Not all surgeons are equally qualified.
All surgeons have differing levels of training, experience and expertise. To qualify as a plastic surgeon, a doctor must be trained through the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons (RACS) which includes a minimum of 10 years extensive training, as well as complete examinations following graduation from medical school. Most are also members of the Australian Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS), an organisation that requires all their members to be trained through RACS.

In Australia, just about anyone with a basic medical degree is allowed to perform cosmetic surgery. There is currently no legislation in place that stops a doctor without formal surgical training, even your local GP, from calling themselves a ‘surgeon’.

The best safeguard is to look for the letters FRACS (PLAS.) under a doctor’s name and check that they are affiliated with the Australian Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS). Only fully qualified plastic surgeons have these titles and memberships.