plasticsurgery.org.au

plasticsurgery.org.au is the website of the Australian Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS), the peak body for specialist plastic surgeons in Australia. It offers a "Find a Surgeon" tool that lets you search for accredited Specialist Plastic Surgeons, and it also publishes guidance on how to choose a surgeon and what to ask before committing to a procedure. Use it if you want to confirm that a surgeon is an ASPS member and holds the accreditation described on the site; it is a directory and information resource, not a booking or pricing platform.

What the site is

The ASPS describes itself as the peak body for Specialist Plastic Surgeons, covering both reconstructive and cosmetic surgery. The site is organised around a few main functions:

• Find a Surgeon – a search tool for locating accredited Specialist Plastic Surgeons.
• Procedures – general information about surgical procedures.
• Information for Patients – guidance on choosing a surgeon, surgical fees, Medicare and procedure cover, and the complaints process.
• Patient safety and regulation – material on how plastic surgery is regulated in Australia and how to report complications.

Who counts as a Specialist Plastic Surgeon

According to the site, only specialist plastic surgeons are accredited by the Commonwealth Government of Australia, through the Australian Medical Council, to perform all reconstructive and cosmetic surgery. The site also provides explanations of related terms, including:

• What FRACS means
• What "Specialist Plastic Surgeon" means
• What training an ASPS member has

If you are unsure whether a surgeon's title reflects this accreditation, these pages are the place to check the definitions the Society uses.

Steps to find a surgeon

1. Go to plasticsurgery.org.au.
2. Select the Find a Surgeon option (the site presents it as a button on the homepage and in the main navigation).
3. Use the search tool to look for surgeons. The site states the tool helps you find an accredited Specialist Plastic Surgeon and provides information to make your decision easier.
4. Review the results for each surgeon's credentials and contact details.
5. Cross-check the surgeon against the site's patient guidance before making contact.

The site does not publish prices, so treat the directory as a starting point for your own enquiries rather than a source of cost information.

Prepare before you search

The site's patient section includes a page of Questions for Your Surgeon and a Plastic Surgery Glossary. Reading these first means you can use the same vocabulary the Society uses when you speak to a practice, and you arrive at a consultation with specific questions rather than general ones.

Check the surgeon's status

The site provides a page titled Is Your Surgeon an ASPS Member? Use it alongside the Find a Surgeon results. Membership is the site's own marker, so verifying it there is more reliable than relying on a practice's marketing.

Know what the site does not do

• It does not list fees or provide quotes; the Surgical Fees page explains the topic generally rather than publishing prices.
• It does not book appointments for you.
• It does not replace a consultation. The site frames its role as helping you understand your options and select a surgeon safely.

If something goes wrong

The site includes a Complaints Process page and a route for reporting complications arising from surgical tourism. It also links to the Australian Breast Device Registry (ABDR) for patients with breast devices, including access to Breast Implant Registry data and information on BIA-ALCL, BIA-SCC and other cancers. These are the site's own channels, so use them rather than third-party forums if you need to raise an issue formally.

The Australian Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS), the peak body for specialist plastic surgeons in Australia, treats cosmetic tourism as a patient-safety issue rather than a neutral travel option. On plasticsurgery.org.au, the site provides dedicated information on cosmetic tourism, a channel for reporting complications that arise from surgery performed overseas, and a complaints process for concerns about care. The practical takeaway: if you are considering surgery abroad, ASPS directs you back to accredited Australian specialist plastic surgeons, and if something has already gone wrong after overseas surgery, the site tells you where to report it.

What ASPS says about cosmetic tourism

ASPS frames cosmetic tourism — travelling overseas for cosmetic surgery — within its broader patient-safety and regulation message. The site states that ASPS "understands the many different options patients have when considering plastic surgery," including who to ask for advice, how to select the best surgeon, and what is actually involved to ensure safety. Cosmetic tourism is listed as a distinct topic under the Information For Patients section, alongside guidance on choosing a surgeon, surgical fees, and Medicare and procedure cover.

