Assessing the skills, knowledge and competency of pharmacists in Australia

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Why we assess pharmacists' skills and competency

We help to maintain the standards of pharmacy education and practice in Australia. Our role is to ensure that all pharmacists who practise here can deliver safe, effective health care.

We do this by:

  • evaluating the knowledge and competency of internationally trained pharmacists against Australian standards
  • delivering exams that test the skills and knowledge of internationally trained and Australian-trained pharmacists

We also provide a Skills Assessment Outcome for the Department of Home Affairs. This Outcome supports pharmacists in applying to Home Affairs for a migration visa.

How to become a pharmacist in Australia

This video provides an overview of the journey of an overseas-trained pharmacist. It explains what you need to do to recieve a Skills Assessment Outcome.

Types of skills assessments

As part of our skills assessment mandate, we evaluate the skills of pharmacists in 4 categories.

Skills assessment stream

This stream is for you if...

Competency Stream

  • You graduated from a recognised pharmacy degree program in either Canada, Ireland, the UK or the USA.
  • You're currently registered as a pharmacist in one of those countries.
  • You now want to work in or migrate to Australia.

International Student Stream

  • You graduated from a recognised pharmacy degree program in Australia or New Zealand as an international student.
  • You're registered or eligible to be registered as a pharmacist.
  • You now want to work in or migrate to Australia.

Knowledge Stream

  • You graduated from a pharmacy degree program outside of Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, the UK or the USA.
  • You're registered or eligible to be registered as a pharmacist in that country.
  • You now want to work in or migrate to Australia.

NZ Registered Pharmacist Stream

  • You graduated from a pharmacy degree program in New Zealand.
  • You're currently registered as a pharmacist there.
  • You now want to migrate to Australia.

If something significant has changed since we issued your Skills Assessment Outcome, you can ask us for an updated Skills Assessment.

Exams

We deliver 3 exams on behalf of the Pharmacy Board of Australia (PharmBA). These exams test the skills, knowledge and competency of future pharmacists. This helps to ensure that candidates are ready to practise pharmacy in Australia.

Type of exam

Description

Intern Written Exam

This exam tests your knowledge as a pharmacy intern if you've:

CAOP™ (Competency Assessment of Overseas Pharmacist) exam

This exam tests your competency to practise pharmacy in an Australian setting.

Sitting it is part of the process of applying for a Skills Assessment Outcome under the Competency Stream.

OPRA™ (Overseas Pharmacist Readiness Assessment) exam

This exam is replacing KAPS from March 2025.

It tests your readiness and understanding of pharmaceutical sciences.

Sitting it is part of the process of applying for a Skills Assessment Outcome under the Knowledge Stream.

New Zealand exams

We also deliver the CAOP™ and OPRA™ exams on behalf of the Pharmacy Council of New Zealand (PCNZ):

Fiji CAOP™ exam

We also deliver the CAOP™ exam on behalf of the Fiji Pharmaceutical & Biomedical Services Centre (FPBS):

Need some help?

I want my pharmacy qualification recognised in Australia (so I can live or work in Australia)
Skills Assessment
I want to sit the CAOP™ or OPRA™ exam
CAOP or KAPS
I want to sit the Australian Intern Written Examination
Intern Written Exam

See also

Related content

Intern Written Exam

Find out what you need to know to register for and sit the Australian Intern Written Exam (IWE)

More details

Competency Stream Skills Assessment

Learn how to apply for a Skills Assessment letter under the Competency Stream including asking for an eligibility check and sitting the CAOP exam

More details

Knowledge Stream Skills Assessment

Learn how to apply for a Skills Assessment letter under the Knowledge Stream - including asking for an eligibility check and sitting the OPRA™ exam

More details

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