand. An invigilator will check your materials and release you.

You can't leave in the first 30 minutes or last 10 minutes of the exam.

On completion of the exam, your exam booklet and answer booklets will be collected before you can leave.

Post-Exam Candidate Survey (PECS) 

We'll email you a link to a survey at the end of the exam to complete before results are released. 

We value your feedback on the question quality, exam arrangements and process. Responses are discussed by the College and the Committee at the post-exam meeting. 

Conduct 

Exam materials and content are confidential. You’re required to sign an Annual Participant Agreement (confidentiality agreement) before taking the exam.  

The following is considered academic misconduct:  

• removing exam materials from the venue 
• reproducing or distributing the contents of exam material  

For more information, see the  Academic Integrity in Training Policy 

Resources

A range of resources is available to help you prepare for the Stage B Written Examination and understand the assessment requirements.  

Occupational and Environmental Medicine Advanced Training Program handbook 
Curriculum standards
Progression Through Training Policy (PDF) 
Education policies 
Wellbeing 

Sample papers 

Member log-in required 

AFOEM Stage B Sample Paper Introduction (PDF) 
AFOEM Stage B Sample Paper 1 (with marking guide) (PDF) 
AFOEM Stage B Sample Paper 2 (with marking guide) (PDF) 
AFOEM Stage B Answer the question guide  (PDF) 

Exam Information Session 

An exam information session will be held on Thursday, 30 July from 4.00pm – 5.00pm AEST. You’ll receive further information and instructions on how to register in mid June. 

Member login required

2026 Candidate Information Session FAQs (PDF) 

RACP Online learning resources 

Access a broad selection of interactive, self-paced learning resources developed with RACP Fellows, trainees, and subject matter experts to support your ongoing learning. 

RACP Online Learning resources 

Commercial exam preparation courses 

We don't endorse any commercial preparation courses.