Skip to content
FANZCA · ANZCA Primary

ANZCA Primary
first time.

313 sourced study notes (one per learning objective) and 10,283 flashcards across the ANZCA Primary curriculum. AI SAQ grading on the Fail / Borderline / Pass / Distinction tier, a voice viva simulator, and an unlimited MCQ library. Built for the basic sciences of the Primary.

  • 313 LOs mapped
  • AI SAQ grading
  • Voice viva simulator
  • 7-day free trial
· New on iPhone ·

Your PRIMEX account, now in your pocket.

Specialist unlocks every PRIMEX exam track. Accessible is limited to AMC and Medical Student. Subscribe on the website or in the iPhone app, then use the same account to keep your access and progress together.

Subscribe on the web Compare web plans
Subscribe on iPhone Get the iPhone app
See how iPhone access works →
A trainee holding a phone with PRIMEX study progress displayed
A current PRIMEX readiness view shown inside a phone held by a trainee.
Pass rate
71%
First-time written, Nov 2023 (ANZCA Training Dashboard); 60.7% overall
Sittings per year
2
February and August written; vivas follow weeks later
Format
Written + Clinical Viva
MCQ, SAQ, then Viva
Study notes
313
one per LO · 15 curriculum domains
Organising college
ANZCA
Not affiliated with PRIMEX
· 2026 dates ·

ANZCA Primary Exam Dates 2026

Published dates for the upcoming sittings. Always confirm against the official ANZCA exam calendar before scheduling. I refresh this section quarterly as new windows are announced.

  • Primary Written 2026.124 Feb 2026
  • Primary Viva 2026.1 (Melbourne)18-20 May 2026
  • Primary Written 2026.218 Aug 2026
  • Primary Viva 2026.2 (Brisbane)19-21 Oct 2026

2026.1 applications closed 6 Jan; 2026.2 close 16 Jun.

· Watch ·

Inside PRIMEX, in under a minute

Recorded in the app, with real ANZCA Primary questions and notes. No sound needed to follow it.

· Exam domains ·

Topics tested in the ANZCA Primary exam

~40%
Physiology
Cardiovascular, respiratory, renal, neurological, endocrine, acid-base, and cell physiology relevant to anaesthetic practice.
Cardiac output · Ventilation-perfusion · Renal tubular physiology · Acid-base · Neuromuscular junction
~40%
Pharmacology
Inhalational and IV anaesthetic agents, opioids, neuromuscular blockers, local anaesthetics, and adjuncts. Mechanisms, kinetics, and clinical use.
Inhalational agents · Propofol · Opioid pharmacology · NMBA reversal · Local anaesthetic toxicity
~10%
Anatomy
Clinically relevant regional anatomy: airway, thorax, neuraxial structures, brachial plexus, and ultrasound-guided regional landmarks.
Airway anatomy · Neuraxial anatomy · Brachial plexus · Thoracic anatomy · Vascular access landmarks
~10%
Equipment & Measurement
Anaesthetic equipment, monitoring principles, gas laws, physics of measurement, and safety concepts underlying clinical practice.
Anaesthetic machine · Gas laws · Pulse oximetry · Neuromuscular monitoring · Vaporisers
· watch it work ·

Watch how PRIMEX works

Two short animated films: how written answers are marked criterion by criterion against an examiner-style rubric, and how the viva simulator runs the oral exam conversation. Both aligned to the published curriculum and current Australasian guidelines.

Read the transcript

The hardest part of a fellowship exam is not the knowledge. It is knowing whether your answers would score. With PRIMEX you answer exam style short answer questions under time, and every answer is marked criterion by criterion. You see what scored and what was missed, with feedback aligned to your college curriculum and current Australasian guidelines. From first part primaries to final fellowships. PRIMEX. Practise like the exam, before the exam.

· What's inside ·

How candidates prepare for the ANZCA Primary

ANZCA Primary SAQ grader: a topic entry box, a random SAQ set, a 10-minute timer and an answer field
Marking points. Every time. No guessing.

Write a Primary SAQ and get an examiner-style debrief in seconds. A Fail / Borderline / Pass / Distinction tier on the holistic 1-to-5 ANZCA mark, a marking checklist with every point flagged hit or missed, an examiner comment calibrated to published ANZCA Primary reports, and a full model answer at distinction standard.

  • Fail / Borderline / Pass / Distinction tier on the holistic 1-to-5 mark
  • Every marking point checked, not just a grade
  • Model answer written at examiner standard
  • Topic sessions or random sets from the question library
  • AI question generation in Primary format, no repetition
ANZCA Primary MCQ practice: a single-best-answer question with a confidence selector and four options
Primary-style MCQs. Full explanations. Community data.

Single-best-answer MCQs across all four Primary domains, mapped to the ANZCA curriculum. Full explanations for every option, including distractors. A community answer distribution shows how other candidates responded after each question.

