Knowledge Stream vs Competency Stream: Choosing Your Australian Pharmacy Registration Pathway

Australia has two distinct pathways for international pharmacists seeking registration — the Knowledge Stream and the Competency Stream. One of the most common questions international pharmacists ask is "which pathway should I choose?" The reality is that you usually do not get to choose. Your country of qualification and registration status determine which pathway you are eligible for.

This comprehensive guide explains both pathways in detail, compares them side by side, and helps you understand exactly what each involves from start to finish.

Fees, dates and rules below were re-checked against the APC, Pharmacy Board and Ahpra pages on 7 November 2026.

The Two Pathways: An Overview

The Australian Pharmacy Council (APC) administers the skills assessment process for international pharmacists. There are two routes:

Knowledge Stream

• Exam: OPRA (Overseas Pharmacist Readiness Assessment)
• For: Pharmacists who qualified in most countries worldwide
• Focus: Tests your knowledge and understanding of the biomedical, pharmaceutical and clinical sciences behind pharmacy practice. It does not examine Australian law or practice standards: those come later, in the internship assessments

Competency Stream

• Exam: CAOP (Competency Assessment of Overseas Pharmacists)
• For: Pharmacists with an approved qualification or adjudication process in Canada, Ireland, the UK or the USA, who are currently registered in one of those countries
• Focus: Tests your competency to practise in an Australian setting, using domain 3 (medicines management and patient care) of the national competency standards

The two pathways lead to different places. An OPRA pass lets you apply for provisional registration and, once you have secured a position, start an internship in Australia. A CAOP pass currently lets you apply for limited registration and a shorter period of supervised practice, with no internship. Either way, Ahpra asks for your exam result certificate for registration, not your Skills Assessment Outcome: the SAO is a migration document. See below.

Before you pay for any of this, the APC's own first step is to research job availability, visas, costs and timeframes. It warns that the Australian job market can be competitive and that a skills assessment does not guarantee employment, a visa or registration. You have to secure your own internship or supervised practice position, and a visa is a separate application to the Department of Home Affairs.

Knowledge Stream: The Full Pathway

Who Is Eligible?

The Knowledge Stream applies to pharmacy graduates from all countries except:

• Australia
• Canada
• Ireland
• New Zealand
• United Kingdom
• United States

This includes pharmacists from India, Philippines, Egypt, South Africa, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Middle Eastern countries, and all other nations not listed above. If you have since registered in Canada, Ireland, the UK or the USA, see the edge cases near the end of this guide.

Step-by-Step Process

Stage 1: Eligibility Check — $810 AUD

You submit your qualifications and documentation to the APC for assessment.

Requirements:

• Pharmacy qualification equivalent to at least 4 years' full-time academic study if completed after 1 January 2006, or 3 years' if completed before
• Degree certificate covering the full degree (not a provisional or temporary certificate or letter) and showing the issue date; a letter of completion is accepted if your certificate has not been issued yet
• Academic transcript: all pages in one document, showing all subjects and results for every semester. Alongside it, the APC's checklist describes a syllabus showing the study plan and main points of each subject: provide the original in full and, if you can, a NAATI translation of the subject list and brief subject summaries
• Passport, an official photo ID and a birth certificate (or a second photo ID)
• Names on your documents must match your primary ID exactly; a misspelling has to be corrected by whoever issued the document
• Full translations of anything not in English, by a NAATI-accredited translator, uploaded with the originals
• Evidence of registration in your home country is optional: the APC does not require it
• No certified copies and no proof of English: the APC asks for neither. Each upload must still be a clear colour scan or photo of the original, because it doesn't accept scans of copied documents, certified or not

Processing time: You can only register after the APC has completed your eligibility check and emailed you to say you are eligible to sit the OPRA. The APC aims to respond within 5 working days of receiving all your documents, but says to allow up to 4 weeks, and it does not guarantee your check will be finished in time for the sitting you want. Its advice is to lodge at least 8 weeks before registration closes. Counting 8 weeks back from each closing date gives these lodging dates (our calculation; the APC does not print them): Monday 28 December 2026 for March, Monday 3 May 2027 for July and Monday 16 August 2027 for November. There is no expiry on the eligibility check. If the APC asks for more information you have 6 months (180 days) to send it, then you re-apply and pay again. Your payment card must be issued by a bank in your country of residence.

