OPRA Exam Dates 2027: What's Confirmed, What's Not, and How the Sittings Work

If you are an overseas-qualified pharmacist planning your OPRA exam for 2027, here is the straight answer first: the Australian Pharmacy Council (APC) has published three 2027 OPRA sittings, in March, July and November.

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

This guide explains how registration works, what you must finish before you can register, the ID rules for exam day, current fees and the later steps in the pathway. As at 7 November 2026 the APC had not published a 2027 exam guide or a 2027 fee schedule, and we say so where it matters.

First, the terminology: OPRA, not KAPS

If you studied this pathway a couple of years ago, you'll remember KAPS. That exam was retired after its final November 2024 sitting. Since March 2025 the Knowledge Stream exam for overseas-qualified pharmacists has been the OPRA® (Overseas Pharmacist Readiness Assessment). If a resource is still talking about "KAPS 2027 dates," it's out of date: the exam you're sitting is the OPRA. A past KAPS pass still counts, because the Pharmacy Board accepts KAPS as well as OPRA for provisional registration. The APC sets no validity period for exam results, and Ahpra decides case by case.

Where OPRA sits in the pathway

For an overseas-qualified pharmacist seeking general registration in Australia, the standard route runs roughly like this:

1. Eligibility check / skills assessment with the APC.
2. OPRA exam, the Knowledge Stream exam (this guide). The alternative CAOP exam is the separate Competency Stream route, 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 four countries. Pharmacists who qualified in any other country outside Australia and New Zealand sit the OPRA, unless they have since registered in one of the four, when the CAOP may apply. If you qualified in one of the four but aren't currently registered in any of them, the APC's published criteria don't fit you. In either case ask the APC before you pay, because its eligibility check fee is non-refundable.
3. Provisional registration and supervised practice (an internship) via the Pharmacy Board of Australia and Ahpra. The APC's advice is to secure a practice site and an approved preceptor first, then apply, and it says the job market is very competitive. The Board's current requirement is 1,575 hours. The CAOP route currently uses limited registration and a shorter period instead.
4. Australian Intern Written Exam (APC) — a later, separate exam.
5. Oral (practice) examination, run by Ahpra for the Pharmacy Board. The intern written and oral exams together form the registration examination, and both must be passed within an 18-month window.
6. General registration with the Pharmacy Board via Ahpra.

This post is about step 2 — the OPRA.

How OPRA sittings actually work

OPRA is a fixed-sitting exam, not an on-demand one. It is a closed-book, computer-delivered multiple-choice exam (2.5 hours, 120 questions) sat at approved test centres. Key mechanics that matter for planning:

• The APC opens a registration period for each sitting. Each 2027 period closes exactly four weeks before the first exam day (our count from the table).
• Registration opens at 9am and closes at 5pm Australian Eastern time (AEDT or AEST, depending on the date). Late registrations are not accepted. There is no grace period, so the closing time is a hard deadline. Check it in your own time zone: 5pm AEDT on 22 February is 11:30am in India and Sri Lanka, for example (our calculation).
• You pay when you register, or your seat is released. The APC takes Visa or Mastercard credit or debit cards, Google Pay and Apple Pay, and your card must be issued by a bank in your country of residence.
• You choose a date and a test centre. The APC's list has 35 countries and territories, including Australia. Bangladesh is not on it. Some locations fill up fast, and venues are subject to change at short notice, so confirm yours before booking travel. You can reschedule only during the registration period.
• Results come out on a fixed date for each sitting. 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 don't pass, you can register again in a later period. You may re-sit as many times as you need to, and you pay the full exam fee each time.

Reading the 2027 calendar

The windows are not all the same length, so don't assume the 2027 rhythm matches 2026. By our count from the APC's table:

• March 2027: registration is open for 35 days. It opens on Tuesday 19 January and closes on Monday 22 February.
• July 2027: 49 days, from Tuesday 11 May to Monday 28 June.
• November 2027: only 28 days, from Tuesday 14 September to Monday 11 October.

The last 2026 sitting is 23–25 November 2026. Its registration closed on 19 October, and results are due on 22 December 2026. After that, the first 2027 sitting is in March.

Your real first deadline: the eligibility check

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. One part of its page words this as something that may help, another as something to make sure you do. Either way the hard cut-off is the registration closing time, and a complete application lodged later may still make it.

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. The March date falls in the Christmas holiday period, so gather your documents early.

The check has no expiry, so if you have already passed it this deadline doesn't apply to you. For a new application:

• Qualification. You need a pharmacy qualification equal to 4 years' full-time study if completed after 1 January 2006, or 3 years if completed before then. Evidence of registration is not required for the Knowledge Stream.
• Degree document. It must cover the full degree, not a provisional or temporary certificate or letter, and show its issue date. A letter of completion is accepted if your certificate has not been issued yet.
• Documents. You upload your passport, an official photo ID, a birth certificate (or a second photo ID), your qualification certificate and your academic transcript in the Candidate Portal. Don't email or post them.
• Names. The names on your documents must match your primary ID exactly. A misspelling has to be corrected by the organisation that issued the document.
• Translations. Non-English documents need a full translation by a NAATI-accredited translator. Upload the original too.
• No certified copies and no proof of English are needed for the APC's check. Upload a clear colour scan or photo of the original: the APC does not accept scans or photos of copied documents, certified or not. Ahpra is different: it does ask for certified copies when you apply for registration.
• If the APC asks for more information, you have 6 months (180 days) to provide it. After that your application closes, and you re-apply and pay again.

