Public health medicine

Public health medicine is a medical specialty primarily concerned with the health and care of populations. Physicians interested in public health medicine train in both clinical medicine and public health.

Advanced training provides a depth of specialty training under supervision to prepare trainees for independent practice as consultants. The Faculty Training Committee in Public Health Medicine oversees the development of trainees.

Eligibility

To apply you must:

• hold current general medical registration with the Medical Board of Australia
• have a minimum of 3 years FTE post-graduate medical experience, in a well-structured position with appropriate supervision and regular face-to-face patient contact
• have completed a Master of Public Health or equivalent in the field of public health. The degree should usually have been completed within 10 years prior to submission of application for advanced training. The degree will be a combination of assessed courses that satisfy the Australasian Faculty of Public Health Medicine (AFPHM) compulsory core discipline areas: epidemiology, biostatistics, environmental health, communicable disease prevention and control, health promotion, health policy, Indigenous health.
• A letter from the Australasian Faculty of Public Health Medicine indicating provisional approval for advanced training is advantageous, but not essential.

Applying

There are a number of registrar positions in public health medicine advertised via the RMO campaign. Two of these are ‘pathway’ positions, that is, dedicated Public Health Medicine Training Program positions that allow rotation through an accredited network of placement sites.

For these positions, in your application, you’ll need to provide a short statement, maximum of 2 pages, responding to the selection criteria. To structure your response, read the role description [PDF 587.43 KB] , particularly the how you will be assessed section within the context of the key accountabilities section. Include the statement, as one file, with your CV and upload it to your RMO online application.

To be eligible for a position you need to provide details for 2 referees and your referees will have to upload reports. If they don’t, you won’t be eligible for a position.

For other public health medicine registrar positions advertised via the RMO campaign (many of which are also accredited for advanced training), please see the Participating hospitals page for eligibility and application requirements.

Read the Public Health Medicine Handbookfor more information about advanced training.

If you need help completing Step 10: Preference section for the Queensland Health Public Health Medicine Training Program positions in the application, use the public health preference guide [PDF 169.61 KB]. The remainder of this page is specific to these Training Program positions.

Participating facilities

These Queensland Health funded positions are managed by Metro North Public Health Unit but can include placements around the state.

Placements may be in the following public health units:

• Cairns
• Townsville
• Rockhampton
• Wide Bay
• Sunshine Coast
• Metro North
• Metro South
• Toowoomba
• West Moreton
• Gold Coast.

There are also opportunities for placement at the Southern Queensland Centre of Excellence, Inala or in the Department of Health at the following branches:

• Cancer Screening
• Prevention Strategy
• Health Protection
• Communicable Diseases
• First Nations Health Office.

There may also be opportunities by negotiation at Health and Wellbeing Queensland or University departments including:

• UQ School of Public Health
• QUT Australian Centre for Health Services Innovation (AusHSI)
• Griffith Rural Clinical School.

Interview and selection

The recruitment and selection process complies with relevant Queensland Health policies including the principles of equal employment opportunity.

The Public Health Physician, Metro North Public Health Unit, who chairs the Public Health Medicine Training Committee, will chair the selection process.

Preference for these temporary positions is given to existing AFPHM advanced trainees in good standing who require further training time. In particular, preference will be given to eligible advanced trainees who have held the position in the previous year.

If a position becomes available for new trainees, the committee uses AFPHM eligibility criteria to determine suitability of applicants for appointment to pathway positions. If there is more than one eligible applicant, a panel of Committee members will meet to merit list the eligible applicants.

The panel will consider application documents including CV, 2-page response to selection criteria and referee reports. If there is no clear merit order, the panel will proceed to interview.

Key dates

You can apply to the pathway when you apply to the RMO campaign. Applications for the campaign are open Monday 1 June to Monday 29 June 2026.

More information

For general questions about these advanced training positions, contact Dr Megan Young, Public Health Physician on (07) 3624 1111 or at Megan.Young@health.qld.gov.au.

For general questions about advanced training in Public Health Medicine, contact Dr Mark Stickley, AFPHM Qld Regional Education Co-ordinator at mark.stickley@health.qld.gov.au.

You can also find out more about working in public health medicine on the Medi-Nav website.