Only doctors with specialist registration in surgery, obstetrics and gynaecology or ophthalmology will be allowed to refer to themselves as surgeons under reforms agreed upon by Australia’s health ministers.

Federal Minister for Health and Aged Care Mark Butler announced his plan to change legislation to protect the title ‘surgeon’ back in September, in response to the AHPRA-commissioned review of the cosmetic surgery industry. 

As they worked out the details, separate work began on credentialling system for cosmetic surgery training, meaning that doctors with appropriate training could apply for a ‘practice endorsement’ to show they had met cosmetic surgeon training standards.    

But the latest update from Mr Butler and his state and territory counterparts suggests that most doctors who receive a ‘practice endorsement’ will be banned from using the title ‘surgeon’.