On exam day: your 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 time, you can't start the exam.

Fees (current, and subject to change)

The APC's published fees carry no year qualifier, so these are the current amounts, re-checked on 7 November 2026, not confirmed 2027 fees:

Item	Current fee (AUD)
OPRA® exam	$2,245 per attempt
CAOP® exam	$2,100 per attempt
Australian Intern Written Exam	$790 per attempt
Eligibility check	$810 per request
Skills assessment outcome (if your visa needs one)	$300 per request

Confirm the current amount on the APC fees page before you pay. Regulator fees can be revised, and the APC has not published a separate 2027 schedule. A re-sit means paying the exam fee again. If you cancel, 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 80% of the OPRA 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. A cancelled fee can't be moved to another sitting, and the APC's other fees are not refundable.

The Pharmacy Board's fees are separate and come later. From 1 October 2026 a first provisional registration costs $421 ($169 application + $252 registration; our sum), or $397 for NSW registrants, and the oral exam (practice) costs $510.

What you can line up now

The calendar is out, so focus on the things that gate it:

• Complete your eligibility check. You can't register for an OPRA sitting until the APC has emailed you to say you are eligible.
• Time your English test. English is a Pharmacy Board requirement, not an APC one. The minimum scores changed for tests taken from 23 April 2026, and results must generally be no more than two years old when you lodge your registration application, so plan your test around registration rather than your OPRA sitting. Ahpra's accepted English tests page has the scores.
• Budget for the full pathway, not just the OPRA. The intern written and oral exams and their fees come later.
• Research jobs and visas before you pay. The APC says a skills assessment does not guarantee employment, and recommends exploring job opportunities before you pay for one. Visa rules, costs and timeframes belong to the Department of Home Affairs.
• Register early in your window. Late registrations are not accepted, and the APC suggests booking as soon as you can because some locations fill up fast.

What's changed — and what it means for you in 2027

As at 7 November 2026 the APC had not published a 2027 exam guide. The newest guide then was version 2.3, dated 30 July 2026, and we found no announced change to the OPRA's format, content areas, duration or scoring for 2027. A few related items are worth knowing:

• Don't be alarmed by the "Accreditation Standards for Pharmacy Programs 2027." They do take effect on 1 January 2027, but they govern the accreditation of Australian degree and intern training programs. They do not change OPRA eligibility, content or conduct.
• OPRA is closed book — you cannot bring any reference materials. This matters because the Australian Intern Written Exam you sit later is restricted open book (one original physical copy each of the AMH and APF, with strict limits on annotation and flags, at a test centre in Australia only). Two different exams, two different rules, so don't practise for the wrong one.
• Skills Assessment Outcome renewals changed on 1 July 2026. Anyone the APC has issued a Skills Assessment Outcome can now apply to renew it for $300, without re-sitting the exam. The Department of Home Affairs sets how long an SAO stays valid for a visa application (under its rules, a maximum of three years from the issue date), and the APC cannot change that. You apply to the Board with your exam Results Certificate, not the SAO.
• The Pharmacist Capability Framework does not affect your 2027 sitting. The published timetable aligns the APC Intern Written and Ahpra oral examinations to it from exam sessions commencing October/November 2029.

For reference, the content-area weightings in that guide are: therapeutics and patient care 45%, biomedical sciences 20%, pharmacology and toxicology 15%, medicinal chemistry and biopharmaceutics 10%, and pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics 10%.

After the OPRA: 2027 dates for interns

Once you hold provisional registration and your supervised practice is approved, the next exams have their own calendars. 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 must pass both the written exam and the oral (practice) exam within 18 months of each other.

Australian Intern Written Exam (run by the APC, in Australia only):

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

Oral examination (practice), run by Ahpra for the Pharmacy Board:

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

The first closing date is 4 December 2026, for the 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. Ahpra runs the oral exam for the Board. You apply on the paper form APOE-60, in the state or territory where you did your supervised practice. 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. 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.

Interns can read about both exams on the Board's Registration Examination page and the APC's Intern Written Exam page. The CAOP has its own 2027 dates on the APC's Competency Stream page.

Before you rely on any of this

The dates above are published by the Australian Pharmacy Council and the Pharmacy Board of Australia, and we re-read them on 7 November 2026. Fees, venues and scheduling can change. Confirm the current details on pharmacycouncil.org.au and pharmacyboard.gov.au before making plans you can't easily undo.

For more detail, see our companion guides: the complete OPRA guide (format and content areas), knowledge stream vs competency stream (which exam applies to you), the pharmacy registration cost breakdown, and the intern written exam guide.

Where we fit in

The dates are the APC's. Your preparation is the part you control. Our OPRA Written Exam Preparation course has 10 chapters and 63 lessons, with 5,134 practice questions and a full OPRA mock exam. 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.

Explore OPRA exam preparation

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This article summarises publicly available APC, Pharmacy Board and Ahpra information as at 7 November 2026 and is not affiliated with or endorsed by the Australian Pharmacy Council, the Pharmacy Board or Ahpra. Examination dates, fees and requirements are set by those bodies and are subject to change. Always confirm current details on the official APC and Ahpra websites before making decisions.