The core position the site communicates is one of accreditation:

• Only specialist plastic surgeons are accredited by the Commonwealth Government of Australia, through the Australian Medical Council, to perform all reconstructive and cosmetic surgery.
• ASPS is described as the peak body for Specialist Plastic Surgeons, both reconstructive and cosmetic.
• The site's "Find a Surgeon" tool exists to help patients locate an accredited Specialist Plastic Surgeon and give them information to make the decision easier.

In other words, the site does not present cosmetic tourism as an equivalent alternative to surgery in Australia. It points to accreditation and local specialist care as the safety baseline, and it treats overseas surgery as a context where patients need extra caution and a clear reporting path if things go wrong.

Reporting complications from surgical tourism

The site has a specific reporting pathway for problems following overseas surgery. Under Information For Patients, ASPS lists "Cosmetic Tourism" together with "Reporting complications arising from surgical tourism." This means a patient who has had surgery abroad and experienced a complication can use the site to find how to report it, rather than being left without a route.

The reporting topic sits alongside two related resources:

• Complaints Process — for concerns about care, separate from the tourism-specific reporting channel.
• Patient Education — general material to help patients understand procedures and decisions.

A useful way to think about the distinction: the cosmetic tourism reporting channel is aimed at complications linked to surgery performed overseas, while the complaints process covers concerns about care more generally. If your situation is a complication after surgery abroad, start with the surgical tourism reporting information; if your concern is about a surgeon or a service in Australia, the complaints process is the relevant route.

Other patient resources on the site

The cosmetic tourism material is part of a wider set of patient-facing resources that ASPS publishes. These include:

For anyone weighing overseas surgery, the most relevant pages are Cosmetic Tourism, Reporting complications arising from surgical tourism, Find a Surgeon, and the pages explaining what FRACS and "Specialist Plastic Surgeon" mean — because those define the accreditation standard ASPS uses as its safety reference point.

How to use this information

If you are considering surgery abroad, the site's message is to compare that option against the accreditation standard it describes: surgery by a specialist plastic surgeon accredited through the Australian Medical Council. Use the Find a Surgeon tool and the "Questions for Your Surgeon" page to evaluate a local option before deciding.

If you have already had surgery overseas and have a complication, go to the Information For Patients section and look for the cosmetic tourism reporting information. Use the complaints process if your concern is about care rather than a tourism-related complication.

If you are researching a surgeon in Australia, the site's membership and training pages — "Is Your Surgeon an ASPS Member?", "What Does FRACS Mean?", and "What Training Does an ASPS Member Have?" — let you verify credentials against the standard ASPS describes.

The site also lists contact details, including a phone number (+61 2 9437 9200) and a Contact Us page, for questions that the published resources do not answer.

Plastic Surgery Info (plasticsurgery.org.au) is the patient-facing website of the Australian Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS), the peak body for specialist plastic surgeons in Australia. Its patient resources are designed to help you understand procedures, choose a surgeon, and know what to do if something goes wrong. The most useful sections for patients are Procedure Information, Find a Surgeon, and the patient safety and complaints pages.

Finding a surgeon

The site's central tool is the Find a Surgeon directory, which lets you search for an accredited Specialist Plastic Surgeon. ASPS states that only specialist plastic surgeons are accredited by the Commonwealth Government of Australia, through the Australian Medical Council, to perform all reconstructive and cosmetic surgery.

Supporting pages explain what that accreditation means:

• What Does FRACS Mean? – explains the Fellowship of the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons qualification.
• What Does Specialist Plastic Surgeon Mean? – distinguishes accredited specialists from other practitioners.
• What Training Does an ASPS Member Have? – outlines the training pathway for ASPS members.
• Is Your Surgeon an ASPS Member? – a check to run against any surgeon you are considering.

There is also a page titled How do you go about choosing the right plastic surgeon for you?, which walks through the decision process.