  • Primary-format MCQs across physiology, pharmacology, anatomy, equipment
  • Explanation for every option, including the distractors
  • Community answer distribution after each question
  • AI-generated, curriculum-mapped, endless supply
  • Timed mock mode replicating real exam conditions
ANZCA Primary viva simulator: station setup with selectable FANZCA-style examiner conversation styles
An AI Primary examiner. Day or night.

Sessions run in ANZCA Primary viva format: an opening physiology or pharmacology scenario, five to six probing follow-ups from the examiner, and a debrief with a tier and a specific learning point. Voice mode transcribes spoken answers using medical speech recognition. The examiner persona is calibrated to published ANZCA examiner-report language.

  • Primary viva format with realistic examiner persona
  • Opens on a physiology or pharmacology scenario, then probes deeper
  • Voice mode: speak your answer, no typing needed
  • Debrief with tier and a specific learning point after each session
  • Covers all four Primary domains
A spoken mock viva. A graded readiness verdict.

Work through a full mock viva out loud with this college's AI examiner, in real time. Answer by voice, get probed and interrupted the way the real examiner would, then step out to a graded debrief: a readiness verdict, the topics you covered, your strengths and gaps, and how you handled the pressure. Every mock viva feeds your weak-topic plan, so what to practise next is always clear.

  • Real-time spoken viva in this college's examiner voice, fully interruptible
  • Graded readiness verdict: on track, borderline, or at risk
  • Communication and composure feedback: pacing, hesitation, clarity under pressure
  • Weak topics flow straight into your study plan and daily practice
  • Part of PRIMEX Pro, with monthly mock vivas included
ANZCA Primary flashcards: a revealed spaced-repetition card with Again, Hard, Good and Easy grading
10,283 cards. Spaced repetition. Thirteen card types.

Curriculum-mapped flashcard decks with spaced repetition across the ANZCA Primary curriculum. Cards you get right resurface less often; cards you miss come back sooner. Thirteen card types: mechanism, pharmacokinetics, drug profile, clinical correlate, and more. MCQ drill mode included.

  • 10,283 cards mapped to all 313 ANZCA Primary learning objectives
  • 13 card types: mechanism, kinetics, drug comparison, anatomy, equipment
  • MCQ drill mode for rapid-fire practice
  • One click from card to full study note
  • Image cards: structure diagrams, curves, monitoring waveforms
ANZCA Primary study note on the cardiac cycle with an embedded interactive pressure-volume loop diagram
313 study notes. One per LO. Linked from every result.

A sourced study note for every one of the 313 ANZCA Primary learning objectives. Consistent seven-section format, referenced to the published ANZCA curriculum, Australian guidelines, and primary literature. Notes surface automatically alongside SAQ and viva debriefs, so you read straight from the result, and the Curriculum tab opens any LO note in one click.

  • A focused note for every one of the 313 learning objectives
  • Consistent 7-section structure: scannable, not a wall of text
  • Aligned to the published ANZCA Primary curriculum and Australian guidelines
  • Per-LO focused notes available from the Curriculum tab
  • Full-text search across all notes; linked from SAQ debrief, viva feedback, and flashcards
ANZCA Primary curriculum tracker: learning objectives grouped by system with coverage counts
313 learning objectives. Every ANZCA Primary LO mapped.

The ANZCA Training Program Curriculum (v1.13, December 2024) defines 313 Primary-assessed learning objectives. PRIMEX maps every LO to a study note and to flashcards. The Curriculum tab gives you a checkbox checklist with per-section progress bars, so you can see exactly how much of the syllabus you've covered.

  • All 313 ANZCA Primary LOs, verbatim from the v1.13 curriculum document, grouped into 15 domains
  • Checkbox completion persisted across sessions
  • Click any LO to jump to the relevant study note or open a focused per-LO note
  • Per-section and overall progress bars at a glance
ANZCA Primary interactive diagram: a capnography waveform trainer with Explore, Recall and Exam modes
Physiology you manipulate, not memorise.

Interactive, active-recall trainers built for the physics and physiology the Primary leans on. Tap and drag the live model (capnography waveforms, ABG interpretation, flow-volume loops, ventricular pressure-volume loops, oxygen delivery and consumption) and watch the traces, values, and interpretation update in real time, then test yourself in Recall and Exam modes.

  • Trainers across respiratory, cardiovascular, acid-base, and pharmacology
  • Capnography, ABG, flow-volume loops, PV loops, and the oxygen cascade
  • Explore freely, then test recall against the model in Recall and Exam modes
  • Embedded directly in the matching study notes
Written readiness. Always know where the evidence stands.

An adaptive study plan counts down to your ANZCA Primary date and tells you what to study next. The written-readiness score combines eligible syllabus coverage with accuracy from recognised written results. Activity pace and supplemental practice are shown separately and do not change the score.

