Intern Written Exam: Restricted Open-Book Rules, Format, 2027 Dates and How to Prepare

The APC's current guide (30 July 2026, Version 2.2) describes the Intern Written Exam as restricted open-book: you may bring one original paper copy each of the Australian Medicines Handbook (AMH) and the Australian Pharmaceutical Formulary and Handbook (APF) into the exam room. If you have heard this makes the exam easy, you need to recalibrate your expectations.

This guide covers what the Intern Written Exam is, who sits it, the 2027 dates, the book rules, the exam format, competency weightings, and how to prepare effectively.

What Is the Intern Written Exam?

The Intern Written Exam is a competency-based assessment administered by the Australian Pharmacy Council (APC) that pharmacy interns must pass, along with the oral exam, to be eligible for general registration with the Pharmacy Board of Australia.

Key Facts

Feature	Detail
Administered by	Australian Pharmacy Council (APC), delivered by Pearson
Number of questions	75
Duration	120 minutes, plus 15 minutes before (non-disclosure agreement and tutorial) and a 5-minute survey after, which don't count towards the exam time
Format	Restricted open-book, computer-based, in person
Where	Test centres in Australia only. Remote OnVUE sittings ended as of 2025, except in exceptional circumstances
Allowed references	One original paper copy (any edition) each of the AMH and APF
Question types	Multiple-choice (4 options) + fill-in-the-blank calculations
Scored questions	90% scored, 10% unscored (used for calibration and testing)
Pass mark	Scaled scoring. The APC publishes no percentage pass mark
Results format	Pass or Unsuccessful only (no percentage or raw score provided)
Fee	$790 per attempt

Who Sits This Exam?

This is a critical point: the Intern Written Exam is for pharmacy interns in Australia, not just international graduates. Australian pharmacy graduates sit the same exam as overseas-qualified interns who came through the Knowledge Stream (OPRA).

Competency Stream (CAOP) candidates are the exception. Under the current arrangements they hold limited registration, don't sit this exam, and take an assessment directed by the Board, which may include an oral exam.

When You Can Sit It: Eligibility and 2027 Dates

You can register if you are provisionally registered with the Pharmacy Board, or were registered in the past, and have completed at least 75% of the required supervised practice hours, or will have by the exam date. If you register and don't meet the hours, you pay a cancellation fee. Any refund is subject to the APC's approval. Cancel 5 or more days before the exam date and there is a $100 cancellation fee. Cancel later, up to 2 weeks after the exam session ends, and the refund is 75% of the fee. If that is on or after your scheduled exam date, the APC's refund policy is for candidates who couldn't attend on the day, and you have to provide supporting documents.

The Pharmacy Board's current requirement is 1,575 hours of approved supervised practice, and it stays in place until a revised registration standard approved by Ministers is implemented. You can sit the written and oral exams once you have completed at least 75% of your hours (1,181 of the 1,575), counting only hours done during provisional registration and on or after the date the Board approved your supervised practice. You keep a weekly record of your hours from your first week on form SPWR-60, a statutory declaration, as evidence when you apply for general registration.

The Board's 2015 standard says 1,824 hours, and form APOE-60 and the main text of the oral exam guide still print that figure, but it is not what interns must complete today: the guide's addendum and the Board's exam page give 1,575. A Board consultation closing on 8 December 2026 proposes setting 1,575 hours in a new standard. That is a proposal, not yet in force.

Intern Written Exam dates for 2027

Registration period	Exam dates	Results released
11–18 January 2027	17 February 2027	5 April 2027
6 April – 24 May 2027	22 June 2027	5 August 2027
10 August – 27 September 2027	26–27 October 2027	9 December 2027

Registration opens at 9am and closes at 5pm Australian Eastern time (AEDT or AEST, depending on the date), and the APC does not accept late registrations. Registrations close about one month before the exam, and the February 2027 window is only 8 days long. You pay when you register, or your seat is released, and you can reschedule only during the registration period. The last 2026 sitting was on 20–21 October, with results due on 3 December 2026.

You must pass both the written exam and the oral (practice) exam within 18 months of each other. The APC says your Intern Written Exam result is valid for 18 months.

The oral exam has its own timetable

The oral exam (practice) is the other half of the registration exam, and you may sit it before the Intern Written Exam. The first closing date is 4 December 2026, for the 1–26 February 2027 period. The Board's candidate guide says you must have the 1,181 hours by the first scheduled day of the oral exam period.

