Reapplying to medicine or dentistry
What carries over, and what can lock you out
You can apply again: GEMSAS welcomes unsuccessful applicants back, and the only cap we found is two assessments at Monash graduate entry. UCAT-ANZ results last one cycle, so you resit each year, while GAMSAT usually lasts four years. The bigger risk is tertiary study, which closes school-leaver routes at Monash, Griffith, Flinders, UWA and Adelaide medicine.
- A UCAT-ANZ result lasts
- One admissions cycle
- A GAMSAT result lasts
- Up to 4 years (Sydney: 2)
- UCAT-ANZ sittings
- One per test cycle
- UQ provisional entry
- First-attempt Year 12 only
Photo: Rob Deutscher from Melbourne, Australia · CC BY 2.0 · cropped
Photo: Cyberjunkie · CC BY 2.5 · Photo: Kristina D.C. Hoeppner · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Photo: User:DXR · CC BY-SA 4.0
Can you reapply to medicine or dentistry in Australia?
Yes. GEMSAS, the shared application service for most graduate medical schools, says unsuccessful applicants are welcome to reapply in a later year. Western Sydney says a gap year does not affect your application, and UNSW ranks recent and non-recent school leavers together.
The only published cap on attempts we found is at Monash, where a graduate entry applicant can be assessed twice at most. The real limits sit elsewhere. UCAT-ANZ results expire every cycle, some school-leaver routes last one year only, and starting a degree or some vocational courses can remove you from school-leaver entry altogether. So work out which kind of applicant you will be before you enrol in anything.
| UCAT-ANZ | One sitting per test cycle. Results last one cycle: the 2026 test applies only to courses starting in 2027. |
|---|---|
| GAMSAT | Usable for up to four consecutive years in Australia, with no limit on sittings. Sydney accepted only the past two years for 2027 entry. |
| GEMSAS | One application per intake and one offer per cycle. It does not release ranking data or interview scores. |
| School-leaver routes | Several end once you start tertiary study. UQ provisional entry is for first-attempt Year 12 students only. |
School leaver, tertiary applicant or graduate: which will you be?
The category decides what is assessed. The wording differs by school, so use these as a guide and then read the tables below.
Recent school leaver
You have no tertiary record and compete on ATAR, usually with UCAT-ANZ and often an interview. The window varies: Griffith's Bachelor of Medical Science allows one year since Year 12, Monash and Charles Darwin two, and UQ provisional entry none.
Tertiary applicant
You have started a degree but not finished it. Some schools can assess your university results, usually above a set GPA. At others, the same study shuts the door.
Graduate applicant
You have finished, or are in the final year of, a three-year bachelor degree. GEMSAS takes any field and prefers none. You compete on GPA and GAMSAT, and each school sets its own recency rules.
Do you need to resit UCAT-ANZ or GAMSAT when you reapply?
| Test | How long it lasts | What it means for you |
|---|---|---|
| UCAT-ANZ | One cycle. The test owner says results cannot be carried over from one year to the next. | Sit again in 2027 for 2028 entry. Use your existing Pearson account, because multiple accounts are not allowed. |
| GAMSAT | Up to four consecutive years under ACER's rules. | For 2028 entry, GEMSAS accepts September 2023 to March 2027. A September 2027 sitting is too late for that intake. |
| Casper | Curtin asks school leavers to sit it in the year of application. | Check each school that uses it, and plan to sit again unless told otherwise. |
| Bond psychometric assessment | A result is valid for 24 months. | You cannot choose to re-sit while it is valid. Anyone who sat before October 2025 sits again. |
With several GAMSAT results, read the instructions closely. ACER says universities use your highest performing score set by default, but GEMSAS tells you to select the correct GAMSAT ID before submitting, and it cannot be changed afterwards.
If your last UCAT-ANZ was before the 2025 test, that score tells you little. Abstract Reasoning has been removed, and the total now runs from 900 to 2700. A score out of 3600 cannot be converted. For scale, the 2026 test had 17,341 candidates, a median of 1,950 and a ninth decile of 2,340.
