Recognition of sport and exercise medicine as a medical specialty

In November 2009, following on the advice received from the Australian Medical Council (AMC), the Commonwealth Minister for Health and Ageing announced that she has decided to recognise sport and exercise medicine as a medical specialty for the purpose of inclusion in the AMC List of Australian Recognised Medical Specialties. The Minister's decision does not automatically lead to the inclusion of this specialty on Schedule 4 of the Health Insurance Regulations 1975, which would grant patients access to rebates through Medicare Australia.

The education and training programs of the Australasian College of Sports Physicians were assessed by the AMC in November 2008. The AMC then advised the Minister for Health and Ageing that the education and training programs of the College met the criteria for AMC accreditation, thereby completing Stage 2 of the recognition procedure. The AMC assessment of specialist education and training programs is a collegial process for quality assurance and continuous quality improvement of specialist medical education and training programs. Listing on the AMC List of Australian Recognised Medical Specialties allows training providers to participate in the AMC's accreditation of specialist medical education, training and professional development programs.

In 2002, in response to an invitation of the Commonwealth Minister for Health and Ageing, the AMC took on the responsibility for advising the Minister on which disciplines of medical practice should be recognised as medical specialties in Australia. The AMC manages a two-stage process that assesses applications for recognition against specific criteria and standards. In Stage 1, an application is assessed against specific recognition criteria. In Stage 2, the standards of the specialist education, training programs and continuing professional development programs available for the proposed medical specialty are assessed.

The decision to recognise a medical specialty rests with the Commonwealth Minister for Health and Ageing. Recognition as a specialty is conditional upon successful completion of both stages of this process and on the Minister having made a decision to recognise a specialty.

The overall objective of the College's training is 'to set and maintain a specialist standard of excellence in the training and practice of sport and exercise medicine'. To be granted College Fellowship, which leads to independent practice as a sports physician, medical practitioners must successfully complete the College's four-year training program.