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This information about the Board’s registration examination is for individuals who are:
(Note: overseas qualified pharmacists who have successfully completed the Australian Pharmacy Council’s Competency Assessment of Overseas Pharmacist (CAOP) exam, refer to the information on Overseas Practitioner Registration.)
The registration examination for general registration comprises a written examination and an oral examination.
On 1 January 2021, changes to the registration examination took effect. Further information on these changes is available in the FAQ below.
The following eligibility requirements apply to sit the Board’s registration exam:
The Board requires individuals holding provisional registration (interns) to complete 75% of the supervised practice hours* required for general registration to be eligible to undertake a written and an oral examination. In accumulating supervised practice hours to meet the examination entry criteria, interns may only count supervised practice hours completed:
*The number of approved supervised practice hours required to meet the requirements for general 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.
Successful completion of the registration examination requires you to pass both the written and the oral (practice) examinations within 18-months.
For example:
The written examination is conducted by the Australian Pharmacy Council (APC).
Further information including eligibility criteria and how to apply can be found on the APC website.
The oral examination is held in each jurisdiction according to the Schedule of Oral Examinations set out below. An Application for a pharmacy intern to be a candidate for an oral examination (practice) - APOE-60 must be lodged by the published closing date for that examination period.
Further information about the oral examination is detailed in the Pharmacy oral examination (practice) candidate guide.
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Board has modified the period of supervised practice hours required for general registration and the eligibility criteria for entry to the oral examination. Please refer to the Internships webpage for further information on the changes which remain in effect until further notice.
The Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (Ahpra) conducts oral examinations on behalf of the Pharmacy Board of Australia in the following locations.
The oral examination (practice) is delivered face-to-face except in exceptional circumstances such as:
If it is necessary to deliver the examinations online, candidates will be informed of these arrangements in an email confirming the date and time of their examination (unless an immediate change to the examination schedule is required during the examinations).
If a candidate believes their circumstances warrant the offer of an online examination, they must detail their request in an email to the examinations team at the time of submitting their application.
An Application for a pharmacy intern to be a candidate for the oral examination (practice) - APOE-60 can be downloaded on the Forms page. This is a paper application and must be received by Ahpra between the application open and close dates stated in the table below.
If sending an application via post, candidates are advised to mail applications early to avoid missing the closing date. Late applications will not be accepted. It is recommended to use the file upload portal to avoid delays.
The schedule of oral examinations in 2025 is set out below and may vary from the schedules of previous oral examinations.
**Examinations will not be conducted on each date of the published examination schedule or on the same dates at each location. The number of days that examinations will be conducted in each location will vary depending on candidate numbers and examiner/venue availability. Candidates should make themselves readily available during the published examination period.
After the examination application closing dates, candidates are randomly allocated a date and time to present to the examination location. Candidates will receive this information by email two weeks before the commencement of the examination period. Candidates are reminded that Ahpra must have correct contact details at all times
For all enquiries regarding the Pharmacy oral examination, please send us an email.
