All surgery is serious and carries risk. Make sure you check your surgeon’s qualifications, and whether their training is fully accredited by the Australian Medical Council (AMC). This is the only Government-mandated body in Australia that can accredit specialist surgical training.
Unfortunately, doctors with basic medical degrees can call themselves surgeons in most states of Australia. You should choose a doctor with the training to give you your best results, and manage any complications that may occur.
Your surgeon should have FRACS after their name. This stands for Fellow of the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons. Similar but very different letters may be used, so take care not to be misled. There are 9 specialties of surgery that the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons (RACS) oversees, and Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery is just one of them. Other specialties may do similar operations to Specialist Plastic Surgeons but do not have the skills or training to offer you a full range of options. You would not want a surgeon that has spent years being supervised & examined in abdominal surgery performing your brain surgery. The same applies to your Plastic & Cosmetic Surgery.
The Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA) has stated that the title “Specialist Plastic Surgeon” is a protected title. That means that only a fully qualified surgeon who has undergone advanced training in Plastic Surgery and passed the fellowship exams can use that title. At the time of this page being rewritten (September 2020), other variations of the title are allowed to be used by anyone that has a basic medical degree and no additional training or examinations. If you see something that looks like but is not the same as “Specialist Plastic Surgeon” then you should be wary of that surgeon and the depth and breadth of their surgical training.
urgeons who display the logo of the Australian Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS) are accredited by the AMC to perform cosmetic and reconstructive surgery. This means they have undertaken, on average, an additional seven to ten years of AMC accredited training after receiving their basic medical degree.
This is the highest level of training available in plastic and cosmetic surgery. All members of ASPS are entitled to use the letters FRACS after their name.
Members of the Australian Society of Plastic Surgeons adhere to a strict code of ethics, and are required to fulfill continuing education requirements that include maintenance of clinical standards and innovations in patient safety.
Plastic Surgeons are trained in a broad range of cosmetic and reconstructive procedures, and are at the forefront of surgical and non-surgical cosmetic solutions. Reconstructive surgery requires skills and the knowledge of latest innovations and techniques that would be beyond the training of other surgeons.
Like all advertising, medical advertising is a ‘buyer beware’ situation for Australian consumers. Current legislation in most states of Australia allows doctors with basic medical degrees to call themselves surgeons. Currently only the Queensland State Government has amended their Medical Practitioners Act (in 2002) so that ‘only fellows of the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons have legally been able to call themselves surgeons…’ [Source Australian Doctor 5th July 2005]. The same article states that; ‘Legislation does not prevent a doctor from setting up shop after a weekend course in the Bahamas on liposuction.’
The 1999 NSW Cosmetic Surgery Inquiry was headed by Associate Professor Merrilyn Walton, the founding Commissioner for the NSW Health Care Complaints Commission. She reported that ‘the lack of regulation allow(s) any registered medical doctor in NSW to describe himself or herself as a cosmetic surgeon, even with no formal training beyond a basic medical degree.’ [Source: smh.com.au].
Things are due to change on 1st July 2023, but AHPRA has elected to still allow doctors without surgical training to perform cosmetic surgical procedures, and create a separate class of ‘cosmetic endorsement’ for them. In our opinion (and the opinion of most surgical groups that are AMC accredited), this is a bad decision and does not improve patient safety.
Myths and Truths about Plastic Surgery
The Four Corners Report on the Rules & Regulations of Cosmetic Surgery
Australian Doctor: Cosmetic surgery standards
Sydney Morning Herald: Patients at risk