Does starting a degree affect school-leaver entry? The rules by school
This is the decision most likely to cost you a route. These rules are for the year shown and they change, so reread each page before enrolling. FTE means full-time equivalent: one FTE is a full-time year.
| Route | Entry year | Published rule |
|---|---|---|
| Monash, Direct Entry | 2027 | Year 12 no more than two years before commencement and no other tertiary study commenced. Certificate IV and above counts. Extension programs are exempt. |
| UQ, MD provisional entry and regional pathways | 2027 | Only for students completing Year 12 at their first attempt, in the year of application. Leaving school closes this route. |
| Griffith, Bachelor of Medical Science (MD provisional entry) | 2027 | Year 12 completed in the last one year at most, with no previous attempt at study at diploma level or higher. |
| Flinders, Clinical Sciences and MD | Page read November 2026 | No record of higher education study, including bachelor degrees from TAFE. A Year 12 extension topic does not count. |
| UWA, Assured Pathways (medicine and dentistry) | 2027 | Finishing school or on a gap year, with no university degree study and no vocational training at diploma level or above. |
| Adelaide, Medical Studies and MD | 2027 | Year 12 pathway: no tertiary record anywhere. At least 10 places go to students with one to two years of study solely at Adelaide University or its antecedents, at GPA 5.0. More than two years, or any third-year course, closes this degree. |
| Adelaide, Dental Surgery | 2027, provisional | Year 12 pathway: no more than two years of full-time university study. Higher education pathway: at least six months full-time at GPA 5.0. |
| Curtin, MBBS | 2027 | School leavers must not have commenced study at AQF Diploma or above. If you study elsewhere you cannot transfer in: finish first, then apply on a notional ATAR of at least 92. |
| Tasmania, Medical Science and MD | 2025 page | That page said domestic school leavers must not have commenced tertiary study. We could not confirm the 2027 wording, so ask before enrolling. |
| Route | Published rule | Academic bar |
|---|---|---|
| UNSW, Medical Studies and MD | With 0.75 FTE or more in one degree in the year you apply, secondary and tertiary results are both assessed and the higher rank is used. | GPA 5.5, or 4.8 for rural applicants |
| Western Sydney, Clinical Science (Medicine) and MD | Assessed on GPA or ATAR, whichever is higher. | One year or more, unfinished: GPA 6.2, or 5.9 for Greater Western Sydney |
| Joint Medical Program (Newcastle and UNE) | After one full-time year in a single program, excluding credit, your most recent program is assessed. TAFE study is not recognised. | Incomplete degree: close to a credit average |
| Charles Sturt, Clinical Science (Medicine) and MD | Uses ATAR or GPA, depending on your status as a current high school leaver. | GPA figures not confirmed: ask the school |
| JCU, Medicine and Dental Surgery | Non-school leavers left school over two years ago, or hold one FTE or more of bachelor study from the last 10 years. | GPA 5.75 for results to be assessed, which JCU says is not a benchmark |
| Bond, Medical Program | Under one FTE year, Year 12 results are used. From 1.5 FTE years, your GPA is used. Results over nine years old cannot be used. | Competitive guide: ATAR 96 or above |
| Charles Darwin, Clinical Science (Medicine) and MD | Current students need six months of full-time graded study. Completed qualifications must date from the past 10 years. | GPA 5.0 |
| La Trobe, Dental Science (Honours) | After a year of Biomedical Science or Biomedicine, you can apply competitively through VTAC (undated La Trobe FAQ). | No published minimum WAM |
We could not confirm a published rule for Sydney's Double Degree Medicine Program, or for UQ, Griffith or Charles Sturt dentistry. Ask those schools in writing.
Gap year or start another degree: how to choose
A gap year suits you if
- Your academic result cleared the bar, and you fell short on UCAT-ANZ or at interview.
- You want a route that needs a clean tertiary record, such as Monash Direct Entry or UWA Assured Pathways.
- You can commit to a full resit. Western Sydney confirms you sit UCAT-ANZ during the gap year.
Starting a degree suits you if
- Your ATAR ruled you out, and a GPA would give you a new record at schools that assess one.
- You would be content to finish it and apply to graduate entry, which takes any field.
- You have read the tables above and accept losing the routes that close.
