APC SKILLS ASSESSMENT-

STREAM A

If you are an overseas trained pharmacist who wants to register and work as a pharmacist in
Australia, you must successfully complete an APC Skills Assessment before you can apply
to the Pharmacy Board of Australia (PBA) for registration.

The APC Skills Assessment: Stream A online application fee* is $1230 AUD.

To be considered for APC Skills Assessment eligibility under Stream A you must:

− have completed an approved pharmacy qualification

− be registered or eligible for registration or be eligible for commencement of
registration in the country where the initial pharmacy qualification was achieved.

Stream A comprises:

− an eligibility assessment
− and an exam, the (Knowledge Assessment of Pharmaceutical Sciences (KAPS)
exam).

Candidates will be required to successfully complete both components to receive the APC
Skills Assessment letter.

You can use the APC Skills Assessment letter to apply to the PBA for provisional registration
or to the Department of Home Affairs for visa/migration purposes.

Candidates should carefully review this information sheet in its entirety before submitting an
application for an APC Skills Assessment.

Submit your Receive Register and Receive your Use your APC
application for an your APC Skills sit for the APC Skills Skills Assessment
APC Skills Assessment KAPS Exam Assessment letter to apply to
Assessment eligibility notification letter the PBA or the
for Stream A DHA
1. SUBMIT YOUR APPLICATION FOR AN APC SKILLS ASSESSMENT
− create a web account in our Candidate Portal
− complete the online eligibility check
− set up your candidate profile and upload the mandatory supporting documents
− using a credit card (MasterCard or Visa) pay the application fee $1230 AUD.

2. ELIGIBILITY PROCESS
Taking into account the above requirements our Assessments Team will verify your eligibility
for assessment under Stream A when we receive your online application in our Candidate
Portal. Approximately eight weeks after submitting a complete* online application you or
your nominated agent will receive the APC Skills Assessment Eligibility notification by email
advising you are eligible to sit the KAPS exam (Stream A).

*Please note the following:

• after processing your application, the Assessments Team may send you an email
stating “Further Information Required” to decide on your application. You will have 90
days from the date of that email to submit the required documentation described in
the email. If you do not submit all the required information or documentation within
the stated time, you will be taken to have withdrawn your application, and your
application will lapse. Please note if your application lapses, you will need to reapply
and commence the application process and pay the relevant fee again. The
documents that you submit with your lapsed application will be deleted.

• it can take up to another eight weeks for the Assessments Team to process requests
if further documents are required due to an incomplete application.

3. REGISTER, SIT AND PASS THE KAPS EXAM

Please go to the Exams section on the home page of our website and download the KAPS
examination information pack for comprehensive details on:
− exam registration
− requesting special accommodation
− fees
− exam subject areas
− exam format and question types
− practice exams
− and notification of results.

Document Date: February 2018

4. RECEIVE THE OUTCOME OF YOUR APPLICATION
Approximately eight weeks after the KAPS exam you or your nominated agent will receive
an email from us about when you can view/download your exam results in your Candidate
Portal.

• If you pass the KAPS exam you will also receive a copy of the APC Skills Assessment
letter to your email address.

Document Date: February 2018

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

APPROVED PHARMACY QUALIFICATIONS

Different countries issue various types of qualifications for example, Bachelors, Masters or a
Doctorate. An approved qualification for APC eligibility purposes must meet a minimum
period of study requirement.

− if you completed your qualification before 1 January 2006, your qualification must be
the equivalent of at least three years’ full-time academic study
− if you completed your qualification after 1 January 2006, your qualification must be
the equivalent of four years’ full-time academic study.

If your qualification is not recognised by the pharmacy regulator in the country of

qualification, that qualification will not meet our requirements.

APC CANDIDATE PORTAL: WEB ACCOUNTS

First time users of our Candidate Portal will be required create a web account to submit an
application for an APC Skills Assessment. Candidates should go to the registration tab,
create a sign-in ID and validate their email address. Once a candidate has created an
account they will then be able to use these sign-in details for subsequent requests, such as
registering to sit the KAPS exam and accessing their results.

NOMINATING AN AGENT / THIRD PARTY TO ACT ON YOUR BEHALF

If you want someone to liaise with APC on your behalf (e.g. migration agent, family member
or friend) you will need to upload the Agent Authorisation form that is available in the ‘If You
Use an Agent’ section when setting up your profile in the Candidate Portal. Both you and
your agent must sign the Agent’s Authorisation form. Under Australian privacy legislation we
must have a written authority form from you before communicating with anyone on your
behalf.

Please note that APC will not correspond with you (the candidate) directly if you have
nominated an agent/or third party to act on your behalf.

Please note that the email addresses for the candidate and the agent/third party must
be different.

Document Date: February 2018

ELIGIBILITY ASSESSMENT PROCESS
After applying we will conduct a review, an eligibility assessment, of your application. As part
of this process we will confirm the validity and content of your application and supporting
documents, including contacting third parties for verification purposes. The assessment
takes approximately eight weeks from the date we receive a complete* application.

Once we have finished our review, you or your nominated agent will receive an APC Skills
Assessment Eligibility notification by email advising you are eligible to sit the KAPS exam
(Stream A). Following the satisfactory completion of the KAPS exam, you will be considered
comparable to an Australian pharmacy graduate and will be expected to complete PBA’s
registration requirements to be eligible for general registration.

