While there has been considerable research on doctoral examination there is little that examines the various roles of the oral component and what issues one might consider if introducing or revising that aspect of the thesis examination process. This matter is of particular importance in Australia where it is not usual to have an oral component as part of the final assessment. However, there are a number of Australian institutions considering the introduction of an oral component. This paper, based on the literature and three research projects initiated by the Centre for the Study of Research Training and Impact (SORTI) at The University of Newcastle, Australia, addresses a number of the key issues that would need to be addressed if an Australian institution were to introduce an oral component to the doctoral thesis examination process.