Oral exam period	Applications open	Applications close
1–26 February 2027	2 November 2026	4 December 2026
31 May – 25 June 2027	1 March 2027	2 April 2027
4–29 October 2027	28 June 2027	30 July 2027

Ahpra runs the oral exam for the Board. You apply on the paper form APOE-60. The form and the full $510 fee must reach Ahpra between the opening and closing dates: late applications are not accepted, an application without the fee isn't considered, and the fee is non-refundable. The Board recommends Ahpra's file upload portal to avoid delays. The exam dates themselves are allocated: you get your date and time by email two weeks before the period starts. The exam is held in Canberra, Sydney, Darwin, Brisbane, Adelaide, Hobart, Melbourne and Perth, face-to-face except in the exceptional circumstances the Board lists. You apply to sit it in the jurisdiction where you did your supervised practice.

The Board's candidate guide (April 2025) sets out three parts: primary health care (10 minutes, role play, no references), legal and professional practice (5 minutes, no references), and problem solving and communication (20 minutes, role play, references permitted, but no search engines or AI search). Results are ratified by the Board or its delegate, which may take several weeks, and you are told at your exam when they will be issued. If you are unsuccessful, the letter lists the competencies you did not demonstrate.

Interns can read about both exams at the source: the Board's Registration Examination page and the APC's Intern Written Exam page.

The Restricted Open-Book Rules: Exactly What Is Allowed

What You Can Bring

Under the APC's guide, you may bring into the exam room:

1. One original paper copy of the Australian Medicines Handbook (AMH), any edition
2. One original paper copy of the Australian Pharmaceutical Formulary and Handbook (APF), any edition

No other books, notes or paper. You can also bring your IDs, a calculator (scientific or standard, with no internet, text storage or camera) and items on Pearson's pre-approved comfort aid list. Pens and pencils stay outside: Pearson gives you an online calculator and a whiteboard notebook with an erasable marker.

Exam-day ID. You need two forms of ID. At least one must be a primary ID, issued by your government and showing your full name, date of birth, photo and signature: a passport, a government-issued national ID or citizenship card, or an Australian or New Zealand driver's licence. A national ID with no signature can't be your primary ID, so bring your passport. The second ID needs your name plus a signature or a photo, and a debit or credit card can count. Every ID must be valid, original (no photocopies or digital IDs), in English or NAATI translated, and match the name you registered with. The APC says your IDs must meet these rules for you to receive your results. Small name differences are accepted on secondary IDs only. If there's a problem, email the APC at least 3 business days before the exam, listing your names and ID types in writing (never send images of your ID). If you arrive after your scheduled exam time, you can't start.

What You Can Do with Your Books

Allowed	Not Allowed
Simple highlighting	Extensive handwritten notes
Brief annotations (single words or brief phrases)	Loose sheets of paper
Small sticky flags or tabs (max 12mm x 44mm)	Printed versions of digital files, such as printed PDFs or scans
	Electronic versions (tablet, phone)
	More than one copy of either book

Books Must Be Originals

The APC requires original paper copies, not electronic versions or printed PDFs and scans. An invigilator will inspect your books before you enter the exam room, so a borrowed book with someone else's extensive notes is a risk.

Purchase Your Copies Early

Do not wait until the week before the exam to buy your AMH and APF. You need time to:

• Familiarise yourself with the layout and organisation
• Add your own highlighting and navigation flags
• Practise looking up information quickly under time pressure

Check current prices with the publishers. The APC allows any edition, but it also says exam content is based on the latest information, so an old edition may leave gaps. If you are sitting in February 2027, check availability now: see our AMH study guide.

What "Open-Book" Actually Means

It is easy to hear "open-book" and assume the exam tests whether you can find information in a reference book. This is a misunderstanding.

The Books Will Not Answer Everything

The APC warns candidates not to rely solely on the books: not everything you need is in them, and you are expected to draw on the professional knowledge from your training. So prepare to show that you can:

• Interpret clinical information and identify the relevant issue
• Apply pharmaceutical knowledge to make a clinical decision
• Use reference materials efficiently to verify or supplement your reasoning
• Integrate multiple pieces of information (patient history, lab results, current medications) to reach a sound conclusion

Time Is the Real Constraint

Here is the maths that matters: 75 questions in 120 minutes = 96 seconds per question (our calculation).