* An application is only determined complete if your personal information and supporting documents meet the
requirements and specifications as set out in this information sheet. If we need further information to process
your application we will contact you/or your nominated agent by email. Please note it can take up to another eight
weeks for the Assessments Team to process requests for further documents.

SUPPORTING DOCUMENTATION
Candidates will need to provide clear and complete colour scans of original documents at
600dpi resolution or higher. The Assessments Team officers must be able to see the
complete document, including all edges and corners, any images/photographs and they
must be able to read all text clearly. Failure to provide documents in the correct format will
result in delays.

File names must be short and in plain English (e.g registration.pdf). Do not include special
characters (e.g. #*!) in the file name.

The below documents are mandatory:

Academic qualifications:

− your original degree certificate (or letter of completion if a certificate has not yet been
issued)
− your original academic transcript (all pages of the document must be scanned and
saved as one pdf file).

Evidence of registration:

− your original initial registration overseas in the country where you completed your
pharmacy qualification
− your original current registration (if applicable).

Passport details:

- bio-data page and page above the bio-data page of your valid passport. Please note:
expired passports will not be accepted.

Document Date: February 2018

A photograph:

− a photograph of yourself taken within the last six months (a .jpeg, .gif, or .png file at
600dpi resolution or higher) as per the below specifications:

The below documents will also be mandatory if you have been working as a fully registered
pharmacist and you have selected the option in your online application for APC to comment
on your work experience in the APC Skills Assessment letter:

− up-to-date Curriculum Vitae (CV). Your CV must show start and finish dates for each
period of employment as a fully registered pharmacist
− original work reference templates (all pages of the document must be scanned and
saved as one pdf file).

Candidates should note that we will only calculate work experience you have undertaken as
a registered retail/hospital pharmacist. Any work experience under 20 hours per week or
less than two weeks full time will not be calculated.

Name usage on supporting documents

We must be satisfied that all documents provided by a candidate with an assessment

application relates to the same person. Candidate’s name/s on the supporting documents
must match with the candidate’s name on the identification document (e.g. passport).

If there is name change, evidence must be provided by the candidate (e.g. marriage
certificate). This can be scanned together with the passport and uploaded as one pdf file.

Translation

Documents in a language other than English will need to be translated. We only accept
translations completed by a translator accredited by the National Accreditation Authority for
Translators and Interpreters (NAATI). The original English translation must accompany the
document issued in the original language. You must scan both documents (scan of original
language document and the English translation) together in one scan.

Document Date: February 2018

Original Documents

You will need to provide 600dpi colour scans of the original documents to us for
assessment.

Original documents are documents that you receive directly from an organisation, university,
or registering authority. The issuer provides these documents to you directly and they are to
be provided to APC in their original format. File names must be short and in plain English
(e.g registration.pdf). Do not use special characters (e.g. #*!) in the file name.

Please do not certify original documents.

FEES AND PAYMENT

$1230 AUD – APC Skills Assessment: Stream A online application fee*.

This is a non-refundable fee.

Payment must be made by credit card (Visa or MasterCard). We do not accept any
alternative forms of payment.

*Your credit card must be issued by a bank located in your country of residence. If it is not, the payment
will be suspended and you will not be able to complete the transaction. Please contact your financial
institution if you require any advice relating to credit card payments.

Other fees and charges:

− $1950 AUD - Knowledge Assessment of Pharmaceutical Sciences (KAPS)

examination online fee. This fee is payable per exam attempt.
− $70 AUD - Exam review fee (if requested)
− $80 AUD - Administration fee (for reprinting of APC official documents).

VALIDITY PERIOD OF YOUR SKILLS ELIGIBILITY

APC Skills Eligibility notifications have no expiry date.

Please note prior to February 2017 the APC Skills Eligibility were posted to candidates.
Since February 2017 we have stopped posting letters and have since sent the APC Skills
Eligibility notification via email.

VALIDITY PERIOD OF YOUR APC SKILLS ASSESSMENT LETTER

For visa and migration purposes the validity of the APC Skills Assessment letter is
determined by the Department of Home Affairs. Whilst the Department of Home Affairs
currently deems the validity period of APC Skills Assessment letter to be three years we

Document Date: February 2018

recommend you contact the Department of Home Affairs for up to date confirmation of this
validity period.

UPDATING YOUR ADDRESS

Candidates are required to provide us with written notification of a change in contact
details/address. The Change in Contact Details form must be signed to be valid.

Please return the form to us by email: [email protected].

APPEALING AN APC DECISION

Please refer to the APC Appeals Policy for comprehensive information on the processes and
procedures available to APC applicants wishing to appeal an APC decision.

CONTACT US
APC Assessments Team
Email: [email protected]
Phone: +61 2 6188 4288 –select option 1 for the Assessments Team

APC Exams Team

Email: [email protected]
Phone: +61 2 6188 4288 –select option 2 for the Exams Team

OTHER USEFUL CONTACTS

Pharmacy Board of Australia (PharmBA)
Web: www.pharmacyboard.gov.au
Phone: Within Australia call 1300 419 495; from outside Australia call +61 3 9275 9009

Pharmacy Council of New Zealand

Email: [email protected]
Web: www.pharmacycouncil.org.nz
Phone: +64 4 495 0330

Australian Department of Home Affairs

Web: http://www.homeaffairs.gov.au
Phone: Within Australia call 131 881; from outside Australia, please contact the relevant
Australian Immigration office overseas.

Document Date: February 2018