Passing the Australian Intern Pharmacist Written and Oral Exams is more than another exam milestone for an overseas pharmacist. It can mark the final stretch of a journey that involves getting a pharmacy qualification recognised, clearing the required overseas pharmacist assessment, securing provisional registration, completing supervised practice, and adapting to the Australian pharmacy environment.
By this stage, the question is no longer simply, “Do I know pharmacy?” but “Can I apply my knowledge safely, confidently and professionally in an Australian pharmacy setting?” According to the Australian Pharmacy Council, the Intern Written Exam assesses the skills, experience, knowledge and understanding required of a pharmacy intern. In 2026, it is a two-hour, 75-question, computer-based exam conducted in person at approved test centres, with restricted open-book conditions and fill-in-the-blank calculation questions. The Oral Exam further assesses practical application.
Among the candidates featured in this success cohort, 100% successfully cleared the Written and Oral Exam requirements. Their journeys range from two months to a year of preparation, with some studying alongside their internship and others overcoming previous setbacks. Come, let's get inspired in the blog.
Founder’s Foreword
"When we started Academically, the objective was never simply to help healthcare professionals pass an exam. The bigger goal was to help international healthcare professionals rebuild their careers with clarity and confidence. For overseas pharmacists, the Australian journey can be long. First comes the assessment pathway. Then the exam. Then provisional registration and supervised practice. Then comes the Intern Written and Oral Exams before the transition to general registration.
By this stage, candidates have already invested significant time, money and energy into their careers. The Intern exam therefore carries enormous importance. What makes me particularly proud of this milestone is not simply the 100% stat. It is the diversity of the candidates behind it.
Some prepared while completing their internship. Some had been with us since KAPS. Some returned to us for the Intern Exam after completing earlier stages of their journey. Some had experienced setbacks. But they all had one thing in common. They kept moving forward.
Jatinder is one of the earliest students connected with Academically. When we first interacted with him years ago, becoming a registered pharmacist in Australia was still a distant goal. Today, he is a registered pharmacist practising in Australia. That transformation is exactly why we do what we do."- Dr. Akram Ahmad (PhD, University of Sydney, Founder & CEO, Academically)
Interesting fact
Academically is one of the first coaching centres to spread awareness about KAPS the, OPRA and intern written and oral exams back in those days when it was not known by people. All thanks to Dr. Akram Ahmad who took the initiative during his PhD days at University of Sydney with his humble YouTube channel and then, founding Academically.
Final Step to Get Registered as a Pharmacist in Australia
For an overseas pharmacist, passing OPRA exam is not the end of the Australian registration journey. The Intern Exam comes later, after entering the internship and meeting the relevant requirements.
According to the Pharmacy Board of Australia, pharmacists seeking general registration must complete the approved intern training requirements and supervised practice requirements and successfully pass the Board's Intern written and oral exams.
The Australian Pharmacy Council describes the Intern Oral Exam as the final step toward becoming a fully registered pharmacist. In practical terms, candidates need to move from knowing information to using that information as a practising pharmacist. That means developing skills such as:
- Clinical reasoning
- Safe medication decision-making
- Prescription assessment
- Patient-centred counselling
- Pharmacy calculations
- Australian pharmacy practice knowledge
- Professional judgement
- Communication under pressure
- Familiarity with Australian pharmacy references
The Intern Oral Exam is particularly important because knowledge alone is not enough. You need to communicate your reasoning clearly.
Intern Oral Exam Results 2026: Success Stories of Academically's Candidates
Academically is proud to announce that all our candidates enrolled in Intern written and oral exam course have successfully passed their exams. They are now fully eligible to get AHPRA registration.
Inspiring Story of an Indian Pharmacist Who Failed KAPS Exam in First Attempt
Jatinder Sharma's story is one of the most powerful journeys behind this milestone. Originally from Punjab, Jatinder completed his B.Pharm and began working in Australia as a pharmacy assistant in 2013. He first attempted the Australian pathway exam without any coaching in 2015 but was unsuccessful.
Several years later, in 2019, he connected with Academically during its early days. He followed the structured resources, prepared for the KAPS exam and successfully cleared it. But the journey did not suddenly become easy. While progressing through the Intern Exam stage, Jatinder experienced another setback with the Written Exam because he prepared for it alone.