Outcome: You receive confirmation of eligibility to sit the OPRA exam, or a request for additional documentation.

Stage 2: OPRA Exam — $2,245 AUD

The main assessment of the Knowledge Stream.

Feature	Detail
Questions	120 MCQs
Duration	2.5 hours (150 minutes)
Delivery	Computer-based, in person at approved test centres (Pearson delivers the exam)
Format	Closed-book (no references allowed)
Availability	Test centres in 35 countries and territories on the APC's list; venues can change at short notice
Scoring	Scaled scoring, no percentage pass mark published; 90% of questions are scored, 10% unscored
Results	Pass or unsuccessful, no scores; the guide adds general feedback by content area, not used to decide the result
Re-sits	As many as you need, paying the full fee each time
Content areas	Therapeutics and patient care 45%, biomedical sciences 20%, pharmacology and toxicology 15%, medicinal chemistry and biopharmaceutics 10%, pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics 10%

Key point: OPRA is closed-book. You cannot bring any reference materials into the exam. This is different from the Intern Written Exam, which is restricted open-book.

2027 OPRA dates:

Registration period	Exam dates	Results released
19 January – 22 February 2027	22–24 March 2027	6 May 2027
11 May – 28 June 2027	26–28 July 2027	9 September 2027
14 September – 11 October 2027	8–10 November 2027	23 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. The APC says to check those times in your own time zone: the closing time can fall on the morning of the closing date, or the day before, where you are. The 2027 results dates fall 43 days after the last exam day (our count), so plan from the table rather than from the "approximately 4 weeks" that still appears in the APC's guide. If you are already booked for 23–25 November 2026, your results are due on 22 December 2026.

Stage 3: Skills Assessment Outcome — $300 AUD

After passing OPRA you can request a Skills Assessment Outcome (SAO) from the APC. It supports a visa application if your visa needs a skills assessment, and you don't need it for registration: see the section on the SAO below.

The APC's eligibility check, OPRA exam and Skills Assessment Outcome fees total $3,355 AUD (our sum). The later Intern Written Exam is another $790, and if your visa doesn't need a Skills Assessment Outcome you can take off its $300.

Stage 4: AHPRA Provisional Registration — $421 AUD ($397 for NSW, our sums)

You then apply to the Pharmacy Board through the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (Ahpra) for provisional registration, supplying your exam result certificate from the APC candidate portal. Ahpra does not require the Skills Assessment Outcome for registration. Provisional registration allows you to practise as a pharmacy intern under supervision. It is granted for 12 months, and if you need longer you apply to renew it. The APC says positions are earned: you find your own practice site and approved preceptor, and its order is to secure them before you apply. Before any supervised practice, your provisional registration and your supervised practice arrangements (a practice site and an approved preceptor) must both be approved and on the public register. The Board's overseas page says you can apply online, and that if you passed your APC exam more than three years ago you submit form APRO-60, which must be approved before you start. Its internships page points overseas graduates to APRO-60, so check with Ahpra which form applies to you. If you apply online, or lodge APRO-60 before you have a placement, you also lodge form AASP-60 so the Board can approve your supervised practice.

You must also meet the Board's English standard at this point: use Ahpra's pathway selection tool to see which pathway fits. Keep the two sets of rules apart. The APC does not want certified copies for its eligibility check. Ahpra does: documents you give Ahpra for registration must be certified and, if not in English, translated. Ahpra also asks for an international criminal history check, from an approved supplier, for overseas countries you have lived in for six consecutive months or more as an adult, and a certificate of good standing from each overseas regulator you have been registered with in the past five years (the period on forms APRO-60 and ALPS-60), which you arrange and the regulator sends to Ahpra directly. Ahpra says to apply at least three months before your intended start date and no earlier than six months before, because some of these documents are only valid for three months.

Stage 5: Intern Year

You must complete:

• An accredited intern training program (the APC accredits the programs, and each provider sets its own fee). You can enrol once your provisional registration and supervised practice have been approved
• Approved supervised practice. 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 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, but that is not what interns must complete today. 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.

