Accreditation of pharmacist education programs

Summary

We accredit pharmacist education programs to:

assure their quality against clear, standards
assure that pharmacists completing accredited programs have demonstrated competency at the required performance levels.

Time frame:

Initial accreditation: process starts upon receiving an application and assessment timeframe will depend on availability of assessors, Accreditation Committee meeting timing and quality of application
Re-accreditation: process starts up to 18 months before accreditation expires

Costs:

See fees for accreditation

On this page:

About program accreditation
Applying for accreditation
Remaining accredited
Proposing changes to your accredited program
Contact information

About pharmacist education program accreditation

The pharmacist education programs we currently accredit include:

Medication Management Review (MMR) Pharmacist
Aged Care On-site Pharmacist (ACOP)
Pharmacist Prescriber

We accredit these programs against a set of clear, agreed accreditation standards.

See the current list of accredited pharmacist education programs.

MMR Pharmacist and ACOP

The Department of Health and Aged Care provides funding for pharmacists to undertake specific roles via targeted programs and measures. One requirement for funding is that a pharmacist must complete an education program accredited by APC. This provides assurance to the Department and other stakeholders that pharmacists are appropriately trained or credentialed to undertake these roles.

Pharmacist Prescriber

The pharmacist role in medicines management and safety continually evolves to meet the needs of the public and includes prescribing. Accredited pharmacist prescriber education programs will equip pharmacists with the knowledge, skills and attributes to be competent and safe prescribers within their scope of practice as authorised under relevant legislation.

Individual pharmacists and pharmacies

APC accredits pharmacy programs. We do not accredit or credential individual pharmacists or pharmacies.

If you are seeking training in one of these areas, see our list of accredited pharmacist education programs and contact the providers directly.

If you are wanting to find out about remuneration for the roles via government funded programs, contact the Department of Health and Aged Care for further information.

Accreditation definitions

Accredited

An 'accredited' pharmacist education program meets all criteria in the relevant accreditation standards.

Accredited with conditions

A pharmacist education program that is 'accredited with conditions' substantially meets the standards, and is expected to fully meet them in a reasonable time frame.

When a program is 'accredited with conditions', the provider must report to us as required. Education providers can still deliver these programs, and learners can complete the program.

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Applying for accreditation of a new program.

We've provided an overview of the application process here. You can also review our Accreditation Guide.

If you have any questions about the process or timelines, please email us.

1. Contact our accreditation team

When you are planning a new pharmacist education program (MMR, ACOP or pharmacist prescriber), you should refer to the relevant accreditation standards, and the accompanying Performance Outcomes Framework and Evidence Guide.

To let us know you'd like to apply for accreditation, please email us.

We will then email you a Notification of Intent form to fill in and return to us.

We'll review your submitted Notification of Intent and treat any information you provide as confidential. We'll then send you the appropriate documents and submission details for you to submit your accreditation application.

We recommend telling us you intend to launch a new program early in the planning phase. This will help you to avoid any delays in delivering your proposed new program. Our Accreditation Committee makes decisions about program accreditation and cannot grant accreditation retrospectively.

2. Apply for accreditation

We will email you the accreditation application and submission details after reviewing your Notification of Intent.

Submit your completed accreditation application using our template.

We'll review your submission. If your application is not complete, we may return it to you and ask you to amend and re-submit it.

We treat all information you provide to us as confidential.

Accreditation Assessment Team

We'll engage an Accreditation Assessment Team (AAT) of 2 suitably qualified and experienced independent assessors. They will assess your written application and prepare a report of their findings.

During this stage, we will arrange an online meeting between you and the AAT to clarify any queries the team may have regarding your written submission and proposed program. They may ask you to submit additional information to assist them in preparing their report for our Accreditation Committee.

For details on the assessors' skills and expertise, and how we manage conflict of interest, see our Accreditation Guide.

3. Wait to hear from us

Our Accreditation Committee (the Committee) will review the Accreditation Assessment Team Report. The Committee may ask for details on any aspect of the report before making an accreditation decision.

The Committee will decide to either:

accredit your program for up to 3 years
accredit your program with conditions for up to 3 years, or
not accredit your program

The Committee may require you to address areas of concern and/or submit future reporting and will set a time for this.

We'll then let you know the results of their decision. We publish a list of accredited programs on our website.

Remaining accredited

If your program is granted accreditation

There are a number of regular quality assurance and monitoring activities to maintain the ongoing accreditation of your program(s). These are outlined in our Accreditation Quality Assurance and Monitoring Policy and include the following activities.

Program monitoring and reporting

Annual reporting

We recognise that many factors can affect whether a program continues to meet the accreditation standards. As part of maintaining accreditation of your program(s), you'll need to submit an annual report that describes:

learner numbers
staff demographics
any quality assurance activities you've completed.
other information as required.

We will email you an annual report template to be used for all of your accredited programs. If you need a template re-sent to you, please email us.

The Committee will review your report. In some cases, it may apply further reporting requirements on your accreditation.

Other reporting

Some programs may be required to report against conditions and monitoring requirements that the Committee has applied. We will communicate requirements and due dates for your program reporting directly to you.

Re-accreditation process

Time frame	Action
Up to 18 months before accreditation expires	We notify you of your upcoming reaccreditation requirements. We negotiate mutually suitable dates for the submission of your accreditation application and online meeting between you and the Accreditation Assessment Team (AAT). We appoint an AAT to undertake the accreditation review.
6 weeks before the AAT/education provider meeting	You submit your re-accreditation application and additional documentation.
0-6 weeks before the AAT/education provider meeting	The AAT and APC representative reviews your application and additional documentation.
At least 3 months before accreditation expires	The AAT will meet with you to clarify any queries they have with your written submission.
Before accreditation expires	The AAT finalises their report. The Committee makes their accreditation decision. We notify you of your accreditation outcome.

For details of these situations, see our Accreditation Guide.

Your program accreditation status after re-accreditation may be 'accredited' or 'accredited with conditions'. However, in some situations the Committee may consider revoking accreditation.

Proposing changes to your accredited program

You must tell us as soon as you decide to change anything about your accredited program. Material (major) changes to a program may affect its ability to meet the accreditation standards.

Use the Notification of Change to an accredited pharmacist education program form. For examples of types of material changes, see the Notification of Change form.

If you are unsure if you should notify us about a change, please email us.

Based on the information you provide, the Committee will assess:

the likely impact of the change
whether the change requires re-assessing your program's accreditation status
whether an Accreditation Assessment Team re-assessment is required
the documentation needed to support re-assessment.

If we determine that your program change is material, you'll need to pay a Material Change fee.

Contact information

Email us if you:

have questions about program accreditation
would like to make a complaint about an accredited program.