Instead of walking away from the Australian pharmacist pathway, he returned to Academically for guidance and prepared again. He eventually cleared the Written Exam and completed the remaining requirements to become a registered pharmacist in Australia. Today, he is practising as a licensed pharmacist in Australia.
What can overseas pharmacists learn from this Australian intern pharmacist's success story?
His journey demonstrates three important lessons:
1. Structured preparation from the best coaching matters.
Jatinder was connected with Academically from its early days. Years later, that journey culminated in general registration. He largely benefitted from live sessions by KAPS-qualified mentors who have active registration with AHPRA. His story is a reminder that an Australian pharmacy career is a marathon, not a single exam.
2. One failed attempt does not define your career.
Jatinder had an unsuccessful attempt earlier in his Australian journey and later experienced a setback during the Intern Exam stage. Neither became the end of his story.
3. Experience in Australia changes the way you understand pharmacy.
During the interview, Jatinder spoke about the difference between theoretical knowledge and practical pharmacy experience in Australia. Working in an Australian pharmacy environment helped him understand medication use, patient expectations and professional responsibilities in a much more practical way.
How a Sri Lankan Pharmacist Balanced Internship Hours and Intern Oral Exam Preparation
Upeksha came from Sri Lanka and prepared for both the Intern Written and Oral Exams with Academically. Her preparation period lasted around five months. But there was an important challenge. She was preparing while completing her 1,575 internship hours. Instead of treating internship and exam preparation as completely separate activities, she had to manage both simultaneously. She first cleared the Written Exam and subsequently passed the Intern Oral Exam in 2026.
Her journey highlights something many overseas pharmacists experience. You do not always get a full year to study exclusively for the Intern Exam. For many interns, preparation has to happen alongside shifts, workplace responsibilities, supervised practice and everyday life in Australia.
Upeksha's result demonstrates the importance of having a structured preparation plan that can fit around an internship.
Her key lesson
Don't wait until your internship is almost over to start thinking about the Intern Exam. Your workplace can become part of your preparation. Every prescription, counselling interaction, medication-related question and clinical discussion can become an opportunity to strengthen your understanding.
How an Adelaide-Based Intern Pharmacist Cleared the Intern Oral Exam
Poojitha lives in Adelaide, Australia. Her Australian pharmacy journey was not limited to one exam. She had previously pursued KAPS coaching with Academically in 2024 and successfully passed the KAPS exam in November 2024.
She also pursued PTE coaching with Academically and passed PTE in November 2025. While completing her 1,575 internship hours, she spent around one year preparing for the Intern Written and Oral Exams.
Her results came in 2026, and she successfully cleared the exams. Poojitha's journey demonstrates the advantage of looking at the Australian pharmacy pathway as a connected process rather than a collection of unrelated exams. Her preparation journey included:
KAPS → Internship → PTE → Intern Written & Oral Exams → Registration pathway
Each milestone built towards the next and all our faculty members, programme managers, counselors and Dr. Akram Ahmad himself was a witness to the journey.
Key Learnings
Consistency. She did not attempt to compress the entire process into a few weeks. Instead, she continued building her Australian pharmacy knowledge while completing her internship.
For candidates who have enough time, a longer preparation window can allow them to revise concepts repeatedly, practise more scenarios and become comfortable with Australian pharmacy practice.
Inspiring Journey of an Australian Intern Pharmacist From KAPS to Registered Pharmacist in Just 8 Months
Rozhiin is another candidate who had already purused KAPS coaching fromAcademically before reaching the Intern Exam stage. Rozhiin cleared KAPS in November 2024. She then completed her 1,575 hours of internship.
While completing the required internship hours, she prepared for the Intern Written and Oral Exams with Academically. Her preparation for the Intern Exams lasted approximately 8 months. Her journey also included PTE coaching with Academically to work on her English proficiency, which she successfully completed in March 2025. She successfully cleared all the exams and moved forward to become a registered pharmacist in Australia.
Key Lesson
Australian pharmacist registration is a multi-stage process. Success at one stage does not automatically guarantee success at the next. The knowledge required for an overseas pharmacist assessment and the skills required for the Intern Exams are different. At the Intern stage, candidates need to connect their theoretical knowledge with:
- Australian pharmacy practice
- Clinical scenarios
- Patient counselling
- Prescription assessment
- Professional communication
- Safe decision-making
Rozhiin's journey shows the value of preparing specifically for the stage you are entering.