Stage 6: Intern Written Exam — $790 AUD

A competency-based exam run by the APC, part of the Board's registration exam for interns (including Australian graduates):

• 75 questions, 2 hours
• Restricted open-book: one original paper copy (any edition) each of the AMH and APF
• Scaled scoring, with no percentage pass mark published
• MCQ + fill-in-the-blank calculations
• In person at test centres in Australia only
• 2027 sittings: 17 February, 22 June and 26–27 October (registration for the February sitting is open only from 11 to 18 January 2027)

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.

Stage 7: Oral Exam (Practice) — $510 AUD

Ahpra runs the oral exam for the Board. You apply on form APOE-60, which must reach Ahpra with the $510 fee between the opening and closing dates, and late applications are not accepted. You apply to sit in the jurisdiction where you did your supervised practice. The exam dates themselves are allocated: you get your date and time by email two weeks before the period starts. The exam has three parts: primary health care, legal and professional practice, and problem solving and communication. The first closing date for 2027 is 4 December 2026, for the 1–26 February 2027 exam period. The Board's candidate guide says you must have the 1,181 hours by the first scheduled day of the oral exam period. You must pass both the written exam and the oral (practice) exam within 18 months of each other.

The oral exam (pharmacy law and ethics) is a different exam, for pharmacists on limited registration. Knowledge Stream interns sit the oral exam (practice).

Stage 8: General Registration — $756 AUD ($783 for NSW, our sums)

After passing all exams and completing your supervised practice and intern training program, you apply for general registration with Ahpra. Once it is granted, you are a fully registered pharmacist in Australia. General registration runs to 30 November: if it is granted before October, you must renew by 30 November that year, so another registration fee ($504, NSW $531 at today's rate) can fall due soon after.

Knowledge Stream Cost Summary

Component	Fee (AUD)
APC Eligibility Check	$810
OPRA Exam	$2,245
Skills Assessment Outcome	$300
English language test, if you need one	Set by the test provider
Document translation, if you need it	Set by the NAATI translator
Provisional registration	$421 (NSW $397)
Intern training program	Set by the provider
Intern Written Exam	$790
Oral exam (practice)	$510
Reference materials (AMH, APF)	Set by the publishers
General registration	$756 (NSW $783)
Regulator fees only, one attempt at each exam (our sum)	$5,832 (NSW $5,835)

Board figures are from its schedule effective 1 October 2026. The APC has not published a 2027 schedule. The total includes the $300 Skills Assessment Outcome, which you only need for a visa, and assumes you finish within the 12-month provisional registration period. It leaves out the rows above that others set, plus professional indemnity insurance, international criminal history checks, visa charges and relocation.

Knowledge Stream Timeline

The APC says timeframes depend on your circumstances: some pharmacists take 6 to 18 months, and some may wait years to secure a visa and job in Australia. Here is what the regulators do publish:

Phase	What is published
Eligibility check	The APC aims for 5 working days after it has all your documents; allow up to 4 weeks
OPRA exam + results	Three sittings in 2027, with results 43 days after the last exam day (our count)
Provisional registration + supervised practice	A 12-month registration period and 1,575 hours, with the written and oral exams from 75% of the hours
General registration	The APC says timing varies with your circumstances

Competency Stream: The Full Pathway

Who Is Eligible?

The Competency Stream applies to pharmacists who meet both of these criteria:

1. Completed an approved pharmacy qualification, or been through an approved adjudication process, in Canada, Ireland, United Kingdom, or United States (the qualification must be recognised by the pharmacy regulator there, and meet the same 4-year or 3-year study rule)
2. Hold current registration in one of these countries at the time of application

Important: Past registration does not count. You must be currently registered when you apply, in any of the four countries. If you aren't currently registered in any of them, you need to reinstate your registration before applying for the Competency Stream.

What the CAOP Is For

The APC's pages list the four countries without explaining the choice, so we won't guess at the reason. What the APC does say: the CAOP tests your competency to practise in an Australian setting, and passing it is one of the eligibility criteria for limited registration and the supervised practice that follows.

Step-by-Step Process

Stage 1: Eligibility Check — $810 AUD

Similar documentation requirements to the Knowledge Stream, including the rules on degree certificates, names and translations:

• Proof of pharmacy qualification
• Evidence of current registration in a qualifying country: a current certificate or card, or a screenshot of your entry on the regulator's online register, showing the start or expiry date of your registration
• Passport, an official photo ID and a birth certificate (or a second photo ID)
• Academic transcript

Processing time: The APC aims to respond within 5 working days of receiving all your documents, but says to allow up to 4 weeks. It says it may help to lodge at least 8 weeks before registration closes.

