Why are fees and charges increasing?

The College is facing the same inflation pressures that have been broadly felt across Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand. Last year when other Colleges increased their fees on average by five percent, we did not increase fees. Over the last decade, we have also consistently held fee increases below Education CPI. Unfortunately, we can no longer defer fee and charge increases.

How do our fees compare with those of other Colleges?

We benchmark our fees and charges against peer Colleges every year. Our analysis shows that our annual subscriptions remain lower than most Colleges. Our examination fees are lower than our peers, but our training fees are towards the upper end of the range, reflecting the complexity of our training pathways.

For more information, see our benchmarking fees report (PDF)

The College has significant cash reserves. Why can’t those retained earnings be used to offset the need to increase fees?

Our cash reserves have been accumulated over many years of careful financial management. The Board determined it would not be prudent to fund increased operating expenses by using cash reserves. Half of our cash reserves also relate to the RACP Foundation and aren't available for operational expenditure.

Can you explain more about the IT investments the College needs to make?

Many core College IT systems can't deliver the training functionality or services that members reasonably expect, nor support the new curricula. We need to make significant investments in the next few years to ensure we can deliver the new curricula, provide enhanced additional functionality and support College services for all members.

Why can’t the College fund those future investments from making operations more efficient?

The College is looking at ways to be more operationally efficient, however, operational efficiencies alone will not cover the cost of technology investments we need to make.

I need help with paying increased fees. Where do I find information?

You may be eligible for reductions and/or exemptions of some fees, please check the reductions and exemptions section at the bottom of our fees page.

A monthly Direct Debit option is available on certain invoices for Australia. Paying by instalments is subject to approval by the College and available on Aotearoa New Zealand invoices.

Basic Training fees spending breakdown 2023

Download image (PDF)