Guide 01 of 05Field: Specialty
Specialist titles in fertility care
Under the National Law, a person must not knowingly or recklessly use a specialist title for a recognised specialty unless they are registered in that specialty. The specialties, their fields and the titles that go with them are set in a list approved by the Ministerial Council, which the Medical Board of Australia publishes.
General information, not medical or legal advice. The official place to check a practitioner is Ahpra’s register of practitioners, and Ahpra says a name on it means the person is allowed to practise.
The law
What the National Law says about titles
The National Law is the Health Practitioner Regulation National Law, which the Medical Board describes as in force in every state and territory. Its sections 113 to 119 protect titles, and Ahpra explains why: so that only registered practitioners who are suitably trained and qualified use them.
| Section | What it says |
|---|---|
| s 115(1) | A person must not knowingly or recklessly take or use “the title ‘medical specialist’ unless the person is registered in a recognised specialty in the medical profession”, or “a specialist title for a recognised specialty unless the person is registered under this Law in the specialty”. Paragraph (a) covers dental specialists. |
| s 115(3) | “Subsection (1) applies whether or not the title is taken or used with or without any other words and whether in English or any other language.” |
| s 118(1) | “A person who is not a specialist health practitioner must not knowingly or recklessly”, among other things, “claim to be registered under this Law in a recognised specialty or hold himself or herself out as being registered under this Law in a recognised specialty”. |
| s 119(3)(c) | “A person must not knowingly or recklessly”, among other things, “claim another person holds specialist registration under this Law in a recognised specialty which the other person does not hold or hold the other person out as holding specialist registration in a recognised specialty if the other person does not hold specialist registration in that specialty”. |
Titles
Protected titles and specialist titles
When someone uses a protected title such as ‘medical practitioner’, Ahpra says, you can expect them to be trained and qualified in that profession, registered, and expected to meet safe and professional standards.
Medicine is one of the professions with approved specialist titles. Ahpra says a practitioner who uses one to describe themselves has extra training and qualifications in a specialty field.
For medical practitioners, Ahpra says, ‘surgeon’ is restricted to those with specialist registration in surgery, obstetrics and gynaecology, or ophthalmology. Ahpra’s titles page says this change is expected to take effect in New South Wales, South Australia and Western Australia once those states complete their own legislative processes.
The list
The list behind every specialist title
The specialties, the fields within them and the titles for each are fixed in one list. The current list was approved by the Ministerial Council on 26 August 2025 under the National Law, and took effect on 22 September 2025.
Some specialties have fields of specialty practice within them.
Under the specialty Obstetrics and gynaecology, the list names a field of specialty practice, “Reproductive endocrinology and infertility”, and gives its specialist title as “Specialist in reproductive endocrinology and infertility”. The specialty’s own title, with no field, is “Specialist obstetrician and gynaecologist”.
This guide quotes only those two rows. Read the rest in the Medical Board’s list of specialties, fields and titles.
Registration
How a doctor gains specialist registration
The Medical Board’s registration standard says the eligibility and qualification requirements are in sections 57 and 58 of the National Law. The approved qualification is fellowship of a specialist medical college accredited by the Australian Medical Council (AMC).
The Board’s page on specialist registration says it is available to medical practitioners who:
- hold an approved qualification for specialist registration, which is fellowship of an AMC-accredited specialist medical college
- are specialist international medical graduates whose specialist qualification appears on the Expedited Specialist pathway’s list of accepted qualifications
- have been assessed by an AMC-accredited specialist medical college as eligible for fellowship; fellowship itself is not required.
From 21 October 2024, the Board says, a doctor granted specialist registration must have finished supervised practice, cultural safety education and an orientation to Australia’s healthcare system, though some exemptions may apply. Once registered, the doctor is on the Specialists Register and their specialist title is protected by law.
Wording
The word ‘specialist’ on its own
Ahpra’s guidance treats the word as a claim in itself: using ‘specialist’, or words like it, implies specialist registration and is likely to mislead if the practitioner does not hold it. How doctors may advertise has the rest of that guidance, and What the Specialists Register shows explains where a doctor’s specialty is recorded.