Stage 2: CAOP Exam — $2,100 AUD

The Competency Assessment of Overseas Pharmacists.

Feature	Detail
Questions	70 (MCQ + fill-in-the-blank calculations)
Duration	2 hours (120 minutes)
Delivery	Computer-based, in person at approved test centres
Format	Restricted open-book: one original paper copy (any edition) each of the AMH, APF and BNF
Scoring	Scaled scoring, no percentage pass mark published; 90% of questions are scored, 10% unscored
Content	Five competency standards from domain 3: 3.1 (20%), 3.2 (30%), 3.3 (30%), 3.4 (10%), 3.6 (10%)
Results	Pass or unsuccessful, no scores
Attempts	2, then the Knowledge Stream

Key point: The CAOP is sat in person. The APC's current guide says so, and its Competency Stream page lists test centres in Australia, Canada (Toronto), Fiji, Ireland (Dublin), Malaysia, New Zealand, the Philippines, Vietnam and the UK (London, Plymouth and Edinburgh). It lists no centre in the USA, so plan your travel if you are registered there. Seat availability varies between centres.

Stage 3: Skills Assessment Outcome — $300 AUD

Same as the Knowledge Stream: you can request it after passing the CAOP if your visa needs a skills assessment, and you don't need it for registration.

Total APC Competency Stream fees: $3,210 AUD (our sum). If your visa doesn't need a Skills Assessment Outcome, you can take off its $300.

Stage 4: Limited Registration and Supervised Practice ($756 AUD, $783 for NSW, our sums)

From here the route differs from the Knowledge Stream. After passing the CAOP you currently apply for limited registration, not provisional registration, and complete a shorter period of supervised practice that the Board sets case by case (its October 2026 consultation paper gives a minimum of 152 hours). You apply through Ahpra's portal (the paper version is form ALPS-60). Your supervised practice needs separate approval on form AASP-60, which you can lodge with that application or after limited registration is granted, and you can't start until it is approved and recorded on the public register. After at least 75% of your hours the Board directs an assessment, which may include the oral exam (pharmacy law and ethics) and/or the oral exam (practice).

The Board says it is in the process of changing this route so that CAOP candidates apply for provisional registration instead. No date has been set, and until the Board announces one, new applicants should follow its current information.

You do not do an internship or an intern training program. You supply your exam result certificate, not the SAO, and the APC's order is to line up a practice site and an approved preceptor before you apply. The English standard and Ahpra's document rules in Stage 4 of the Knowledge Stream apply to you too. The standard lets the Board grant an exemption for limited registration in limited circumstances, but that is the Board's decision, it can be revoked, and you would still have to meet the standard to move to general registration, so don't plan around it.

Stage 5: The Assessment the Board Directs

The Board's consultation paper lists the oral exam (pharmacy law and ethics, $242) as the current exam for CAOP candidates, with no written exam and no oral exam (practice), but its overseas page says the assessment may include the oral exam (practice, $510). You apply on form AOEP-60, and Ahpra emails you the time and place. The form prints one payment amount, $242, whichever oral you mark, so ask Ahpra what to pay if you are directed to the oral exam (practice). The published oral exam schedule and form APOE-60 are for interns.

Stage 6: General Registration ($756 AUD, $783 for NSW, our sums)

After you complete your assigned hours and any assessment the Board prescribes, you are eligible to apply for general registration, with your weekly record of hours on form SPWR-60 as evidence. You pay both the $252 application fee and the $504 registration fee ($531 in NSW): the Board's form for limited registrants (APGR-60) says so. Apply well before your limited registration ends, because Ahpra says that if it lapses before general registration is granted, you must renew it as well, pay the fees for both and receive a pro-rata refund afterwards.

