The 2026 GSSE examination fee is $4,850 including GST in Australia and $5,425 including GST in New Zealand.1 Per attempt. Most people are carrying a rough figure in their head and it is lower than that.
The examination fee
| Australia | $4,850 including GST, per attempt |
| New Zealand | $5,425 including GST, per attempt |
Fees for Junior Doctors as published by RACS, checked 29 August 2026.1
It is the largest single number in GSSE preparation by a wide margin, and it is payable again in full for every attempt. Every other figure on this page is small next to it, which is the entire point.
If you skip preparation to save a couple of hundred dollars and then have to resit, you did not save a couple of hundred dollars. You spent another $4,850.1
We sell a question bank, so read that paragraph knowing what we are. The fee is RACS’s number and you can check it.1 The judgement about what it means is ours, and you are entitled to weigh it accordingly.
The costs people forget
- Travel and accommodation. The exam runs at ten centres, and RACS states your place, venue and time are not guaranteed and subject to change.2 If you are not in a capital city, budget for it, and book nothing non-refundable before your allocation is confirmed.
- Leave. Two consecutive exam days, plus study leave in the run-up. Whether any of it is paid depends on your employer and your award.
- A second attempt. The full fee again.
Confirmed sittings and registration deadlines →
What a resit costs
The fee is the number people quote at each other. The resit is the number that should actually change what you do about it.
A second attempt means paying the fee again. Another $4,850 in Australia, or $5,425 in New Zealand, plus another round of travel, another block of leave, and roughly four more months before the next sitting.
There is a training cost too, and it is not financial. SET Trainees must complete the GSSE within two active clinical years and in no more than four attempts, and only February and June are open to them.3 A failed attempt consumes one of four chances and a slice of a two-year window.
Prevocational doctors have unrestricted access and unlimited attempts.3 Which is the argument for sitting it now, before anything starts counting. Today a failure is expensive. Once you are on SET it is expensive and it costs you a chance you cannot get back.
Pass rates by attempt number →
Putting it together
For an Australian candidate sitting once, prepared:
| Item | Cost |
|---|---|
| RACS examination fee | $4,850 |
| Preparation resources, six months | $0 – $400 |
| Travel and accommodation | $0 – $1,500 |
| Total, first attempt | roughly $4,850 – $6,750 |
Examination fee as published by RACS.1 The other two lines are estimates and will vary with where you live and what you use.
Add about $4,850 for every attempt after that.
The preparation line is the smallest on the table. It is also the only one you control, and the only one with any bearing on whether you pay the largest line a second time.
Start with the free question bank →
References
- Royal Australasian College of Surgeons. GSSE fees. Available at: https://www.surgeons.org/Examinations/generic-surgical-sciences-examination-gsse/gsse-application-information/gsse-fees
- Royal Australasian College of Surgeons. GSSE dates and locations. Available at: https://www.surgeons.org/Examinations/generic-surgical-sciences-examination-gsse/gsse-application-information/Dates-and-locations
- Royal Australasian College of Surgeons. Key facts about the GSSE. Available at: https://www.surgeons.org/en/Examinations/generic-surgical-sciences-examination-gsse/gsse-general-information/key-facts-about-the-gsse
GSSEPrep is an independent educational platform and is not affiliated with or endorsed by the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons.