GAMSAT by country
GAMSAT in Australia
Australia is the largest GAMSAT market and the only one where your score lasts four years. It is also the only one where a central body handles most of the application for you — and where two schools rank you on things that are not GAMSAT at all.
- A$568registration fee (2026, incl. GST)
- 4 yearsscore validity in Australia
- 13institutions using GAMSAT
- 10school entries via GEMSAS
The exam does not change by country
There is one GAMSAT. The sections, the timing and the syllabus are identical whether you sit it in Perth or Plymouth. What changes is the fee, how long the score lasts, and what each university does with it — which is all this page covers. For the test itself, use the free timed practice test.
What is actually different about applying in Australia
Four things, none of which apply in the UK or Ireland.
- Your score is valid for 4 years, against 2 in the UK and Ireland. ACER states this explicitly.
- GPA is ranked alongside GAMSAT at almost every school, usually 50:50 at the interview stage. Ireland has no GPA points system at all; most UK schools treat the degree as a hurdle.
- One application covers most of the country. GEMSAS runs a single application with up to six ranked preferences.
- Casper is required at three school entries and, at Wollongong, counts for far more than GAMSAT does.
GEMSAS runs most of it — but not all of it
Ten school entries across nine universities apply through one form. The rest are separate applications.
The Graduate Entry Medical School Admissions System (GEMSAS) takes one application, one fee and up to six ranked preferences. If you are not offered your higher preference you are considered for the lower ones, and you interview at one school only — that interview score is standardised and may be reused by your lower-preference schools.
The two University of Notre Dame Australia campuses are counted separately by GEMSAS, so ten school entries cover nine institutions. Applications for the 2027 intake opened 1 May 2026 and closed 29 May 2026, with supporting documents due 15 June 2026. The application fee is $275.
Applications to the schools below that sit outside GEMSAS are entirely separate and do not consume any of your six preferences.
| Institution | Courses admitting via GAMSAT | Application route |
|---|---|---|
| ANU | Doctor of Medicine & Surgery (MChD) | GEMSAS (Indigenous applicants may apply direct) |
| Deakin | Doctor of Medicine | GEMSAS |
| Flinders | Doctor of Medicine (4 year) | Direct to Flinders (NOT GEMSAS) |
| Griffith | Doctor of Medicine | GEMSAS |
| Macquarie | Doctor of Medicine | GEMSAS |
| Melbourne | Doctor of Medicine (MD), Doctor of Dental Surgery (DDS) | MD via GEMSAS; DDS and Optometry direct to Melbourne |
| Notre Dame Fremantle | Doctor of Medicine | GEMSAS (Indigenous, KCRMT and international apply direct) |
| Notre Dame Sydney | Doctor of Medicine | GEMSAS (Indigenous and international apply direct) |
| UQ | Doctor of Medicine (MD), Doctor of Dental Medicine (DMD) | MD via GEMSAS; DMD direct to UQ |
| Sydney | Doctor of Medicine (MD), Doctor of Dental Medicine (DMD), Master of Pharmacy | Direct to Sydney (NOT GEMSAS) |
| UWA | Doctor of Medicine (MD), Doctor of Dental Medicine (DMD) | MD via GEMSAS; DMD and Podiatric Medicine direct to UWA |
| Wollongong | Doctor of Medicine | GEMSAS |
| Tasmania | Bachelor of Medical Science and Doctor of Medicine (BMedScMD) | Direct to UTAS (NOT GEMSAS) |
Which score each school actually ranks
ACER publishes one overall score. Four Australian schools do not use it.
ACER’s overall score double-weights Section 3. Melbourne, Notre Dame (both campuses) and UQ recalculate an unweighted mean instead; Sydney uses no overall score at all and ranks on section scores; Wollongong never ranks GAMSAT. This is the single most consequential difference between Australian schools, and it changes who is competitive: a Section 3-heavy profile is favoured by the weighted schools and relatively penalised by the unweighted ones.
| Institution | Score used | Min overall | Min section | Min GPA |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ANU | ACER weighted overall — Section 3 counts double | 50 | 50 | 5.00 |
| Deakin | ACER weighted overall — Section 3 counts double | 50 | 50 | 5.00 |
| Flinders | ACER weighted overall — Section 3 counts double | None stated | 50 | 5.00 |
| Griffith | ACER weighted overall — Section 3 counts double | 50 | 50 | 5.00 |
| Macquarie | ACER weighted overall — Section 3 counts double | 50 | 50 | 5.00 |
| Melbourne | Unweighted mean of the three sections | None stated | 50 | 5.00 |
| Notre Dame Fremantle | Unweighted mean of the three sections | 52 | 50 | 5.20 |
| Notre Dame Sydney | Unweighted mean of the three sections | 52 | 50 | 5.20 |
| UQ | Unweighted mean of the three sections | None stated | 50 | 5.00 |
| Sydney | Section scores only — no overall used | None stated | 50 | 5.00 |
| UWA | ACER weighted overall — Section 3 counts double | 55 | 50 | 5.50 |
| Wollongong | Hurdle only — never ranked | 50 | 50 | 5.50 |
| Tasmania | Not stated by the institution | None stated | 50 | 5.25 |
Use the score calculator to see both the weighted and unweighted figures side by side — they can differ by several points on the same set of section scores.
The published figures, and what kind of number each one is
Only one Australian school publishes genuine cutoffs. The rest publish averages, medians, or nothing.
