What Is the AMC MCQ Exam?
The Australian Medical Council Multiple Choice Question (AMC MCQ) examination is the first step for International Medical Graduates (IMGs) seeking medical registration in Australia. It tests your ability to apply medical knowledge in clinical scenarios that reflect Australian general practice and hospital settings.
The exam is computer-based and can be sat at Pearson VUE test centres around the world — including centres in the UK, India, Egypt, South Africa, and many other countries — so you do not need to be in Australia to sit it.
Exam Format
The AMC MCQ consists of 150 multiple-choice questions to be completed in 3 hours and 30 minutes. All questions are single best answer format — you choose one answer from five options. There is no negative marking, so you should always attempt every question.
Questions are clinical vignettes. Each one presents a patient scenario with relevant history, examination findings, and sometimes investigation results, followed by a clinical question — most commonly asking for the most likely diagnosis, the best investigation, or the most appropriate initial management.
Passing Score
The AMC uses a scaled scoring system. The pass mark varies between exam sittings as the AMC uses statistical methods (Rasch analysis) to account for variation in question difficulty. As a general guide, candidates who answer approximately 60–65% of questions correctly tend to pass, but this is not a fixed threshold. Focus on understanding, not on targeting a specific percentage.
Topics Covered
The AMC MCQ covers all major medical specialties including internal medicine, surgery, obstetrics and gynaecology, paediatrics, psychiatry, emergency medicine, dermatology, ophthalmology, and general practice. Questions are weighted toward the areas an Australian GP or hospital doctor encounters most commonly.
Key high-yield topics include cardiovascular disease, respiratory conditions, diabetes and endocrinology, mental health, infectious diseases (with Australian epidemiological patterns), and women's health.
Recommended Preparation Timeline
Most successful candidates dedicate 3 to 6 months of focused preparation. The exact timeline depends on your background, how recently you graduated, and how much clinical experience you have in the relevant specialty areas.
A practical framework:
- Months 1–2: Systematic topic review. Work through each major specialty using Australian guidelines (RACGP, eTG). Do 20–30 practice questions per topic immediately after reviewing it.
- Months 3–4: High-volume question practice. Aim for 50–80 questions per day with thorough explanation review. Use performance tracking to identify and address weak areas.
- Month 5–6: Timed mock exams. Complete full 150-question timed practice exams under exam conditions. Review errors systematically.
Study Strategies That Work
Practice questions are the foundation. Reading alone is not sufficient. The AMC tests clinical reasoning in an Australian context, and the only way to develop that is through repeated, reviewed question practice. Aim for at least 2,000 questions before your exam date.
Review every explanation. The most learning happens after you answer a question — whether correct or incorrect. Read the full explanation, understand why each wrong answer is wrong, and note any guideline or clinical principle you were not aware of.
Use Australian guidelines. The RACGP (Royal Australian College of General Practitioners) clinical guidelines and the eTG (electronic Therapeutic Guidelines) are the reference standard for AMC MCQ answers. Where your previous training differs from Australian guidelines, follow the Australian guidelines.
Track your performance by topic. Do not just do random questions. Track your accuracy by specialty and invest proportionally more time in weak areas.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
Many candidates fail not due to lack of knowledge but due to avoidable errors: misreading the question stem, choosing answers that are correct in their home country but not in the Australian context, spending too long on difficult questions and running out of time, and changing correct first-instinct answers due to second-guessing.
Start Preparing Today
The Diagnosis provides over 2,000 high-quality, Australian-context practice questions with detailed clinical explanations, timed mock exams, topic-based performance tracking, and a personalised study plan. Create your free account and start practising today.