Procedure and decision-making information

• Procedure Information – background on plastic surgery procedures.
• Plastic Surgery Glossary – definitions of terms you will encounter.
• Questions for Your Surgeon – a prepared list of questions to bring to a consultation, so you can compare answers across surgeons.

Patient safety, fees and complaints

• Surgical Fees – information on how fees work.
• Medicare and Procedure Cover – what Medicare does and does not cover.
• Complaints Process – how to raise a concern.
• Reporting complications arising from surgical tourism – a dedicated reporting route for complications following surgery overseas.
• Cosmetic Tourism – guidance on the risks of travelling for surgery.

Breast device and implant topics

• Breast Awareness and Breast Reconstruction Awareness.
• Access your Breast Implant Registry (BIR) data and the Australian Breast Device Registry (ABDR).
• BIA-ALCL, BIA-SCC, and other various cancers – information on breast implant-associated conditions.

Education, events and research

• Plastic Surgery Congress (PSC) – the ASPS annual congress; the site promotes Surgery for Facial Aesthetics in Melbourne, 16–18 August 2024, with registration open.
• AJOPS – Australasian Journal of Plastic Surgery and Research Reports – National ASPS Research Tips.
• News & Media Releases, Articles & Blogs, Podcast, and Videos & Q&As.

Contact and access

• Phone: +61 2 9437 9200
• Contact Us page
• Member Log In and Trainee Log In for ASPS members and trainees (these are restricted areas, not patient resources)

How to use these resources

1. Start with Find a Surgeon to build a shortlist of accredited specialists.
2. Read What Does Specialist Plastic Surgeon Mean? and Is Your Surgeon an ASPS Member? so you understand what you are verifying.
3. Print or save Questions for Your Surgeon and take it to each consultation.
4. Check Surgical Fees and Medicare and Procedure Cover before committing, so you know what you will pay.
5. If you are considering surgery overseas, read Cosmetic Tourism and note the complications reporting route first.

A practical limitation to keep in mind: the site provides general information and a directory, not individual medical advice. Use it to prepare questions and verify credentials, then discuss your specific situation with a surgeon you have checked.

Plastic Surgery Info is the public-facing website of the Australian Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS), the peak body for Specialist Plastic Surgeons in Australia, covering both reconstructive and cosmetic surgery. It is an information and referral resource rather than a clinic or booking service: you use it to understand procedures, learn what accreditation means, check whether a surgeon is an ASPS member, and find an accredited Specialist Plastic Surgeon. It is relevant to patients and the general public, and also carries sections for members and trainees.

Who runs the site

The site is operated by ASPS. Its stated role is to represent Specialist Plastic Surgeons — those who are accredited by the Commonwealth Government of Australia, through the Australian Medical Council, to perform all reconstructive and cosmetic surgery.

That accreditation point matters when you are choosing a surgeon. The site frames surgeon accreditation as a patient-safety issue and directs visitors to verify credentials rather than rely on advertising alone.

What you can do on the site

The main practical functions fall into a few areas:

• Find a Surgeon — a directory tool to locate an accredited Specialist Plastic Surgeon.
• Procedures and procedure information — explanations of surgical procedures, plus a plastic surgery glossary.
• Patient information — guidance on choosing the right plastic surgeon, questions to ask your surgeon, surgical fees, and Medicare and procedure cover.
• Patient safety and regulation — how plastic surgery is regulated, the complaints process, and reporting complications, including complications arising from cosmetic tourism.
• Breast device information — access to your Breast Implant Registry (BIR) data, the Australian Breast Device Registry (ABDR), information on BIA-ALCL, BIA-SCC and other cancers, and breast reconstruction awareness.
• Credentials explained — what FRACS means, what "Specialist Plastic Surgeon" means, and what training an ASPS member has.
• News and resources — media releases, articles and blogs, podcasts, and videos and Q&As.
• Events and education — including the Plastic Surgery Congress (PSC) and events such as Surgery for Facial Aesthetics in Melbourne, 16–18 August 2024.
• Research — member research profiles, the AJOPS (Australasian Journal of Plastic Surgery) journal, and national ASPS research reports.
• Member and trainee areas — Member Log In and Trainee Log In, plus information on becoming a Specialist Plastic Surgeon, hospital accreditation, and the rural and regional workforce.

