FRACS – a symbol you can trust

Surgeons from the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons (RACS) are highly trained and undergo five or six years of surgical training that is certified by the Australian Medical Council (AMC) or Medical Council of New Zealand (MCNZ). This training is in addition to their medical degree and prevocational training in a hospital.  

By the time they have finished their surgical training, our surgeons will have completed more than a minimum of 12 years of rigorous training (PDF 102.37KB), so you know you are in safe hands.  

Our surgeons are also trained to provide the physiological, ethical, psychological, pharmacological, surgical and medical expertise to safely diagnose, treat and manage surgical patients. Their training and practice put patient safety at the forefront during consultations, surgery and post-operative care. 

Once they have completed their training program they are admitted as a Fellow of the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons and as members can use the post-nominal ‘FRACS’. This allows them to be recognised by the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (Ahpra) and the Medical Council of New Zealand, the agencies that regulate health practitioners as specialist surgeons in Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand. 

FRACS are AMC or MCNZ accredited specialist surgeons whose education, training, professional qualifications, surgical competence and ethical conduct are reviewed and are consistent with the high standards of RACS. 

FRACS is a symbol of excellence that you can trust. 

 

Specialist surgeons are required to stay up-to-date with the latest developments in their area of skill. They have considerable knowledge and provide the best possible care to their patients. 

Being a RACS surgeon requires ongoing learning and maintenance of knowledge and skills demonstrated through Continuing Professional Development (CPD) programs ensuring that Fellows not only maintain competency, but also continuously build on and improve their clinical knowledge and skills to provide high quality contemporary healthcare.  

Specialist surgeons who are FRACS are often also members of an association or society specific to their specialty area of surgery. 

Surgery must take place in an accredited facility. This may be in a hospital setting or in an out-patient or day surgery centre. 

Our specialist surgeons perform surgery in an accredited facility. We believe it should be mandatory for all facilities undertaking invasive surgery especially cosmetic surgery procedures to meet the practice standards of the Australian Day Surgery Council and Standards New Zealand have compulsory registrations and accreditation. This ensures that your safety as a patient is central to everything we do.