If you need to look up the answer to every question in the AMH, you will run short of time. As a rough estimate of ours, finding a specific piece of information in the AMH, even if you know roughly where it is, takes 30–60 seconds. If you need to do that for most questions, you lose 40–50 minutes just on lookups, leaving you about 1 minute per question for reading, thinking, and answering.

Know the content before you walk in. Use the AMH and APF for:

• Confirming a dose you are nearly sure of
• Checking a specific interaction you cannot quite remember
• Verifying a PBS restriction or scheduling detail
• Looking up one specific detail in a clinical scenario you otherwise understand

Do not plan to learn content from the books during the exam.

The 6 Competency Standards and Their Weightings

The Intern Written Exam assesses six competency standards from domains 1 and 3 of the National Competency Standards Framework for Pharmacists in Australia 2016. The weights are the APC's approximate share of questions. The last column is our summary of the guide's examples, which the APC says are not exhaustive:

Standard	Weight	What It Covers
1.3 Practise within applicable legal framework	8%	The PBS and its controls, the Special Access Scheme, Schedules 2, 3, 4 and 8, the National Law, privacy, Board codes and guidelines
3.1 Develop a patient centred, culturally responsive approach to medication management	20%	Assessing clinical situations and treatment options, factors affecting adherence, efficacy and safety
3.2 Implement the medication management strategy or plan	28%	Primary care, judicious use of medicines, dispensing, counselling
3.3 Monitor and evaluate medication management	28%	Changing treatment to improve outcomes, adverse event reporting, interpreting monitoring
3.4 Compound medicines	8%	Choosing formulations, calculating dosages, half-lives and concentrations
3.6 Promote health and well-being	8%	Health priorities and screening programs, culturally responsive health promotion

What the Weightings Tell You

The two highest-weighted standards, Implement (28%) and Monitor (28%), together account for about 56% of the exam (our sum). These are practical clinical decision-making standards: choosing the right treatment for the patient, counselling them, and then monitoring whether it is working safely.

If your study plan does not dedicate more than half its time to these two areas, you are not studying proportionally.

Fill-in-the-Blank Calculation Questions

Unlike standard MCQs where you choose from four options, some questions on the Intern Written Exam require you to type in a numerical answer. These are pharmaceutical calculation questions.

What Makes Them Challenging

• There are no options to choose from — you must calculate the correct answer
• Answers must be precise to the specified number of decimal places, and an answer not entered as directed is marked incorrect
• A dose of 12.5 mg is not the same as 125 mg or 1.25 mg
• Each question tells you how to round. The APC's sample content says to round only your final answer, type one number with no units or symbols, use a decimal point rather than a comma, and leave out unnecessary zeros. There are no partial marks
• You cannot "guess" between four options — you must get it right

Calculation Types to Practise

The APC's guide mentions calculating dosages, drug half-lives and drug concentrations, and publishes no fuller list. This list of what to practise is our own:

• Dose calculations: adult, paediatric (weight-based), and geriatric dosing
• Concentration and dilution calculations: %w/v, %v/v, dilution factors
• IV flow rate calculations: drops per minute, mL per hour
• Unit conversions: mg to micrograms, mmol to mg, mL to L
• Compounding calculations: quantities for extemporaneous preparations
• Body surface area (BSA) calculations: for cytotoxic and certain other medications

How to Prepare for Calculations

1. Practise daily — not weekly, daily. Calculation accuracy comes from repetition
2. Show your working (in practice) — this helps you identify where errors creep in
3. Double-check using a different method — if you calculated forward, check by working backward
4. Know your conversions cold: 1 g = 1,000 mg = 1,000,000 micrograms
5. Practise with an on-screen calculator: the exam software has one, and the APC's online sample test lets you try the software first

How Scoring Works

The Intern Written Exam uses a scaled scoring system, and the APC publishes no percentage pass mark. If you see a percentage quoted elsewhere, it does not come from the APC's guide or exam pages. According to the guide:

• The passing standard is set through psychometric standard-setting with subject matter experts
• You must meet the standard set for your randomly allocated exam form, based on your overall performance
• Of the 75 questions, 90% count towards your result and 10% are unscored, and you won't know which is which
• You receive a Pass or Unsuccessful result only: the APC does not release scores or percentages

If You Are Unsuccessful

You can register for another sitting, and you pay the fee each time. The APC says it can only comment on your performance in an exam counselling session, which it offers after three unsuccessful attempts if you contact it within 1 month of the results. A second and final session is available after further attempts. Your Candidate Portal also shows a scale of the level needed for a successful outcome.

