Guide · Knowledge Stream
The OPRA pathway, step by step.
If you qualified as a pharmacist outside Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, the United Kingdom or the United States, the OPRA exam is your way in. Here is every step from eligibility check to general registration, what the Pharmacy Council charges, and where we come in.
Who it is for
The OPRA route is for you if:
- You studied pharmacy outside the six countries above. Pharmacists from Canada, Ireland, the UK and the USA take the shorter Competency Stream instead, and New Zealand pharmacists apply to Ahpra directly.
- Your degree is long enough. The equivalent of four years’ full-time academic study if you finished after 1 January 2006, or three years if you finished before.
- It covered the foundations. Your qualification must include foundational pharmacy and pharmaceutical sciences.
- You do not need to be registered at home. The Pharmacy Council does not ask for evidence of registration for this stream.
Trained in one of the other countries? Start with the UK, Ireland, Canada, United States or New Zealand guide.
The steps
Eight steps, set by the Pharmacy Council and the Pharmacy Board.
Steps one to three are with the Australian Pharmacy Council. Registration, the internship and the oral exam are with the Pharmacy Board of Australia, through Ahpra.
- Eligibility check. Send the Pharmacy Council your passport, photo ID, birth certificate, degree certificate and academic transcript, with NAATI-certified translations of anything not in English. Fee $810. It takes about five working days once everything is in (allow up to four weeks), and the result does not expire.
- Sit the OPRA exam. The Overseas Pharmacist Readiness Assessment tests your knowledge of the pharmaceutical sciences: 120 multiple-choice questions in 2.5 hours, on a computer. Fee $2,245. You can resit as many times as you need. Sitting dates and registration windows are published on the Pharmacy Council’s exam page.
- Request your Skills Assessment Outcome. Once you pass, request the outcome letter. Fee $300. This is the document the Department of Home Affairs looks for, and Home Affairs decides how long it stays valid for a visa application.
- Meet Ahpra’s English standard. Either through your education in one of Ahpra’s recognised countries, or with an approved test. For IELTS Academic that is 7.0 overall and in listening, reading and speaking, and 6.5 in writing. Results are valid for two years, and you can combine results from no more than two sittings within 12 months.
- Find an intern position. You need a pharmacy that will take you on, and a supervising pharmacist the Pharmacy Board approves. This is the step we help with.
- Apply for provisional registration. Apply to the Pharmacy Board, through Ahpra, for provisional registration and approval of your supervised practice arrangements before you start.
- Complete your internship. 1,575 hours of Board-approved supervised practice, plus an accredited intern training program of workshops, assignments and workplace assessments.
- Pass the two intern exams, then register. Once you have done at least 75% of your hours (1,181), sit the Pharmacy Council’s Intern Written Exam and the Pharmacy Board’s oral exam. Pass both within 18 months of each other and you can apply for general registration.
What it costs
The Pharmacy Council’s fees.
$810
Eligibility check
$2,245
OPRA exam, each sitting
$300
Skills Assessment Outcome
On top of these you pay for your English test, Ahpra registration, the intern training program and the intern exams. Each provider sets its own fee.
Where we come in
The hard part is step five.
Passing OPRA does not get you an internship. An Australian owner has to choose you. We put OPRA-passed pharmacists in front of owners who are open to taking on an intern, regional owners most of all.
- Not at OPRA yet? Register with us and we will tell you honestly where you stand.
- Already provisionally registered? Create your profile and record a 30-second video, so owners can see and hear you.
- Want to know what owners look for? Read how to make an Australian owner choose you.
Sources
Always check the current rules before you pay. Fees and requirements change. This guide is based on the Australian Pharmacy Council’s Knowledge Stream page, the Pharmacy Board of Australia’s overseas practitioner and internship pages, and Ahpra’s English language skills registration standard, as at September 2026.
Next step
Register once. We will tell you honestly where you stand.
Tell us where you trained, where you are up to, and where you would work.