Competency Stream Cost Summary

Component	Fee (AUD)
APC Eligibility Check	$810
CAOP Exam	$2,100
Skills Assessment Outcome	$300
English language test, if you need one	Set by the test provider
Document translation, if you need it	Set by the NAATI translator
Limited registration	$756 (NSW $783)
Oral exam (pharmacy law and ethics)	$242
General registration	$756 (NSW $783)
Regulator fees only, one CAOP attempt (our sum)	$4,964 (NSW $5,018)

Add $510 if the Board also directs the oral exam (practice). Whether you need an English test depends on where you went to school and where your qualification was taught, not on your current registration: use Ahpra's pathway selection tool. The total includes the $300 Skills Assessment Outcome, which you only need for a visa. It leaves out the rows above that others set, plus your copies of the AMH, APF and BNF, professional indemnity insurance, international criminal history checks, visa charges and relocation.

The limited registration line uses the $504 (NSW $531) on the Board's fee schedule. Its application form (ALPS-60) charges that for 6 to 12 months and lists $252 (NSW $266) for up to 6 months, while also saying registration is granted for 12 months, so ask Ahpra which applies. At the lower fee the total would be $4,712 (NSW $4,753) (our sums). The total also assumes you don't renew: limited registration lasts up to 12 months, and the renewal form (ARLO-60) lists $504 (NSW $531). The schedule's $30 "transition limited registration renewal fee" isn't explained, so we haven't counted it. The Medical Board lists the same $30 for doctors who must renew while a complete application for general registration is being assessed, and it may work that way for pharmacists too, but ask Ahpra. Forms ALPS-60, APGR-60 and ARLO-60 are the PDF versions, on Ahpra's legacy forms page. Ahpra says PDF forms will be retired and strongly encourages applying online, so check the fee the portal shows you. Forms AASP-60, AOEP-60 and SPWR-60 are on the Board's forms page: you download them and upload them through your Ahpra portal.

2027 CAOP Exam Dates

Registration period	Exam dates	Results released
19 January – 15 March 2027	12–13 April 2027	27 May 2027
1 June – 12 July 2027	9–10 August 2027	23 September 2027
21 September – 18 October 2027	15–16 November 2027	21 December 2027

The same registration rules apply: 9am to 5pm Australian Eastern time, with no late registrations. The last 2026 sitting is 16–17 November, with results on 10 December 2026, and its registration has closed.

Side-by-Side Comparison

Aspect	Knowledge Stream	Competency Stream
Eligibility	Most countries	Canada, Ireland, UK, USA (current registration required)
Assessment exam	OPRA	CAOP
Exam questions	120 MCQs	70 questions
Exam duration	2.5 hours	2 hours
Exam cost	$2,245	$2,100
APC eligibility check, exam and SAO (our sums)	$3,355	$3,210
Online exam option	No	No
Exam format	Closed-book	Restricted open-book (AMH, APF, BNF)
Results	Pass or unsuccessful, plus general feedback by content area	Pass or unsuccessful
Attempts	As many as you need	2, then the Knowledge Stream
Content focus	Five content areas, 45% therapeutics and patient care	Five competency standards from domain 3
Registration after the exam	Provisional	Limited today (the Board says it is in the process of changing this; no date yet)
Supervised practice	Internship: 1,575 hours plus an intern training program	Case by case, at least 152 hours per the APC; no internship
Later exams	Intern Written + oral (practice)	Board-directed assessment: oral (pharmacy law and ethics) and/or oral (practice)
Regulator fees, one attempt at each exam, including the SAO (our sums)	$5,832 (NSW $5,835)	$4,964 (NSW $5,018)

Timeline Comparison

Phase	Knowledge Stream	Competency Stream
Eligibility processing	Aim of 5 working days; allow up to 4 weeks	Same
Exam + results	Three sittings a year; 2027 results come 43 days after the last exam day (our count)	Three sittings a year; 2027 results come 35 to 44 days after the last exam day (our calculation)
Supervised practice	1,575 hours, in a 12-month provisional registration period	Case by case, at least 152 hours per the APC
Final assessment	Written and oral exams, from 75% of the hours	Board-directed assessment, from 75% of the hours

No regulator publishes a total for either stream, and the APC's warning about timeframes above applies to both.

