For pharmacists registered overseas
Australia, from New Zealand, the UK, Ireland or Canada.
These five registers are the fast ones. No OPRA examination, no internship, and no English test — and from New Zealand, no examination at all. Everything below is taken from Ahpra, the Pharmacy Board of Australia and the Australian Pharmacy Council, not from a summary of them.
Your register
Pick the register you currently hold.
Not where you were born and not where you live now — the register you are on today is what decides your pathway.
New Zealand
Thirty days, no exam, no English test. Nothing else comes close.
→United Kingdom
One exam. No OPRA, no internship, no IELTS.
→Ireland
One exam. No OPRA, no internship, no IELTS.
→Canada
One exam. No OPRA, no internship, no IELTS.
→United States
One exam. No OPRA, no internship, no IELTS.
→Registered somewhere else?
You can still apply, through the internship pathway.
Registered anywhere else, you come in through the Pharmacy Council’s Knowledge Stream: an English test in most cases, the OPRA exam, then an internship in an Australian pharmacy. Pharmacists complete it every year, and regional owners are the most open to taking on an intern. What decides whether an owner hires you has less to do with your degree than you would expect.
Ownership
Want to own a pharmacy one day? Start regional.
In a country town, a working partnership can put ownership within reach on a pharmacist’s salary, years before it would be in a capital city.
Register your interest in a partnership pathway
Next step
Register once. We will tell you honestly where you stand.
One form, and it changes depending on where you are registered. No general enquiry inbox, no WhatsApp queue — everyone who registers gets an answer.