Fellowship of RANZCOG (FRANZCOG) Written and Oral Examinations

The Fellowship of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, or FRANZCOG, is awarded through RANZCOG's specialist training program in Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand. This guide covers only the FRANZCOG Written Examination and FRANZCOG Oral Examination within Basic Training.

The written examination must be successfully completed before a candidate applies for the oral examination. The curriculum places both examinations in Basic Training, before Advanced Training, and maps them across the curriculum's clinical topics and eight RANZCOG Roles.

As of September 16, 2026, the written examination is computer-based at examination centres, while the oral examination is face-to-face at the Assessment Learning and Examination Centre in Melbourne. RANZCOG has announced that both examinations will take place over two days in 2027: the written examination is planned to use remote proctoring, while the oral examination will continue at the Melbourne centre. Use the current College examination page for live dates, fees, application instructions, support requirements, and implementation updates.

Written Examination

The current written examination combines Short Answer Questions and Multiple-Choice Questions. Candidates sit both components in the same sitting.

From 2026, candidates must pass both the SAQ and MCQ components to pass the written examination overall. A failure from an examination taken in 2025 or earlier requires both components to be retaken at the next attempt from 2026 onward. For an examination taken in 2026 or later, a candidate who fails one or both components retakes only the failed component or components.

Oral Examination

For examinations from 2026, the oral examination uses 12 stations. Each station has 4 minutes for reading, 12 minutes for examination, and 20 marks. The published assessment time is 3 hours 45 minutes, excluding any rest stations. The older 10-station arrangement shown elsewhere on the College page is not the format to use for 2026 or later preparation.

The examination is delivered face-to-face at the Assessment Learning and Examination Centre in Melbourne. Stations use global, holistic scoring across domains that include history and examination, investigation and interpretation, treatment and management, clinical knowledge, complex or urgent presentations, rapport, respect, and communication.

RANZCOG states that the examinations are blueprinted to the curriculum. The April 2026 FRANZCOG Curriculum, Edition 4, Version 4.8, describes 12 Medical Expert topics and eight RANZCOG Roles. The curriculum also states that its basic-science tables form part of the syllabus for the written and oral examinations.

The eight cross-cutting RANZCOG Roles are Medical Expert, Communicator, Collaborator, Leader, Health Advocate, Scholar, Professional, and Culturally Safe Practitioner. Written preparation should therefore combine applied knowledge with foundational science, while oral preparation should also demonstrate communication, teamwork, respect, cultural safety, and management of uncertainty.

The official materials identify curriculum blueprinting but do not establish a weighting scheme for this guide. Platform topic counts should not be treated as examination percentages.

Eligibility is intended for registered and financial FRANZCOG trainees and is assessed against the applicable application closing date. These examination thresholds are not universal eligibility rules for every overseas-trained doctor or every medical qualification route.

All RANZCOG examinations must be answered in English. RANZCOG may limit the number of oral candidates accepted on a given occasion. Its published priority order considers the time remaining to complete the Integrated Training Program or applicable SIMG pathway, followed by the date and time the application was received.

The application workflow uses an online expression of interest, eligibility checking, and subsequent fee payment to finalize registration. Use the current examination page for live application dates, deadlines, fees, additional-support procedures, and withdrawal instructions.

For trainees who commenced from December 1, 2013, the Section B regulations set a maximum of three attempts at the FRANZCOG Written Examination and three at the FRANZCOG Oral Examination. For earlier cohorts, the regulations set four attempts at each. The March 2026 examination policy separately describes up to three attempts at each written component and requires both components on the first written attempt. Candidates should confirm how the College has counted attempts on their individual record before planning a further sitting.

Program-entry requirements such as medical qualification, registration, and residency or visa approvals are separate from examination eligibility and are governed by the applicable training regulations.

1. Organize study around the official curriculum

Build a study grid from the 12 Medical Expert topics, then add the eight RANZCOG Roles as cross-cutting prompts. For each topic, track foundational science, common presentations, urgent complications, investigations, management decisions, escalation, communication, and follow-up.

2. Prepare deliberately for both written components

For SAQs, rehearse two timed six-question blocks of two hours. Use a consistent answer structure where appropriate: immediate priorities, focused assessment, investigations, management, consultation or escalation, communication, and follow-up. Practice answering every part of the stem directly and concisely.

For MCQs, use timed 100-question blocks over two hours as the examination approaches. Keep an error log that separates knowledge gaps, misread stems, interpretation errors, and avoidable time losses. Because both components must be passed, do not allow strength in one component to conceal under-preparation in the other.

3. Rehearse the oral examination aloud

Use the published 4-minute reading and 12-minute examination pattern. Practice live stations rather than relying only on written notes. A repeatable approach is to identify the immediate problem, state safety priorities, take a focused history and examination approach, request and interpret relevant investigations, give a prioritized management plan, address complications and alternatives, and communicate clearly with the patient or clinical team.

The oral examination's global scoring makes delivery part of performance. Practice respectful language, rapport, shared decision-making, team communication, cultural safety, and management of complex or urgent presentations.

4. Include full-format rehearsals

Complete written rehearsals that reflect the published component sequence and total sitting time, together with separate 12-station oral rehearsals. Review stamina, transitions, breaks, and answer quality late in the session. If preparing for a 2027 sitting, plan for a two-day examination but wait for RANZCOG's technical and scheduling instructions before assuming how sessions will be divided.

5. Use current College resources

Use the current digital curriculum, College examination guidance, the RISR/Assess written-examination platform information, and available College revision resources. Treat older oral materials as practice for reasoning and communication only; do not use them to infer the current station count or delivery arrangements.

Current versus announced future arrangements

As of September 16, 2026, prepare for the current format: a computer-based written examination at examination centres and a face-to-face oral examination at the Melbourne Assessment Learning and Examination Centre. For 2027, RANZCOG has announced two-day delivery for both examinations, remote proctoring for the written examination, and continued Melbourne delivery for the oral examination. Do not infer device, internet, room, identity-checking, or session-allocation requirements until the College publishes them.

Cohort and resit transitions

The December 1, 2013 commencement date affects training-week thresholds and maximum attempts. A separate transition applies when a candidate carries a written-component failure from an examination taken in 2025 or earlier into a later sitting: both written components must be retaken at the next attempt. For examinations taken in 2026 or later, only failed components are retaken under the published resit rule.

Regional and pathway logistics

The examination family serves trainees in Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand, while the oral examination remains located in Melbourne. SIMG candidates should review pathway-specific College instructions rather than assume that every Integrated Training Program administrative rule applies unchanged. Candidates seeking examination support should use the College's current support-request process and provide the documentation requested by RANZCOG.

Curriculum interpretation

The FRANZCOG curriculum is broader than a list of factual topics. It integrates clinical knowledge, practical skills, communication, leadership, scholarship, professionalism, health advocacy, and cultural safety. Written practice cannot reproduce live oral examiner interaction, station timing, or global holistic scoring.

Scope of this examination family

This guide covers the FRANZCOG Written Examination and FRANZCOG Oral Examination only. Other FRANZCOG training assessments, subspecialty examinations, and continuing professional development requirements are outside scope. Administrative information can change, so the current RANZCOG examination page and linked policy and regulation documents should control application decisions.