KAPS exam for New Zealand candidates

This pathway is for candidates who want to practise pharmacy in New Zealand.

This page shows you how to register for the KAPS exam. Passing this exam is a step in the process to become a registered pharmacist with the Pharmacy Council of New Zealand.

The KAPS (Knowledge Assessment of Pharmaceutical Sciences) exam will be replaced by Overseas Pharmacist Readiness Assessment (OPRA™) exam in March 2025.

Overview

The KAPS (Knowledge Assessment of Pharmaceutical Sciences) exam tests your knowledge and understanding of pharmaceutical sciences. Passing it is an important step in the process of provisional registration as a pharmacist in Australia.

Eligibility: You can register to sit the KAPS exam if you have received confirmation from the Pharmacy Council of New Zealand (PCNZ) that you're eligible to sit the exam

Duration of exam: Minimum 4 hours. There are 2 papers, each with 100 questions. You will have 2 hours per paper. The scheduled break in between is determined by the test centre.

Cost: AU$2290

The following data is shared with the Pharmacy Council of New Zealand:

• Registration data, when registrations close
• Results data prior to the release to candidates

Exam dates

This is the final KAPS exam before it transitions to the OPRA™ exam in March 2025.

Exam Dates	Registration period	Results released
25 - 27 November 2024	6 August - 8 October 2024	10 December 2024

Exam locations - where you can sit the exam

If you are outside Australia, you can sit our exams in the following cities.

Country	City
Argentina	Buenos Aires
Botswana	Gaborone
Canada	Toronto, Montreal
Egypt	Cairo,Giza and surrounding areas
Fiji	Suva
Finland	Espoo, Helsinki
Ghana	Legon
Greece	Athens
Hong Kong SAR	Hong Kong
India	Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad, Mumbai, New Delhi, Pune, Noida
Jamaica	Kingston
Kenya	Nairobi
Malaysia	Kuala Lumpur
Nepal	Birtamode
New Zealand	Auckland, Wellington
Oman	Muscat
Pakistan	Islamabad, Lahore, Karachi and surrounding areas
Peru	Lima
Philippines	Manila
Poland	Krakow
Qatar	Doha
Saudi Arabia	Dammam, Jeddah, Riyadh
Singapore	Singapore
Spain	Madrid
South Africa	Johannesburg, Cape Town
Sri Lanka	Colombo, Western Province
Taiwan	Kaohsiung, Taipei City
Thailand	Bangkok
Türkiye	Istanbul
United Arab Emirates	Dubai and surrounding areas
United Kingdom	London
Zimbabwe	Harare

Seat availability

Seat availability varies between test centres. Test centres can reach full capacity or may not be available for certain sessions.

We recommend you finish registering before you arrange your travel.

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Registration

1. Send us your completion document

You will need to have received your completion of initial consideration of the Non-REQR registration process from the Pharmacy Council of New Zealand. Please send this to info@pharmacycouncil.org.au.

Wait for us to email you to confirming your eligibility.

Need some help? To determine the correct pathway for you, see I want to sit the CAOP or KAPS examination.

2. Register for your exam

Registrations open at 9am and close at 5pm AEDT/AEST. Check these times in your local time zone with a time zone converter. They close about one month before exam day.

We cannot accept any late registrations.

Some locations fill up fast, so we suggest booking your exam as soon as possible when registrations open. You can choose an alternative test centre if your preferred centre is full.

Include support for any special accommodation request

If you'd like to ask for special accommodation, you'll need to select the option as part of the registration process. You will be prompted to upload your supporting documents.

We'll review your request and your documents. We'll then email you the outcome of your request within seven business days. If your request is approved, we will contact Pearson VUE to arrange the request details. Some request may take longer, if this is the case, we will let you know.

Your appointment date and time may change to allow for your request.

Read more about special accommodation.

3. Upload a photo of yourself

You will be prompted to upload a headshot. It can be 'selfie'.

Your headshot must be:

• a full headshot (showing your full head and your shoulders)
• in colour
• taken within the last 6 months
• high quality.

If you usually cover your head for religious reasons, or you wear facial jewellery, your photo can include these items.

4. Pay the registration fee

You must pay the fee at the time of registration, if payment is not received your seat will be released.

Please note:

• We can only accept payment through Visa or Mastercard credit or debit cards
• Your credit card must be issued from a bank in your country of residence.

We'll send you a reminder email around 5 days before your exam.

Register for your exam!

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Rescheduling

You can reschedule your exam in your Candidate Portal.

You can reschedule it to another date and time for the current session and only during the registration period.

Cancellations

You can cancel and request a refund for any reason, however it is subject to our approval and will incur a cancellation fee. The amount you receive depends on when you cancel your exam.See partial refund amounts.

Read our refund policy carefully for details.

You will need to cancel your exam in your Candidate Portal.

Prepare for exam day

Familiarise yourself with the exam and be prepared for the day of your exam.

1. Study using our study guide.

2. Prepare your identification documents, and what you are allowed to bring.

Results

We'll email you when your results are available. Refer to exam dates above for when they will be released.

You'll be able to view and download your results from the Candidate Portal.

We release all results as 'Pass' or 'Unsuccessful' only. We do not release any scores.

Advice for unsuccessful candidates

Sometimes candidates need more than one attempt to pass the KAPS Exam. Don't give up! Talk to your friends, colleagues and family and work out how best to prepare for the next exam.

If you were unsuccessful in one or both of the exam papers, you will see a breakdown of your results in your Candidate Portal.

If you are unsuccessful in one KAPS paper, you have until November 2024 to retake it. If you don't pass, you will need to sit the OPRA™ exam in 2025.

Re-sitting the exam

You can register to sit the exam again during the next exam period. When it opens register in Candidate Portal. You will need to pay the full registration fee again when you register.

You have 2 attempts to pass the exam, any future sittings are at the discretion of PCNZ.

Some important information about your exam result

• APC cannot comment on your performance nor provide feedback to candidates.
• APC does not provide exam scores to candidates.
• Following the finalisation of the results in our system, extensive checks are undertaken by a specialised team and are not subject to appeal.

Appeals process

APC offers an appeals process for matters other than the calculation of results. The process is to ensure no candidate is disadvantaged by matters outside their control. Please read about our Appeals Policy before sitting the exam. The policy tells you about the scope of an appeal. Learn more about our appeals process

Next steps

Once you've passed the KAPS exam, you can use it to support your application to the Pharmacy Council of New Zealand for registration.

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