Pharmacy Board of Australia - Internships
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Internships

This information about internships is for graduates of programs of study approved for provisional registration and graduates of substantially equivalent programs. Graduates of programs of study approved for general registration should refer to Graduates of Australian programs.

On 30 April 2020, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Board decided to vary the requirements for supervised practice for interns. Issues such as self-isolation, illness or pharmacy closure may mean that interns may be unable to complete the required number of supervised practice hours within the usual 12-month timeframe. The following modifications to internships applied:

  • the number of supervised practice hours required for general registration has been reduced from 1,824 hours to 1,575 hours.
  • the requirement for interns to complete a minimum of 152 hours of supervised practice under the supervision of an individual preceptor for those hours to count towards the period of supervised practice has been waived.
  • the requirement for interns to complete a minimum of 80 hours of supervised practice during any four consecutive calendar weeks has been waived.

The Australian Government Department of Health and Aged Care website states that although the WHO Director-General has announced that WHO no longer considers COVID-19 to be a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC), the COVID-19 pandemic declaration is still active. The Board has given careful consideration to the impacts of the modified requirements for supervised practice, informed by the views of stakeholders and has agreed to maintain these requirements until a revised registration standard setting out supervised practice arrangements, approved by Ministers is implemented.

The Board is satisfied that the modified requirements continue to support interns to meet all eligibility requirements to gain general registration and practise safely, and provide adequate protection of the public as:

  • during their 12-month provisional registration period, interns can complete the minimum 1,575 hours or longer period if additional practice experience is needed
  • the registration standard still requires interns to satisfactorily complete an accredited intern training program including all assessment assigned by the program provider, and
  • a final assessment of competence is required by the Board in the form of a written examination and an oral examination which all interns must satisfactorily complete.

Graduates of a program of study approved by the Board for provisional registration, graduates of a substantially equivalent program and some overseas practitioners are required to hold provisional registration and complete a period of supervised practice (internship) in accordance with the requirements set out in the Board’s Registration standard: Supervised practice arrangements prior to applying for general registration. While completing supervised practice, an accredited intern training program must also be successfully completed. Before any supervised practice can take place, interns are required to:

Individuals who hold provisional registration to complete supervised practice are referred to as interns or intern pharmacists. Intern pharmacists must pass the Board's registration examination and meet the Board’s registration standards to be eligible to apply for general registration at the end of the required period of supervised practice. For information about the registration standards that need to be met when applying for provisional registration and general registration, refer to Graduates of Australian programs.

The resources on this page give an overview of how graduates can smooth the path from study to work. They outline the requirements and responsibilities of graduates seeking provisional registration to complete an internship.

Diagram on the pathway to general registration

 

 

     

 
Complete pharmacy degree
(Program approved for provisional registration or a substantially equivalent program)

OR

Pass Knowledge Assessment of Pharmaceutical Sciences (KAPS) exam conducted by the Australian Pharmacy Council (Overseas qualified pharmacists)

     
               
               

Apply for provisional registration

(Granted by Board)

  Nominate preceptor and premises 
(Approved by Board)
  Enrol in intern training program
(With an accredited provider)
               
           
   
Start approved supervised practice
(minimum 1,575 hours)

After checking public register that:

  • Provisional registration has been granted
  • Supervised practice details have been recorded in the notations field
   
           
   
Pass Board registration examination

Consisting of:
  • Written examination (APC)
  • Oral examination (Ahpra)

After completion of:

  • minimum of 75% of supervised practice hours
 
           
   
Apply for general registration 
(Granted by Board)

   

Information video for pharmacy students and graduates

This video is relevant to pharmacy students who are nearing the completion of a program of study in Australia which is approved by the Board for provisional registration and will soon be applying for provisional registration as a pharmacist.

Please note: The video below suggests starting your application 4-6 weeks before your graduation, however we recommend that you start your application within the final three months of your course so that your application for provisional registration can be approved soon after the university notifies Ahpra that you have successfully completed the course.