Pros and Cons of Each Pathway

Knowledge Stream

Pros:

• Open to pharmacists from almost any country
• No requirement for current registration in another country
• You may re-sit as many times as you need to

Cons:

• More expensive exam fee ($2,245 vs $2,100)
• Longer exam (120 questions, 2.5 hours)
• Closed-book format requires memorisation of content
• A full internship follows: 1,575 hours, an intern training program and two more exams

Competency Stream

Pros:

• Lower exam fee ($2,100 vs $2,245)
• Shorter exam (70 questions, 2 hours)
• Restricted open-book: you may bring the AMH, APF and BNF
• No internship: a shorter period of supervised practice, set case by case
• No Intern Written Exam

Cons:

• Very limited eligibility (only 4 qualifying countries)
• Requires current registration in a qualifying country (cannot have lapsed)
• Pass or unsuccessful only, with no performance feedback
• Only 2 attempts at the CAOP; after that you go through the Knowledge Stream
• The route may change: the Board says it is in the process of moving CAOP candidates to provisional registration, with no date set yet

The SAO is a migration document, not a registration document

This is easy to get wrong, so here it is plainly.

Ahpra does not require a Skills Assessment Outcome to register you. The APC says so in its SAO FAQs: when you apply, you provide your exam result certificate, which you download from the Exam Results page of the APC candidate portal.

So the two documents do different jobs:

Document	What it is for	Who sets its validity
Skills Assessment Outcome (SAO)	Migration — your visa application	The Department of Home Affairs, not the APC. Under its rules, a maximum of three years from the issue date
Exam result certificate	Ahpra registration	The APC does not set a validity for results. Ahpra decides case by case

You can now renew an SAO, as many times as you need

From 1 July 2026 the APC lets anyone it has previously issued an SAO apply for a renewal, and you do not re-sit the exam to get one. You can renew as many times as you require.

• Fee: $300 — the standard Skills Assessment Outcome application fee. Do not confuse this with the APC's separate Updated skills assessment request at $610, which is for candidates whose skills have changed since their last assessment. A validity renewal is the $300 item.
• How: log in to the candidate portal, go to the Skills Assessment Outcomes page, choose Request Updated SAO, upload documents, pay.
• Documents: you do not resubmit everything. Primary ID, a current photo, and evidence of a name change if applicable. APC may request more depending on how long it has been.
• Timing: APC targets 5 working days from receipt of complete documentation, but says to allow up to 4 weeks.
• If the renewal button is not visible in your portal, APC asks you to email info@pharmacycouncil.org.au with your previously issued SAO.

The practical effect: the old worst case — your SAO lapsing while you waited on a visa or an internship, and fearing a repeat of a $2,245 exam you had already passed — is gone. The APC developed the policy with the Pharmacy Board of Australia and Ahpra, and is explicit that it does not influence employment or visa outcomes. Renewing keeps your paperwork current; it does not find you a placement.

Sources: APC, "APC announces change to Skills Assessment Outcome Validity", 26 June 2026; APC, "SAO Validity Change - FAQs". Verified 25 August 2026, re-checked 7 November 2026.

Which Pathway Should You Choose?

In most cases, you do not choose — your country of qualification determines your pathway. However, there are some edge cases:

If You Qualified in a Non-Qualifying Country but Are Registered in a Qualifying Country

For example, if you completed your pharmacy degree in India but are currently registered in the UK. The APC's wording covers an approved qualification or an approved adjudication process in one of the four countries, plus current registration in one of them, and its document list says anyone who completed their degree elsewhere but is now registered in one of those countries must still upload their degree certificates. The APC's Assessment Standards (January 2024) also list a qualification completed outside those countries followed by registration in one of them. Check with the APC directly whether your route counts before you pay.

If You Qualified in a Qualifying Country but Your Registration Has Lapsed

You would need to reinstate your registration before applying for the Competency Stream. The Knowledge Stream is not an automatic fallback: the APC's page says it applies to qualifications completed outside those countries, so its published rules don't fit you either. If reinstatement is not possible or practical, contact the APC to discuss your options before you pay for anything.

If You Are a New Zealand Graduate

New Zealand pharmacists who hold current registration and an annual practising certificate can apply under Trans-Tasman mutual recognition (TTMR), outside both streams. If you are not currently registered in New Zealand, TTMR is not available, and the Board says applicants who completed a substantially equivalent program there and never held an annual practising certificate may be required to complete supervised practice. Ask the Pharmacy Board which applies to you. If you also need a Skills Assessment Outcome for a visa, the APC runs a separate New Zealand Registered Pharmacist Stream.

