HETI applications for the 2027 clinical year open on 5 May 2026 and coming to an end this Monday. If you’re an international med student, specifically Bruneian about to go through this, here’s what it was actually like for me — including the parts nobody warned me about.

I graduated from UNSW Medicine in 2021. Right in the middle of COVID. And I was a Category 4 applicant, which basically means NSW will give you a spot if there are any left after everyone else has been served. Spoiler: it was stressful as hell.

How I Ended Up at UNSW

I underwent the UBD-UNSW Medicine twinning programme. I did the first 3 years in Universiti Brunei Darussalam, then transfer to UNSW Sydney in 2017, and graduate with a UNSW Medical degree. Been living in Sydney since 2017, got used to the metro hospitals, did my clinical rotations across South Eastern Sydney and Sutherland. By all accounts, I was an NSW-trained medical student.

But when it came time to apply for internship, none of that mattered as much as one question: are you an Australian citizen or permanent resident before you graduate?

No. I’m Bruneian. On a student visa. And that single fact dropped me to Category 4.

COVID and Final Year — 2020 to 2021

Let me paint the picture. I was in my clinical years in 2020 — the year the world shut down. Sydney went through rolling lockdowns. Hospital placements were disrupted except for UNSW students. I still have no idea why the people in position still allows it when we are not getting paid to do certain tasks.

By 2021, things were slightly better but still unpredictable. The Delta-wave hit Sydney mid-year, right around the time HETI applications were due. We were doing exams under COVID protocols (No OSCE at all, Yippeee!), trying to finish clinical requirements, and simultaneously applying for internship.

My Australian classmates were stressed too, but they at least had the comfort of being Category 1 — guaranteed a spot in NSW. For me, “guaranteed” was not a word that existed. I was refreshing my email every hour during offer periods wondering if I’d have a job by January.

The Priority Category System — And Why Category 4 Sucks

HETI uses a priority list to decide who gets offers first. Here’s the gist:

I was Category 4. Same university, same hospitals, same exams as my Category 1 classmates. But because of my visa status, I was four tiers below them in the queue.

To be fair, I understand the logic — Australia trains doctors for its own workforce first. But understanding it doesn’t make it less shit when you’re the one waiting.

Category 1 applicants are placed first across all 15 networks. Then Category 2. Then 3. By the time they get to Category 4, the popular metro networks are often already full. You’re fighting over whatever’s left.

Getting My Documents Together

Before applications even opened, I had to sort out a pile of paperwork. Here’s what HETI needed:

• Intern Placement Number (IPN) — A 9-digit number from AHPRA, distributed through UNSW. Cannot apply without it.
• University completion letter — A letter from UNSW confirming my name, student ID, that I commenced in 2017, and that I was expected to complete my degree in December 2021.
• Certified passport copy — My Bruneian passport.
• Visa documentation — Certified copy of my student visa.
• Academic transcript — Certified copy.
• AHPRA English language evidence — Yes, even after studying medicine in English for years, you still need to prove you can speak English. Bureaucracy at its finest.

The University Completion Letter

This was a specific letter that UNSW had to provide. It needed to state my commencement date, expected completion date, and confirm that I was on track to graduate.

The UNSW’s Faculty of Medicine admin will start sending them to students on their penultimate year around March-April. During COVID, everything took longer because half the admin staff were working from home.

Getting Everything Certified by a Justice of the Peace

Every single document had to be a certified copy — stamped and signed by a JP (Justice of the Peace). Each certification needed the JP’s full name, registration number, date, and signature.

During COVID, this was a pain in the ass. Looking up their janky look-up in their official website is so difficult to use. I ended up finding a JP at a local pharmacy who was still doing walk-ins.

Tip: Bring all your originals and photocopies in one go. The JP certifies the copies against the originals. Don’t do multiple trips — get everything together first, then make one visit.

Also, make sure the name on every document matches exactly. If your passport says one thing and your transcript says another (even small differences like “Muhammad” vs “Mohd”), you’ll need a statutory declaration or change of name certificate. I’ve seen classmates get stuck on this.

Submitting My Application

The application itself was straightforward. Log into the NSW Health Careers Portal through HETI’s page, fill in your details, upload your certified documents, and rank your preferred networks.

For the standard Optimised pathway, there’s no CV, no selection criteria, no referees. You just rank all 15 networks in order and HETI’s algorithm (they call it “the stack”) does the rest.

I spent way too long agonising over my network rankings. While HETI warns you not to try and game the algorithm, i don’t think it provides much better for people in Category 4. Just rank them in your genuine order of preference.

Also, DO NOT MENTION anything about Brunei Scholarship at all as this will prolonged the process of receiving any offer due to the bureaucracy nature of Brunei Government. HETI will request a letter of approval from said scholarship and this process will take weeks to months to just a letter, despite the verbal approval from the Brunei’s MOE itself. P.S: I faced this myself.