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Applications for provisional registration and approval of supervised practice

Final-year students of a pharmacy program of study in Australia approved for provisional registration can apply:

  • for provisional registration by submitting an online application, and 
  • to have the supervised practice approved by submitting an Application for approval of supervised practice - AASP-60 (below).
Document name PDF Document date
Application for approval of supervised practice - AASP-60 PDF (837KB) 11 September 2020

Applicants who graduated from New Zealand (have not completed a Board-approved program of study) or another overseas country should submit an Application for provisional registration and supervised practice - APRO-60 (1.33 MB,PDF).

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Internship and supervised practice

Information relating to the internship is provided in the Board's Intern pharmacist and preceptor guide. Further information is also available in FAQ for pharmacy interns and preceptors.

Document name PDF Accessible format Document date
Intern pharmacist and preceptor guide PDF 
(369KB)
Word version
(556KB, DOC)
June 2021
FAQ for pharmacy interns and preceptors PDF 
(304KB)
Word version 
(482KB, DOC)
1 September 2021

A component of the internship is the development of a site-based training plan to address the competencies required of a pharmacist. The sample community intern training plan and sample hospital intern training plan can be used as a guide in the preparation of the intern’s training plan.

Document name Accessible format Document date
Sample community intern training plan Excel 
(69.5KB, XLS)
1 July 2010
Sample hospital intern training plan Excel 
(68.0KB, XLS)
1 July 2010

Preparation of extemporaneous products also forms part of the internship. The Board has provided the following resources for preceptors and interns.

Document name PDF Accessible format Document date
Letter to preceptors

This outlines the requirements for this activity
PDF 
(22.3KB)
  March 2015
Extemporaneous dispensing procedures PDF 
(32.0KB)
Word version
(44.8KB,DOCX)
October 2013
Extemporaneous dispensing product report

This must be completed by the intern and preceptor or other supervising pharmacist.
PDF 
(33.0KB)
  December 2011
Extemporaneous dispensing preceptor statutory declaration

This must be completed by the preceptor once the intern has prepared the six extemporaneous products.
PDF 
(36.0KB)
  March 2012

The statutory declaration and six product reports are to be submitted to the coordinator of the intern's intern training program.

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Intern training program

The Board’s Registration standard: Supervised practice arrangements outlines that for graduates of an approved pharmacy program of study, the period of supervised practice must include satisfactory completion of an accredited intern training program. This applied to graduates of programs of study approved by the Board for provisional registration and also applies to overseas qualified pharmacists who are required to complete a full internship and to graduates of a substantially equivalent program of study.

The Board has authorised the Australian Pharmacy Council (APC) to accredit intern training programs in Australia. A list of the accredited programs is published on the APC website. In addition to applying to the Board for provisional registration and approval of supervised practice, an intern must select an accredited intern training program and lodge an enrolment application with the relevant provider of the program.  

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Registration examination

For information about the Board's registration examination for general registration refer to the Registration Examination page.

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Applying for general registration after an internship

To be eligible to apply for general registration an intern with provisional registration must have:

  • completed an intern training program 
  • passed the written examination 
  • passed the oral examination, and 
  • completed the required period* of Board-approved supervised practice.

*The number of approved supervised practice hours required for registration may vary, for example during the COVID-19 pandemic. The current modified requirement of 1,575 hours of Board-approved supervised practice for general registration will remain in place until a revised registration standard addressing supervised practice arrangements that has been approved by Ministers is implemented.

Period Requirement for general registration Requirement when applying for the oral or written examination
Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic the usual requirements applied 1,824 hours of Board-approved supervised practice 75% of 1,824 hours of Board-approved supervised practice (1368 hours)
During the COVID-19 pandemic modified requirements are in effect until further notice 1,575 hours of Board-approved supervised practice 75% of 1,575 hours of Board-approved supervised practice (1181 hours)

More information about these requirements is in the Board’s registration standards.

General registration is easily applied for online.

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Page reviewed 18/07/2025