Focus on demonstrating competence across all six standards rather than trying to calculate how many questions you need to get right.

How to Prepare for a Restricted Open-Book Exam

1. Study as If It Were Closed-Book

This is the single most important preparation strategy. Know the content well enough that you could pass without the references. Then use the AMH and APF as confirmation tools, not as primary information sources.

2. Master AMH Navigation

The AMH's publisher says its chapters are arranged by organ system and therapeutic use. Practise:

• Finding a specific drug quickly (use the index — it is faster than flipping through sections)
• Locating dosing information, adverse effects, interactions, and precautions for common medications
• Navigating between the drug monograph and the therapeutic overview sections
• Finding the AMH's guidance on use in pregnancy and renal impairment

Set a target: you should be able to find any common drug's dosing information in under 30 seconds (our own target).

3. Master APF Navigation

PSA says the APF covers topics including compounding, medicines safety, good dispensing practice, drug interactions and laboratory tests, and it has treatment guidelines for pharmacists on minor ailments. Check the contents page of your own copy, then practise:

• Finding your way around the compounding section
• Locating the good dispensing practice information
• Navigating the treatment guidelines for pharmacists
• Finding the drug interactions and laboratory test information

4. Create a Flagging System

Use small sticky flags (within the 12mm x 44mm limit) to mark frequently referenced sections in both books. A good flagging system might include:

• Colour-coded by body system (e.g., blue for cardiovascular, red for respiratory)
• Flags on frequently prescribed or high-risk medicines, which the APC's guide says its questions focus on, though less common medicines can appear too
• Flags on the information you check most (e.g., the AMH's drug interactions appendix, or where your edition presents renal impairment and pregnancy information)

Do not over-flag: too many flags become useless. As a rule of thumb of ours, aim for 20–30 well-placed flags per book. The APC sets a maximum flag size, not a number.

5. Focus on High-Weight Competency Areas

Dedicate proportional study time:

• 56% on Implement + Monitor (drug selection, dosing, monitoring, adverse effects)
• 20% on Patient-Centred Approach (assessment, medication review, identifying problems)
• 8% on Legal Framework (scheduling, controlled drugs, PBS)
• 8% on Compounding (calculations, stability, quality)
• 8% on Health Promotion (vaccination, disease prevention, public health)

6. Practise Under Exam Conditions

Complete timed practice exams with your AMH and APF:

• Set a timer for 120 minutes
• Have your flagged AMH and APF on your desk
• Resist the urge to look up everything — practise strategic referencing
• After the practice exam, note which lookups were efficient and which wasted time

7. Take the Online Sample Test

The APC points candidates to an online sample test on its delivery provider's website, and to its sample content for how to answer fill-in-the-blank questions. Use them to get used to:

• The computer interface
• How questions are presented on screen
• How fill-in-the-blank calculations work
• The on-screen tools, including the calculator

Do not skip this step. Knowing the software before exam day saves time.

How the Intern Written Exam Differs from OPRA

This is a frequent source of confusion. Here is a clear comparison:

Feature	Intern Written Exam	OPRA
Purpose	Part of the registration exam for general registration	Skills assessment for overseas-qualified pharmacists
When	Once you have at least 75% of your hours, or will by the exam date	Before internship
Who sits it	Pharmacy interns (Australian + Knowledge Stream)	Only overseas-qualified pharmacists (Knowledge Stream)
Format	75 Qs, 2 hours, restricted open-book	120 Qs, 2.5 hours, closed-book
References allowed	One original paper copy each of the AMH and APF	None
Where	Test centres in Australia only	Approved test centres in many countries
Cost	$790 AUD	$2,245 AUD
Pass mark	Scaled scoring, no percentage published	Scaled scoring, no percentage published
Question types	MCQ + fill-in-the-blank calculations	MCQ only

Key takeaway: Passing OPRA does not mean you are ready for this exam. The APC's OPRA guide says OPRA does not examine pharmacy practice issues specific to Australia or New Zealand, such as legislation or practice standards, and leaves them to later assessments. The Intern Written Exam's standards do cover them, including the PBS, drug schedules and Board guidelines.