The deadline was firm — 11:59pm, no extensions, no exceptions. I submitted mine a few days early because the thought of a last-minute internet outage during a Sydney lockdown was not something I wanted to deal with.

The RPR Interview — Tweed Heads

Because I knew Category 4 wasn’t guaranteed anything, I also applied through the Rural Preferential Recruitment (RPR) pathway. This is a separate application where you pick a specific rural hospital, submit a CV and selection criteria, and do an interview. It’s merit-based, so your priority category matters less — if you interview well, you can land a spot ahead of higher-category applicants.

I applied to Tweed Heads (part of Network 4, alongside Liverpool and Fairfield). Tweed is on the NSW-Queensland border, right near the Gold Coast. I figured it was a solid option — regional enough to be RPR-eligible, but not middle-of-nowhere remote.

The interview was done virtually via phone call, because, well, COVID. I prepared, but honestly not as well as I should have. I was juggling final exams, clinical placements, and the general anxiety of a pandemic. I didn’t pass.

That one stung. RPR was my best shot at a guaranteed placement, and I’d blown it. Looking back, I should have prepped harder for the interview — practised with friends, researched the hospital more thoroughly, and had better answers ready for the “why rural” and “why this hospital” questions.

The Wait — Three Offer Periods, No Offer

After the RPR rejection, I was back to the Optimised pathway as a Category 4 applicant. And then the waiting started.

Offer Period 1 — July. My Category 1 classmates got their offers. Group chats blew up with people sharing which networks they got. Some were happy, some were complaining about getting their third preference. I sat there with no offer, refreshing my email like a maniac.

Offer Period 2 — August. More offers went out to remaining Category 1 and some Category 2/3 applicants. Still nothing for me.

Offer Period 3 — September/October. The last regular round. By this point, I’d accepted that the regular pathway probably wasn’t going to work out. The National Close Date came and went. No offer.

Those months were genuinely awful. You’re trying to finish your medical degree, pass your final exams, and every few weeks you watch another round of offers go out with your name not on the list. Your family back in Brunei is asking “so where will you be working?” and you don’t have an answer.

The National Late Vacancy Management (LVM) List

After the three offer periods closed, unplaced applicants were placed under National Late Vacancy Management (LVM) process. This is the last resort — a national process where remaining vacancies from all states and territories are pooled together and offered to unplaced graduates.

They send you an email offer, and you respond to confirm you still want a position. If you don’t respond, you’re out. So check your bloody email.

Being on the LVM list is a special kind of limbo. You’ve graduated (or are about to). You’ve passed your exams. You’re technically a doctor. But you don’t know where — or even if — you’ll be working in January.

The Offer — Tasmania or Central Coast

Eventually, I got an email in December. Two options: Tasmania or Central Coast (Network 7 — Gosford and Wyong Hospitals).

Tasmania would have meant uprooting to an entirely new state. No friends there, no support network, and I’d be navigating a new health system from scratch. Not impossible, but not ideal.

Central Coast was close to Sydney. I had friends in the area, could still access Sydney on weekends, and the hospitals at Gosford and Wyong had good reputations for intern training. It wasn’t my first-choice metro network, but it was a solid option.

I picked the Central Coast. No regrets at all.

What I’d Do Differently

Prep for the RPR interview properly.

This was my biggest mistake. The RPR pathway is one of the few places where Category 4 applicants can compete on merit, not just queue position. I treated it as a backup. It should have been my primary strategy. If you’re going for RPR, prepare like it’s the most important interview of your life — because for an international student, it might be.

Apply to multiple states.

I focused mainly on NSW because that’s where I trained. But each state runs its own system with its own priority list. Some states might be more favourable for international students. Victoria, Queensland, South Australia — check them all.

Start documents earlier.

COVID made everything slower. Even without a pandemic, university admin, JPs, and AHPRA all take time. Start in March or April, not May.

Talk to seniors.

The best intel I got was from fellow international students who are going through the same process as me. If you’re Bruneian and applying for NSW internship position, send me an email and i can help guide you more in detail. Also, reach out to your UBD-UNSW alumni.

Whew!

The whole process — from submitting my application to finally getting a placement through LVM — took about six months. Six months of uncertainty during a pandemic, on a student visa, thousands of kilometres from home. It was one of the most stressful periods of my life.

But I got through it. Central Coast turned out to be a great place to train. And in hindsight, the experience taught me that flexibility matters more than having the perfect plan. Sometimes you don’t get Sydney CBD. Sometimes you end up at Gosford Hospital wondering how you got here. And it works out anyway.

If you’re about to go through this — good luck. Start your documents now. Read the HETI guide. And if you’re Bruneian and want to chat about the process, reach out. We’ve all been there.

Useful Links

• HETI Medical Intern Recruitment — Official page
• HETI Applicant Guide (2027 Clinical Year)
• NSW Health Priority List
• Template Letter of Anticipated Completion
• HETI FAQ