These Overseas Pharmacists Have Passed the Intern Oral Exam in Just 2 Months
Sateesh and Ahmad followed different Australian pharmacy journeys, but both reached the same milestone in 2026 after approximately two months of preparation for the Intern Written and Oral Exams.
Sateesh, who lives in Paramhatta, had previously prepared for the OPRA Exam with Academically and successfully passed it in March 2025. He then completed his 1,575 internship hours before beginning his Intern oral exam preparation again with Academically. With his previous OPRA preparation and internship experience providing a strong foundation, he followed a focused two-month preparation plan and successfully cleared the Intern Exams in 2026.
Ahmad, who lives in Brisbane, also completed his 1,575 internship hours before preparing for the Intern Written and Oral Exams with Academically. He too prepared for approximately two months and successfully cleared the examination requirements in 2026.
Their journeys highlight an important point. There is no fixed preparation timeline that guarantees success. While two months worked for Sateesh and Ahmad, another candidate may need six months, eight months or a year. The right timeline depends on previous pharmacy knowledge, familiarity with Australian practice, internship experience, available study time, individual strengths and weaknesses, and confidence with clinical scenarios.
The key is not to copy someone else's study schedule, but to assess your own starting point and prepare accordingly. Preparation duration matters less than preparation quality, consistency and candidate readiness.
Why Choose Academically for Intern Oral Exam Preparation?
The Intern Pharmacist Exam requires a different preparation approach from a conventional university exam. Academically's Intern written and oral exam preparation focuses on helping overseas pharmacists connect knowledge with Australian pharmacy practice. As you can see all our candidates who passed the intern oral exam today have been onboarded with us since KAPS era. Here's why our candidates stand out:
1. Australian-Focused Exam Preparation
Candidates need preparation aligned with the Australian pharmacy environment rather than generic international pharmacy content. The current APC exam framework itself emphasises assessment of the skills, experience, knowledge and understanding required of pharmacy interns. The mock tests almost simulates real time exam scenario to get you acquainted with the process.
2. Structured Written Exam Preparation
The current Written Exam is a 120-minute, 75-question exam. Candidates also need to understand the current restricted open-book rules and the permitted reference materials. Preparation therefore needs to cover both knowledge and exam execution.
Candidates should become comfortable with:
- Calculations
- Clinical scenarios
- Therapeutics
- Medication safety
- Australian pharmacy practice
- Reference navigation
- Time management
- Question interpretation
3. Oral Exam Practice
Knowing the correct answer is only part of the Oral Exam. Candidates also need to communicate their clinical reasoning for case-based scenarios. That is why oral preparation should include:
- Case discussions
- Role-play
- Patient counselling
- Prescription scenarios
- Clinical decision-making
- Timed responses
- Feedback on communication
The objective is not to memorise a script. It is to develop the ability to think and communicate like a practising pharmacist.
4. Mentorship from Licensed pharmacists in Australia and 1:1 Feedback
One of the biggest differences between studying alone and following a structured program is feedback. A candidate may think an answer is correct. A mentor can ask: “But what would you do next?” Or: “How would you explain this to the patient?” Or: “What is the safest action in this situation?” You may think from the context of what you generally see in hospital pharmacies in your home country. But it is about thinking like an Australian, the advanced techniques there, etc.
Academically has faculty members who had qualified KAPS/OPRA and have active registration with AHPRA. They are practicing and settled in Australia so they know the cases deep down and the techniques used in healthcare organisations.
To Conclude with...
Jatinder's journey began more than a decade ago. Upeksha prepared while completing her internship. Poojitha spent a year building towards her exams. Rozhiin progressed from KAPS to internship and then registration. Sateesh prepared in two months after completing his earlier Australian pharmacy milestones. Ahmad also used a focused two-month preparation period.
Their timelines were different. Their circumstances were different. But the destination was the same. Becoming registered pharmacists in Australia. The 100% success milestone is therefore not just about an exam result. It is about what happens when international pharmacists receive the right direction, prepare for the Australian practice environment, learn from feedback and keep moving even when the pathway becomes difficult.
For an overseas pharmacist standing somewhere in the middle of this journey, that may be the most important message of all. You do not need somebody else's timeline. You need a preparation strategy that works for you. The next success story could be yours.
