Pathway · registered in the United States
One exam. No OPRA, no internship, no IELTS.
At a glance
- Registration route
- APC Competency Stream, then limited registration with the Pharmacy Board
- Examination
- CAOP — 70 questions, two hours
- English requirement
- Met — the United States is a recognised country
- Internship
- None. Competency Stream candidates do not do an internship.
- Speed
- Eligibility check answered in about 5 business days
Step by step
Check you are eligible
You need a pharmacy degree from Canada, Ireland, the UK or the USA — or an approved adjudication completed in one of them — and current registration to practise in that same country. The qualification must represent at least four years of full-time study if you finished after 1 January 2006, or three years if you finished before it.
Eligibility check with the Australian Pharmacy Council
A$810. The Council aims to answer within five business days of receiving complete documentation, and asks you to allow up to four weeks.
Sit the CAOP exam
The Competency Assessment of Overseas Pharmacists: 70 questions, two hours, A$2,100. You get two attempts. Fail the second and you move to the Knowledge Stream, which means OPRA and a full internship — so the second attempt is the one that matters.
Skills Assessment Outcome
A$300. This is the document the Department of Home Affairs wants for a visa application.
Limited registration and supervised practice
Apply to the Pharmacy Board on form AASP-60. The Board sets the length of supervised practice case by case — it is short, and it is not an internship.
Registration assessment, then general registration
Once you have completed at least 75% of your supervised practice hours you sit a registration assessment, which may include an oral examination in pharmacy law and ethics and/or an oral examination in practice. Then you apply for general registration.
What it costs
| Australian Pharmacy Council step | Fee |
|---|---|
| Competency Stream eligibility check | A$810 |
| CAOP examination | A$2,100 |
| Skills Assessment Outcome | A$300 |
Australian Pharmacy Council published fees. Ahpra registration fees, visa charges and immigration advice sit on top of these and are separate.
Where an employer comes in. Pharmacists are on the Core Skills Occupation List, so an Australian pharmacy can sponsor you on a Skills in Demand visa. We have pharmacy owners willing to do it, and immigration partners in Sydney and Melbourne who handle the visa itself.
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.