How to use it when choosing a surgeon

A sensible sequence, based on what the site offers:

1. Open Find a Surgeon to build a list of accredited Specialist Plastic Surgeons.
2. Read What Does FRACS Mean?, What Does Specialist Plastic Surgeon Mean?, and What Training Does an ASPS Member Have? so you understand what the credentials on a surgeon's profile actually represent.
3. Check Is Your Surgeon an ASPS Member? to confirm membership.
4. Use Questions for Your Surgeon to prepare for a consultation.
5. Review Surgical Fees and Medicare and Procedure Cover before committing, so you understand the cost and coverage landscape.
6. If something goes wrong, the site points to the Complaints Process and to reporting complications, including complications from surgery overseas.

What the site is not

It is not a provider of surgery, a price list, or a booking platform. The evidence available does not indicate published pricing, and no payment platforms are referenced. Member and trainee logins exist, so some content sits behind an account — the public pages described above do not require one.

It is also not a substitute for a consultation. The site's own framing is that choosing a surgeon involves advice, recommendations, and understanding what a procedure actually involves; the website supplies the background and the verification tools for that decision.

Contact and source

The organisation can be reached on +61 2 9437 9200 via the Contact Us page. Content on the site is published by the Australian Society of Plastic Surgeons, the peak body for Specialist Plastic Surgeons, both reconstructive and cosmetic.

An ASPS member is a Specialist Plastic Surgeon accredited by the Commonwealth Government of Australia, through the Australian Medical Council, to perform all reconstructive and cosmetic surgery. The Australian Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS) describes itself as the peak body for these surgeons, both reconstructive and cosmetic. In practice, the title signals a specific training pathway and a defined scope of practice — not just a professional affiliation.

The accreditation behind the title

According to the ASPS website, only specialist plastic surgeons are accredited by the Commonwealth Government of Australia, through the Australian Medical Council, to perform all reconstructive and cosmetic surgery. That accreditation is what separates a Specialist Plastic Surgeon from other doctors who offer surgical procedures.

The ASPS positions this as a patient-safety issue. Its stated aim is to help patients understand who to ask for advice, how to select the best surgeon, and what is actually involved in a procedure.

Training: what FRACS means

ASPS members have completed FRACS training — Fellowship of the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons. The site treats this as a core marker of qualification, listing "What Does FRACS Mean?" and "What Training Does an ASPS Member Have?" among its patient education topics.

If you are checking a surgeon's credentials, these are the questions the ASPS itself directs patients toward:

• Is your surgeon an ASPS member?
• What does "Specialist Plastic Surgeon" mean?
• What training does an ASPS member have?
• What does FRACS mean?

What the membership commits them to

Beyond accreditation, ASPS membership carries an ethical dimension. The site lists an Ethical Framework and Medical Codes and Guidelines among its governance materials, alongside hospital accreditation and reference links. Members are expected to work within these standards.

How to use this when choosing a surgeon

The ASPS provides a Find a Surgeon tool specifically to locate an accredited Specialist Plastic Surgeon. The site frames this as a way to make a daunting, life-changing decision easier by starting from verified accreditation rather than advertising claims.

A practical sequence:

1. Use Find a Surgeon to identify accredited Specialist Plastic Surgeons.
2. Confirm the surgeon is an ASPS member.
3. Review the training and FRACS information to understand their qualification pathway.
4. Read the "Questions for Your Surgeon" guidance before a consultation.

Where to go for more detail

The ASPS site also covers surgical fees, Medicare and procedure cover, the complaints process, and reporting complications — including complications arising from cosmetic tourism. For anyone weighing a procedure, these pages answer the practical questions that sit alongside the credential question.