OPRA Pharmacy Exam 2025: Overview
If you are an international pharmacist looking to practice in Australia or New Zealand, the OPRA Pharmacy Exam is your first step. This exam evaluates whether you have the pharmaceutical knowledge and clinical skills to work in the Australian healthcare system. The Knowledge Assessment of Pharmaceutical Sciences (KAPS) exam, conducted by the Australian Pharmacy Council (APC), stopped delivering after November 2024 and was updated in March 2025 as the Overseas Pharmacists Readiness Assessment (OPRA) exam.
In this article, you will learn everything about the OPRA Pharmacy Exam 2025—eligibility, exam dates, syllabus, fees, preparation tips, and how it is different from the old KAPS exam.
Did you know:
Australia and New Zealand have the same pharmacist exam for overseas candidates.
What is the OPRA Exam in Australia?
The Overseas Pharmacists Readiness Assessment (OPRA) is a thorough evaluation that helps international pharmacists align well with Australian healthcare settings. The exam assesses whether the candidates comprehensively understand biomedical, pharmaceutical, and clinical science concepts.
How to Become a Registered Pharmacist in Australia?
To be a pharmacist in Australia, candidates must have a B.Pharm or M.Pharm from Australia. Overseas candidates must clear the OPRA exam to prove their skills, undergo a supervised internship, and pass the required English proficiency test. The next step would be to apply for provisional registration with the Pharmacy Board of Australia and undergo further evaluation.
The OPRA Exam in New Zealand
The OPRA (Overseas Pharmacist Readiness Assessment) exam in New Zealand is for international candidates with a bachelor’s and master’s degree in pharmacy from their respective countries. The Australian Pharmacy Council conducted the exam on behalf of New Zealand. Thus, it follows the same exam pattern, eligibility criteria, scoring method, and criteria to pass.
Difference between the OPRA and KAPS Exam
The KAPS exam has been replaced with the OPRA exam. It is to commit to a contemporary exam style to keep the exams updated with medical practices aligned with Australian pharmacy practices.
The changes in OPRA:
- Real-life questions.
- Rasch methodology for scoring.
- Fees reduction.
- Revised content.
- Single paper with random questions.
What Stayed the Same:
- Eligibility & registration process.
- Assigned test centers only.
- Same level of difficulty
- The number of attempts
The Revised Content in the OPRA Exam from KAPS
More questions on therapeutics and the application of knowledge to align with the updates in pharmacy practice in Australia. It is much more effective in the training period. It is an approach to taking advice from subject matter experts to commence the exam and apply their necessary recommendations.
| Papers | KAPS Syllabus | OPRA Syllabus |
| Paper 1 |
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| Paper 2 |
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OPRA Exam Dates 2025
Always follow the official website of the Australian Pharmacy Council (APC) to check the dates, location, registration link, and any updates.
| Exam Dates | Registration Dates | Result Dates |
| 3 – 5 March 2025 | 9 January – 3 February 2025 | 1 April 2025 |
| 14 – 16 July 2025 | 8 April – 16 June 2025 | 12 August 2025 |
| 24 – 26 July 2025 | 19 August – 27 October 2025 | 22 December 2025 |
OPRA Pharmacy Exam Eligibility Criteria & Fees 2025
The eligibility criteria for the OPRA exam are as follows:
- Education: The candidates should have done a BPharm or MPharm from their home country.
- Registered Pharmacist: The candidate is registered or eligible to register as a pharmacist in their home country.
- Document Verification: They have all the verified documents to back their qualifications and certifications.
- English Language Proficiency: To prove you can communicate and understand the native language in Australia or New Zealand, you must clear the IELTS/PTE/OET/TOEFL exam.
Australia OPRA Exam Syllabus
| Category | Topics Covered |
| 1. Biomedical Sciences |
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| 2. Medicinal Chemistry and Biopharmaceutics |
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| 3. Pharmacokinetics and Pharmacodynamics |
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| 4. Pharmacology and Toxicology |
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| 5. Therapeutics and Patient Care |
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OPRA exam Question format
Questions in the OPRA exam follow certain standards to maintain consistency.
- The Therapeutic Goods Administration will show the names of drugs and ingredients.
- Directives for medications and units for drug quantities follow the abbreviations from the Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Healthcare.
- Values that will be presented will be in SI (metric) units.
- The options to choose the correct answers will be mentioned in bold and capital letters, such as CORRECT, MOST, LEAST, and NOT.
OPRA exam questions assess cognitive and ability levels based on Bloom and Anderson’s taxonomy of learning and skill development.
Cognitive/Ability Level:
- Remembering/Recall
- Comprehension/Understanding
- Application
OPRA Pharmacy Exam Preparation
Always follow the trusted sources when you check for preparation and course information. Academically, they have been in this domain for years with a 90% success rate.
Preparation for the OPRA Exam:
- Dedicated hours of live and recorded OPRA Exam video tutorials
- Live classes + recorded sessions, study handouts, mock tests, and final OPRA AI grand test
- Extended OPRA course trainer access
- Adaptive AI-driven mock tests according to Rasch methodology
- One-on-one feedback sessions with the trainer
- Exclusive tips on approaching the new pattern for international pharmacists
Final Thoughts
The OPRA pharmacy exam is your gateway to becoming a registered pharmacist in Australia. It tests your pharmaceutical knowledge, focusing on practical skills relevant to Australian healthcare. With the right preparation and understanding of the syllabus, passing the OPRA exam is achievable on the first attempt.
After passing, you must complete a supervised internship and other requirements to practice as a pharmacist in Australia. For more information and assistance with the OPRA Pharmacy Exam, visit the official Australian Pharmacy Council website or contact professional training providers.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Q1. Who Can Take the Exam?
Answer: The OPRA pharmacy exam is for all pharmacists worldwide who have studied and practiced outside Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, the USA, Canada, and the United Kingdom.
Q2. Is the OPRA exam tough?
Answer: The updated pharmacy exam in Australia, the OPRA exam, is much easier than the old KAPS exam. The OPRA exam focuses more on practical knowledge and real-life experiences in the questions. It is a multiple-choice question format with a reduced time duration.
Q3. What are the OPRA exam passing marks?
Answer: There are no passing marks, as the qualification method is the Rasch methodology. This method assesses your approach to each question rather than just assigning marks to each answer.
Q4. What are the OPRA exam fees in Indian rupees?
Answer: The OPRA exam fee is $2190, and the fee in Indian rupees is approximately ₹ 187348.70 (based on the current exchange rate).
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