A gap year does not protect every route: UQ provisional entry closes either way. The time difference is also smaller than it looks. A three-year degree plus a four-year MD takes seven years, while a gap year plus a five-year program such as Western Sydney's takes six.
Reapplying as a graduate: GPA, GAMSAT and what can still change
For 2027 entry, GEMSAS applications ran from 1 to 29 May 2026, and Flinders took its own applications from 18 May to 27 July. GEMSAS had not listed 2028 dates when we checked. Further study only helps if your schools count it, so check before you pay for a graduate diploma.
| School | GPA basis | Can later study change it? |
|---|---|---|
| Melbourne | Last three undergraduate years, weighted 1, 2, 2 | Honours counts only if completed by mid-year in the year of application. |
| UWA | Most recent three FTE years, unweighted | Honours, graduate diplomas and coursework masters count if they fall in those years. |
| UQ | The entire key degree | A new key degree must be finished by the end of Semester 1 in the year of application. |
| Flinders | Last three FTE years of your most recent bachelor degree | A one-year bachelor degree or Honours completed by 31 July gives a new GPA. Postgraduate qualifications do not count. |
Some choices after an unsuccessful year can block a later application.
- Sydney: if you applied unsuccessfully and then commenced postgraduate medicine or dentistry elsewhere, you are not eligible for its MD or DMD.
- Sydney: if you accepted a place and withdrew without approval, you are ineligible for two years.
- Wollongong and Notre Dame: incomplete medical studies in Australia or overseas make you ineligible.
- Flinders and GEMSAS: exclusions must be declared, and Flinders will not consider you until a medicine exclusion is lifted.
What to change before you apply again
GEMSAS will not tell you why you missed out, so start from the stage where your application stopped.
| Where you stopped | What to do next |
|---|---|
| Below the academic minimum | Look at routes that use university results, or further study your schools count. Macquarie warns the GPA needed for interview is likely to be significantly higher than its minimum. |
| No interview invitation | Put the year into your test. UQ's lowest provisional interview invitation for the 2026 intake was 2290, or 1960 for its Rural Background Sub-Quota, and it says these vary each year. |
| Interviewed, no offer | Practise the format you will sit. Western Sydney makes final offers on 75% interview and 25% UCAT-ANZ, plus the academic threshold. |
Before you apply again
- Confirm your category at each school for 2028 entry, and any rural pathway you qualify for.
- Reread each school's rules when they update. Western Sydney applies the criteria published on 1 October.
- List all earlier study, finished or not. ANU requires this.
- Rebuild your school list from your new numbers, and keep written answers to any question you ask.
How to use your year: a timeline for 2028 entry
Dates come from the 2027-entry cycle unless they name 2027, so confirm each one when 2028 dates appear.
- Now to January 2027
Let the round finish, then choose
Additional offers run to January, and QTAC lists an offer round on 14 January 2027. Do not enrol in anything until you have read the tertiary tables. GAMSAT registrations for March 2027 open in November 2026, at AUD$568 in Australia.
- February to June
Build your test preparation
Set weekly hours, sit timed mocks and review every error. Graduates apply around May: GEMSAS was open through May 2026.
- July to August
Sit UCAT-ANZ
You get one sitting, so book a date that avoids exams and heavy work rosters.
- September
School-leaver applications
For 2027 entry, Western Sydney, JCU and Adelaide medicine closed on 30 September 2026. Griffith's Bachelor of Medical Science closes on 30 December 2026.
- November to January
Interviews and offers
JCU's 2027-entry interviews ran from late November to early January. Keep this period free, because schools may not move dates.
Good uses of the rest of your year
- Paid work or volunteering in a caring or customer-facing role, which gives you real examples for interviews.
- Reading and online practice. Formal study may not be safe: even one unit can create a tertiary record.
- Practising your actual format. UNSW uses a two-interviewer panel and Griffith a recorded one-way format.
Mistakes that cost reapplicants a route or a year
Reapplying to medicine and dentistry: your questions answered
Where this guide's facts come from
Checked against these sources on 7 November 2026. Rules change between cycles, so confirm anything that decides your application on the official page for your entry year.
Make the next application different
Rebuild your school list with the free tool, then practise the stage that stopped you last time.