How GdayPharmacist Supports the Knowledge Stream

At GdayPharmacist, our courses and resources are built for the Knowledge Stream pathway. We have no CAOP course, and no course for the oral exam (pharmacy law and ethics).

• OPRA Written Exam Preparation: 10 chapters and 63 lessons, with 29 audio lectures (full access on the 6- and 12-month plans; the 3-month plan gets 2 samples)
• Practice questions: 5,134 active OPRA questions of our own, plus a full 120-question mock exam timed at 150 minutes and six shorter practice sets. They are not APC questions
• Intern exam preparation: the Intern Written course (7 chapters, 30 lessons, 748 multiple-choice questions, 8 audio lectures) and Intern Oral preparation (60 stations, 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
• Free to try: sample questions and the daily question

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.

Official References

• Australian Pharmacy Council: pharmacycouncil.org.au — pathway information, eligibility, fees, exam dates
• AHPRA: ahpra.gov.au — registration requirements and fees
• Pharmacy Board of Australia: pharmacyboard.gov.au — registration standards, competency framework

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Frequently Asked Questions

Can I choose between the Knowledge Stream and Competency Stream?

In most cases, no. Your pathway is determined by where you obtained your pharmacy qualification and whether you are currently registered. If you have an approved qualification or adjudication process in Canada, Ireland, the UK, or the USA and hold current registration in one of those countries, the Competency Stream applies. Pharmacists qualified anywhere other than those four countries, Australia and New Zealand go through the Knowledge Stream, unless they have since registered in one of the four, when the Competency Stream may apply: ask the APC. If you qualified in one of the four but aren't currently registered in any of them, neither stream's published rules fit you, so ask the APC before you pay.

What is the difference between OPRA and CAOP?

OPRA (Overseas Pharmacist Readiness Assessment) is the Knowledge Stream exam: 120 MCQs, 2.5 hours, closed-book, $2,245, testing knowledge of the biomedical, pharmaceutical and clinical sciences. CAOP (Competency Assessment of Overseas Pharmacists) is the Competency Stream exam: 70 questions, 2 hours, restricted open-book, $2,100, testing competency to practise in an Australian setting. Both are sat in person at test centres.

Do both pathways require an internship?

No. Only the Knowledge Stream leads to an internship: provisional registration, 1,575 hours of supervised practice, an accredited intern training program, the Intern Written Exam and the oral exam (practice). CAOP candidates currently take limited registration, complete a shorter period of supervised practice set by the Board case by case, and sit the assessment the Board directs. The APC says they do not need to complete an internship.

Is the Competency Stream easier than the Knowledge Stream?

Neither has a published difficulty rating, and they assess different things. The CAOP is restricted open-book and built on competency standards for medicines management and patient care. The OPRA is closed-book and tests the sciences behind pharmacy practice. You usually can't choose between them anyway.

Which pathway is cheaper?

The Competency Stream, on regulator fees: $4,964 against $5,832 from start to general registration (our sums, national fees, one attempt at each exam, including the $300 Skills Assessment Outcome), and there is no intern training program to pay for. The CAOP exam itself is $145 cheaper than the OPRA. Whether you also pay for an English test depends on your schooling and qualification, not your stream.

What happens after I pass the skills assessment exam?

You can request a Skills Assessment Outcome from the APC if you need one for a visa; Ahpra does not require it for registration. After the OPRA, once you have secured a position, you apply for provisional registration and start your intern year: supervised practice, an accredited training program, the Intern Written Exam and the oral exam (practice), then general registration. After the CAOP, you currently apply for limited registration, complete the supervised practice the Board sets and the assessment it directs, then apply for general registration.

Can I sit CAOP online?

No. The APC's current CAOP guide says the exam is delivered in person at approved test centres, and the OPRA is also sat at a test centre. Neither has a published remote option.

What if I qualified in New Zealand?

New Zealand pharmacists who hold current registration and an annual practising certificate can apply under Trans-Tasman mutual recognition (TTMR), outside both streams. If you are not currently registered in New Zealand, TTMR is not available. Ask the Pharmacy Board of Australia which route applies to you.

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Starting the Knowledge Stream pathway? See our OPRA preparation course, or try the free sample questions first.