This is the accuracy trap on every Australian GAMSAT page. An interviewee average and an admitted medianare not thresholds — roughly half the relevant cohort sat below each one. Printing them in a column headed “cutoff” makes schools look far harder than they are.
| Institution | Figure | What kind of number | Applies to |
|---|---|---|---|
| Flinders — Standard (non-rural) | 74 | Actual cutoff | 2026 entry |
| Flinders — Rural — Bedford Park | 69 | Actual cutoff | 2026 entry |
| Flinders — Flinders graduate | 63 | Actual cutoff | 2026 entry |
| Flinders — Humanitarian visa | 56 | Actual cutoff | 2026 entry |
| Notre Dame Fremantle | 65.5 | Average of interviewees A mean of interviewees, NOT a cutoff | 2026 intake |
| Notre Dame Sydney | 68.23 | Average of interviewees A mean of interviewees, NOT a cutoff | 2026 intake |
| UQ | 65.33 | Admitted median ⚠️ This is a MEDIAN. The admitted range ran 51.66 to 81.00 — treating it as a cutoff overstates the bar by roughly 14 points. | 2023–2025 admitted cohort |
| UWA | 68.53 | Average of interviewees A mean of interviewees, NOT a cutoff | 2026 entry |
Flinders is the exception worth studying: its published cutoffs span 18 pointsacross sub-quotas in a single admission year. A national “average cutoff” figure is meaningless against that spread. Full detail sits on cutoffs by university.
Where Casper counts for more than GAMSAT
Three of the ten GEMSAS school entries require it. At one of them, GAMSAT is only a hurdle.
Casper is an online situational judgement test run by Acuity Insights, sat separately from GAMSAT. Notre Dame states that applicants without a Casper score will not be considered; Wollongong says the same and sets a minimum eligible Casper score annually.
| Institution | How the interview ranking is built |
|---|---|
| Notre Dame Fremantle | 30:30:30:10 — GAMSAT, GPA, Casper, bonus points |
| Notre Dame Sydney | 30:30:30:10 — GAMSAT, GPA, Casper, bonus points |
| Wollongong | Neither GPA nor GAMSAT is ranked. Interview rank is 50% Casper plus 50% UOW admissions bonuses. |
Wollongong is the outlier nobody writes about
Wollongong ranks interview invitations on 50% Casper plus 50% its own admissions bonuses. GAMSAT and GPA are hurdles only: once you clear them, they do not affect your ranking at all. If Wollongong is your target, a higher GAMSAT buys you nothing above the minimum.
Pathways that waive GAMSAT entirely
Almost no other site lists these. Several are open pathways at major schools.
| Institution | Pathway where GAMSAT is not required |
|---|---|
| Deakin University | Rural Training Stream Tier 1 — waives GAMSAT entirely |
| Flinders University | Indigenous Entry Stream — no GAMSAT required |
| Griffith University | First Peoples Health Pathway — GAMSAT not required, GPA 5.0 |
| Macquarie University | Indigenous Pathway — GAMSAT optional |
| University of Melbourne | MD Rural Pathway — no GAMSAT if Melbourne is sole preference |
| University of Melbourne | North Western pathway (Victoria University graduates) — no GAMSAT |
| University of Melbourne | Indigenous entry — GAMSAT waived, GPA 5.0 plus MMI |
| University of Queensland | Indigenous MD applicants — GAMSAT not mandatory |
| University of Sydney | Indigenous Facilitated Entry — GAMSAT waived entirely from 2027 entry |
| University of Western Australia | Boola Boola Djinda Indigenous pathway — ranked on GPA and interview, no GAMSAT weighting |
| University of Tasmania | Aboriginal Entry Pathway — neither GAMSAT nor UCAT required |
Sitting the test in Australia
The registration fee is A$568, inclusive of GST, and includes ACER’s online Practice Test A e-book. Late registration adds $114. Fees are charged in Australian dollars for anyone sitting outside Ireland or the UK.
Australia has by far the widest test-centre coverage — every state and territory capital plus a long list of regional venues including Albury, Ballarat, Bendigo, Dubbo, Geelong, Launceston, Newcastle, Shoalhaven, Sunshine Coast and Townsville. The list is not identical between the March and September sittings, and ACER may add or cancel venues after registrations open.
Written Communication is sat remotely about three weeks before the test-centre day. That split applies everywhere and is covered on remote proctoring.
Courses people assume use GAMSAT here, but do not
| Institution | Course | What it actually uses |
|---|---|---|
| Melbourne | Doctor of Optometry | no admissions test at all; selection on WAM alone |
| UWA | Doctor of Podiatric Medicine | graduate entry runs on sWAM ≥65 plus interview |
Common questions
How long is a GAMSAT score valid in Australia?
Four years — ACER states results are valid in Australia for four years and in the UK and Ireland for two. GEMSAS adds one restriction: the September sitting in the year you apply cannot be used for that intake.
Is there an official GAMSAT cutoff for Australian medicine?
No national cutoff exists. Flinders is the only Australian school publishing genuine cutoffs, and they differ by sub-quota within the same year. Griffith states there is no discrete cut-off point; Sydney refuses to publish past thresholds on the grounds that they are irrelevant to the current cycle.
Do I need Casper as well as GAMSAT?
Only at Notre Dame Fremantle, Notre Dame Sydney and Wollongong among the GEMSAS schools. Outside GEMSAS, Curtin also requires Casper for medicine — but Curtin does not use GAMSAT and admits through TISC, so it is not on this page’s list.
Can I apply to Flinders or Sydney as well as my GEMSAS preferences?
Yes. Flinders, Sydney and Tasmania are separate applications and do not consume any of your six GEMSAS preferences.
Does a strong Section 3 help everywhere?
No. It helps most at schools using ACER’s weighted overall, where Section 3 counts double. At Melbourne, Notre Dame and UQ, which use an unweighted mean, the three sections count equally. At Wollongong the score is never ranked at all.