Skills Assessment:

1. International Student Stream

• Completed your pharmacy degree in Australia or New Zealand as an international student.

• Planning to move to Australia permanently.

2. New Zealand Registered Pharmacist Stream

• Completed a recognized pharmacy degree or approved process in New Zealand.

• First registered in New Zealand and are now registered to practice in Australia or New Zealand.

  Planning to migrate to Australia.

NOTE: If you are not planning to migrate to Australia, you do not need a skills assessment letter from APC. You can directly apply for registration with the Pharmacy Board of Australia.

3. Competency Stream

• You graduated from a pharmacy degree program and are currently registered to practice in Canada, Ireland, the UK, or the USA.

4. Knowledge Stream

• You are a graduate of a pharmacy degree program in a country that is not Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, the UK, or the USA.

• You graduated from a pharmacy degree program in Canada, Ireland, the UK, or the USA but are not currently registered as a pharmacist there.

Knowledge Stream skills assessment outcome

Let’s deep dive into the Knowledge stream to further understand it:

Who is it for?

For pharmacists who completed their degree outside of Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, the UK or the USA.

Countries like:

• India

• Pakistan

• Sri Lanka

• Nepal

• Bhutan

• Africa etc are eligible for the Knowledge stream.

Why do you need this Skills Assessment Outcome?

This is needed to be issued to:

• support a visa application with the Department of Home Affairs

• apply for provisional registration with the Pharmacy Board of Australia

What is the eligibility for the Knowledge Stream?

Your pharmacy qualification must be:

You must also:

• Be registered as a pharmacist in the country where you graduated, OR

• Be eligible to register there, OR

• Be eligible to start the registration process there, OR

• Be registered in another country recognized by the APC.

Structure of Skills Assessment:

Expiry of the eligibility check:

No expiry on the eligibility check once done.

Duration of the eligibility check for Knowledge Stream?

• 8 to 12 weeks generally

• Might take longer if incorrect data is provided when you apply for the process.

• Make sure you lodge your application at least 8 weeks prior to the registration closing date (For more info on the dates and location please refer this link for 2025).

OPRA EXAM Fees

• Fees for the Eligibility check: AU$810

• Fees for OPRA Exam registration: AU$2190

• Fees for Skills Assessment Outcome: AU$300

Documents required for skills assessment

OPRA Exam:

• As discussed, earlier OPRA exam or Overseas Pharmacist Readiness Assessment, assesses if an overseas pharmacist has the required knowledge to practise in Australia and meet the required professional standards expected in Australia.

• Passing the OPRA exam is a crucial step towards achieving a provisional registration as a pharmacist in Australia.

OPRA Exam format:

• OPRA exam is a computer-based exam

• Consists of multiple-choice questions.

OPRA exam duration: 2.5 hours

Number of questions in OPRA exam: 120 in total

OPRA Exam fee: AUD2190

Eligibility of the OPRA exam:

OPRA exam Dates:

OPRA Exam Test Centres:

How to register for the OPRA exam?

Here are a few steps to help understand the process of OPRA exam registration:

Step 1: Check your eligibility:

To sit for the OPRA exam the candidates must have:

Completed the eligibility check with the APC.

Received an email from APC confirming your eligibility.

Step 2: Register for the OPRA exam:

• Once you are eligible and received an email from the APC, go to the candidate portal and register yourself for the OPRA exam.

• The registrations open at 9am and close by 5pm AEST/AEDT

• You can check your local timing in the time zone converter

• The registrations generally close 1 month before the OPRA exam date

• No late registrations are accepted by the APC

• You can choose you test centre. Some test locations fill up quickly, so it’s a good idea to book your exam as soon as registration opens. If your first-choice test centre is already full, you can pick another available test centre.

Step 3: Upload a passport-size picture:

• You will be asked to upload a photo of yourself during the registration process. The photo can be a simple 'selfie'

• This is the reference picture provided on the APC website

the photo you upload should meet the following requirements:

• Full Headshot: The photo should show your entire face, from the top of your head to your shoulders.

• In Colour: The photo should be in full colour (not black and white).

• Recent: The photo should have been taken within the last 6 months to make sure it reflects your current appearance.

• High Quality: The photo should be clear and not blurry.

If you wear a head covering for religious reasons or facial jewellery, that’s perfectly fine—just make sure your photo clearly shows your face while respecting those items.

Step 4: OPRA exam registration fee payment:

• Seat will be confirmed only on the fee payment.

• The payment can only be made via Visa or Mastercard credit or debit cards.

• This card should be issued by a bank in your home country or country of residence.

• Around 5 days before the exam a reminder will be sent to you by APC.

Rescheduling the OPRA exam:

· In case the candidate is not in a situation to take the exam for any reason the OPRA exam can be rescheduled to another date and time but only within the registration period

OPRA Exam Cancellations:

• There is an option for cancelling the OPRA exam and requesting for a refund

• The cancellation can only be possible with the approval from APC

• There will be a cancellation fee which depends on when you cancelled your OPRA exam

• AUD100 cancellation fee if you cancelled 5 days before the OPRA exam

• If you cancel from 5 days up until 4 weeks after the exam date, you will receive a partial refund of AUD1752

OPRA Exam Scoring:

• The OPRA exam uses a scaled scoring system to ensure fairness across different exam versions.

• The passing score is set through expert analysis and reflects the minimum standard needed to apply for provisional registration as an intern pharmacist.

• Your performance is compared to this standard—not to other candidates or a fixed score.

Key Points About Scoring

• Passing depends on your overall performance across the entire exam.

• You must meet the passing standard for your specific exam version to pass.

• Psychometric experts ensure the scoring process is reliable and accurate.

Scored and Unscored Questions:

• Out of the 120 questions, 90% are scored and count towards your result.

• 10% are unscored and used for testing purposes—they do not affect your result.

• Unscored questions are spread evenly across all exam topics, and you won’t know which ones they are.

OPRA Exam Result:

• APC will email you the result of the OPRA exam

• The candidate can view and download the OPRA exam results from the candidate portal.

• The results will state if you passed the OPRA exam or failed and no further details will be provided

• The APC will not give feedback or comments on your performance in the exam.

• They also do not share exam scores with candidates.

• Once results are finalized, they go through thorough checks by the Senior Pharmacist and Delivery Manager. These results are final and cannot be appealed.

Number of attempts of OPRA exam in case I failed?

• You may resit as many times as you need to.

Resitting the OPRA Exam:

• If the candidate fails the OPRA exam, they can resit the licensure exam.

• You can register to take the exam again during the next exam period.

• When registration opens, log in to the Candidate Portal to register.

• Keep in mind, you’ll need to pay the full registration fee again.