  • Days-to-exam countdown and pace tracking, ahead or behind
  • Written-readiness score backed by eligible written assessments
  • Coverage and accuracy broken out with evidence context
  • Activity pace and weekly target shown separately from readiness
  • Study this next: the topic queued for today, one tap to open
ANZCA Primary registrar interview practice: per-rubric-dimension scoring and a question-category bank
A panel-realistic ANZCA registrar selection interview, on demand.

Rehearse the four-minute monologue format real ANZCA reg panels run. Pick a starter question, paste your own, or run a category set. Answer out loud or by typing; the examiner stays silent for the full slot. At the end you get a calibrated debrief: a tier band, per-dimension rubric scores, named framework beats (STAR-FR, ABCDE, SPIES, PEARLS, PDSA) hit or missed, and a CanMEDS / ANZCA Roles in Practice breakdown of what your answer demonstrated.

  • 4-minute uninterrupted monologue format, matched to the real ANZCA reg interview
  • Calibrated rubric scoring per dimension with full band descriptions
  • Framework beat checks for STAR-FR, ABCDE, SPIES, PEARLS, PDSA
  • ANZCA Roles in Practice (CanMEDS) coverage breakdown per answer
  • Save your CV for grounded model answers tied to your real experience
  • Weakness model tracks which dimensions and roles to drill next
· About this exam ·

ANZCA Primary format and structure: MCQ, SAQ and viva

The ANZCA Primary tests the scientific foundations of anaesthetic practice: physiology, pharmacology, anatomy, and equipment. Passing it is the gateway to Fellowship training. ANZCA's 2023 Training Dashboard reports a first-time written pass rate of 71% (November 2023), with the overall rate including repeat candidates at 60.7%. PRIMEX is built by Dr Jay Marshall, an anaesthetics registrar in Taree, NSW, preparing for the same exam between cases.

  • OrganiserAustralian and New Zealand College of Anaesthetists (ANZCA)
  • FormatWritten paper (MCQs + SAQs), followed by a clinical viva for candidates who pass the written component
  • DomainsPhysiology (~40%), Pharmacology (~40%), Anatomy (~10%), Equipment & Measurement (~10%)
  • SittingsTwice yearly, typically February/March and August/September
  • Pass rate71% first-time written (Nov 2023), 79% (May 2023); 60.7% overall incl. repeats, per the ANZCA 2023 Training Dashboard
· PRIMEX by the numbers ·

ANZCA Primary pass rates and exam statistics

Curriculum learning objectives mapped
313
Sourced study notes
313 (one per LO)
Spaced-repetition flashcards
10,283
Curriculum sections covered
15
SAQ grading tier
Fail / Borderline / Pass / Distinction
Viva exchanges per session
5-6
Curriculum version
v1.13 (December 2024)
Trial
7 days, free

Every one of the 313 ANZCA Primary learning objectives is taken verbatim from the v1.13 curriculum. Each LO has its own focused study note and is mapped to spaced-repetition flashcards. The Curriculum tab persists checkbox progress across sessions and shows per-section progress bars, so you know exactly how much of the syllabus is covered.

Free, no signup

Try the same AI grader our subscribers use.

Five high-yield ANZCA Primary topics. One free SAQ and three MCQs per topic, graded against college-standard marking points. No signup.

· Ready for the full bank ·

Liked those five? That's a sliver of what's inside.

Get 313 study notes, 10,283 spaced-repetition flashcards, unlimited question practice and the full exam simulator. Free for 7 days, then from A$44.99/month.

Start free trial, 7 days free Cancel anytime · no commitment
· Questions ·

Common questions about the ANZCA Primary exam

· Pricing ·

Specialist pricing and 7-day free trial

Specialist unlocks every PRIMEX exam track: the specialist pathways, AMC and Medical Student. Every study tool is included, with no per-feature paywalls.

3 Months
$119.99
7 days free, then $119.99/3mo
= $39.99/mo · save 11% vs monthly
  • Every exam track: specialist pathways, AMC & Medical Student
  • Flashcards with spaced repetition & MCQ drill
  • Study notes for every curriculum topic
  • SAQ library & sessions
  • Study plan with pace tracking
  • Curriculum tracker & readiness insights
Start free trial
Monthly
$44.99
7 days free, then $44.99/mo
  • Every exam track: specialist pathways, AMC & Medical Student
  • Flashcards with spaced repetition & MCQ drill
  • Study notes for every curriculum topic
  • SAQ library & sessions
  • Study plan with pace tracking
  • Curriculum tracker & readiness insights
Start free trial
After payment

You'll land on a confirmation page. Tap the sign-up button (or sign in if you already have an account) and your subscription links automatically. If you close the page first, just use the same email when you sign up and it'll still link.

Free trial on every plan (7 days) Cancel anytime Not affiliated with ANZCA
Start free trial, 7 days free