This Exam Is for ALL Interns

It bears repeating: the Intern Written Exam is not an "international pharmacist" exam. Interns who graduated from an Australian university sit the same exam as interns who came through the Knowledge Stream.

This means:

• The exam is designed for the Australian healthcare setting
• It assumes you are well into your supervised practice hours (at least 75% of the 1,575)
• It tests competencies you should have developed during your intern year

Official APC Preparation Resources

The APC provides several free resources:

• Intern Written Exam Guide (30 July 2026, Version 2.2): format, rules and content areas
• Sample content: examples to practise with, including how to answer fill-in-the-blank questions
• Online sample test: shows how the exam software works

GdayPharmacist is independent of the APC, the Pharmacy Board and Ahpra. The APC does not endorse any exam preparation program, including ours, so start with its free exam guide and sample content. The APC also encourages you to seek support from your intern training program provider.

External References

• Australian Pharmacy Council: Intern Written Exam page — exam information, registration, sample materials
• AHPRA: ahpra.gov.au — registration requirements
• Pharmacy Board of Australia: Registration Examination page — the 75% and 18-month rules and the oral exam schedule
• Australian Medicines Handbook: amh.net.au — the publisher's site; check availability first
• Pharmaceutical Society of Australia: psa.org.au — professional resources

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Frequently Asked Questions

Is the Intern Written Exam open-book?

It is restricted open-book. Candidates may bring one original paper copy (any edition) of the Australian Medicines Handbook (AMH) and one of the Australian Pharmaceutical Formulary and Handbook (APF) into the exam. No other reference materials are permitted.

What is the pass mark for the Intern Written Exam?

The APC publishes no percentage pass mark. The exam uses scaled scoring, and you must meet the standard set for your exam form. Results are released as Pass or Unsuccessful only, with no percentage or raw score. After three unsuccessful attempts the APC offers an exam counselling session.

How many questions are on the Intern Written Exam?

The exam has 75 questions to be completed in 120 minutes (2 hours). Of these, 90% are scored and 10% are unscored questions used for calibration and testing. You will not know which questions are unscored, so treat every question as if it counts.

What types of questions are on the Intern Written Exam?

The exam includes multiple-choice questions (four options, one correct answer) and fill-in-the-blank pharmaceutical calculation questions. Calculation questions require you to type a precise numerical answer to a specified number of decimal places.

Can I bring electronic versions of the AMH or APF?

No. Only original paper copies are permitted. Phones, tablets and other electronic devices are not allowed in the exam room, apart from a permitted calculator. Printed PDFs and scans are also not allowed.

How is the Intern Written Exam different from OPRA?

The Intern Written Exam is for pharmacy interns (including Australian graduates) and is sat once you have completed at least 75% of your supervised practice hours, or will have by the exam date. It has 75 questions in 2 hours and is restricted open-book. OPRA is for overseas-qualified pharmacists on the Knowledge Stream, sat before the internship, has 120 questions in 2.5 hours, and is closed-book.

Do Australian pharmacy graduates sit the same exam as international graduates?

Yes. Australian graduates and overseas-qualified interns from the Knowledge Stream sit the same Intern Written Exam. Competency Stream (CAOP) candidates currently don't: the Board directs a separate assessment for them, which may include an oral exam.

How should I prepare for the restricted open-book format?

Study as though the exam were closed-book — know the content thoroughly. Then practise navigating your AMH and APF quickly so you can confirm information in under 30 seconds. Use sticky flags to mark frequently referenced sections. Complete timed practice exams with your references to build efficient lookup habits.

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Preparing for the intern exams? Our Intern Written course has 7 chapters, 30 lessons, 748 multiple-choice questions and 8 audio lectures, and our Intern Oral course has 60 stations and 8 audio lectures. On either course, the 6- and 12-month plans include all 8 of that course's lectures. The 3-month plan doesn't: it gets only the 2 sample lectures from our OPRA list, the same 2 any free account can play. The questions are our own, and the APC does not endorse them. Our bank has no fill-in-the-blank questions, so practise that format with the APC's sample content. Free items are on our resources page.