How the ANZCA exams are marked
Each ANZCA exam turns your answers into a pass in its own way. Knowing how it is marked, and how much time each question gets, changes how you should answer.
Primary Examination (PEx)
How it is passed: The MCQ is a pass/fail hurdle: you must pass it to be invited to the vivas.
On the clock: 150 questions in 2 h 30 min: about 60 seconds each.
How it is passed: From 2026.2 you need at least 42.7% on the SAQ paper (with a pass in the MCQ) to be invited to the vivas.
On the clock: 15 questions in 2 h 30 min: about 10 minutes each.
How it is passed: Overall pass needs at least 50% across the SAQ and vivas combined (each worth half), after passing the MCQ.
On the clock: 3 stations, 2 min reading and 20 min each.
Final Examination (FEx)
How it is passed: At least 40% in the MCQ (and the SAQ) to be invited to the vivas.
On the clock: 150 questions in 2 h 30 min: about 60 seconds each.
How it is passed: At least 40% in the SAQ (and the MCQ) to be invited to the vivas. The SAQ is the commonest hurdle.
On the clock: 15 questions in 2 h 30 min: about 10 minutes each.
How it is passed: Overall at least 50%, a pass in the anaesthesia viva section plus at least one other section, and at least 5/10 in 4 of the 8 anaesthesia vivas; 3/10 or less in 3 or more anaesthesia vivas fails.
On the clock: 8 × anaesthesia vivas: 15 min. 2 × medical vivas: 15 min.
What that means for how you answer
Single-best-answer papers reward the best option for this patient, not a true statement. Read the last line of the stem first, and do not let one hard question eat the time of three easy ones.
Written answers are marked against a fixed list of points. A point you do not write earns nothing, however obvious it seemed; a long answer that misses the points earns nothing more.
Clinical stations are marked against a station guide. Do what the task asks, in the time given, and say your reasoning out loud so the examiner can credit it.
Where marks are most often lost
- Not answering the question asked: pages of unmarked material while the specific point the part asked for is missing.
- Vague phrases such as "good pain relief", "gentle induction", "cardiostable technique" or "post-op ICU" earn no marks: name the drug, the dose, the target and the reason.
- Ignoring the command word: "compare", "justify" and "evaluate" need a structure that does exactly that, prioritised, not a list of everything known.
Pass marks and formats change. Always confirm the current rules on the ANZCA website before you sit.
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