Australia – a land full of opportunities! Australia’s vibrant pharmacy job market presents an endless stream of opportunities for skilled workers. These professionals can showcase their expertise and advance their careers in a supportive environment.
High demand for pharmacists in Australia: Australia has a high demand for pharmacists. It is currently growing at the rate of 9% per year. Indian pharmacists can very well meet this need. But, the first question that usually comes to our mind is, “How can Indian pharmacy graduates get a job in Australia?”
Well, to become a pharmacist in Australia, you have to apply and register with the Pharmacy Board of Australia. Broadly, it is a three step process to register – 1. Getting eligibility check done, 2. Passing the KAPS exam, and 3. Completing your internship under the supervision of an experienced pharmacist.
In this article we will be diving deep into what is eligibility check & discussing it in detail.
What are the initial processes to be followed?
Pharmacists applying for general registration in Australia, are required to go through an eligibility check, also known as Initial skills assessment eligibility check. This process involves submitting a few listed documents and getting them verified for further processing.
Once you get a confirmation regarding the same, you can appear for the KAPS exam conducted by the APC – Australian Pharmacy Council. If you wish to know more about this exam, we have explained about the same in detail in our previous blogs, part 1 and part 2.
As a result, completing the eligibility check is an important step in your preparation to move to Australia. Whereas, going through the checklist can be really daunting!! But, fret not, we have you covered. First and foremost let us understand the fees and timeline for the eligibility check.
But, How much does it cost and how long does it take to get the initial skills assessment eligibility done?
The fees for the Initial skills assessment eligibility request is AU$1310 (~₹70,000) per request. However, this fee is non refundable. Given that, you have submitted all the required documents, the entire process takes around 8 weeks . In contrast, if there is any discrepancies, there may be a delay. Therefore, it is very important for the candidates to verify all their documents thoroughly before submitting them for assessment.
Additionally, once the eligibility check is completed, there is no expiry on the same.
Moving forward, let us look at all the documents needed for completing the eligibility check. But, before that let us look into some criteria and caution we need to exercise in all these documents.
General document criteria:
Certain criteria apply for all types of documents. Let us understand them clearly. All documents –
- To be a clear, colour scan or photocopy of the original document
- All relevant security features such as, logo, watermarks etc should be shown clearly
- All the wordings on the document should be clear
- The document should be in png, pdf, jpg, jpeg, tif, tff or gif format
- Should be in English or with relevant translation.
Note: Your documents will not be accepted by APC, if
- any of your original document is laminated and the security features are not clearly visible
- the document is in word format
- documents are copied
Specific documents required: Now let us look at the documents that are required for the eligibility check.
- Identification documents:
All skill assessment applications should have a minimum of 3 of these documents. It can be,
- birth certificate
- passport
- where possible, an Australian visa / ImmiCard
- one photo bearing document
- ID card wherever applicable
Out of the above mentioned document, at least one document should meet the criteria to become a primary identification document. This document must include full name, color photograph, signature, DOB, date of issue and expiry of the document. Usually PASSPORT is accepted as a primary identification document. Please note – the name in all other documents should match with the name in the primary identification document.
- Degree certificate.
This pharmacy certificate should include your full name, date of issue.
- Academic record / transcript.
It is a single document, which should include the marks sheet of all the semesters.
- Registration certificate.
Your registration certificate should have your name, name of the university, start and end date of registration period.
- Photo.
Your photo should be of passport size. It should not be more than 6 months old.
- Work experience related documents (optional)
If any candidate has relevant work experience in the field, he/she can share documents of the same. This can include – CV, pay slip and a work experience reference template found on APC website.
Additional documents: In case the name of the candidate does not match in the documents, he/she may have to provide, same and one letter from concerned authorities. Furthermore, this letter must contain the ID number of the primary identification document. Additionally, it should explicitly mention the different spellings and state that it is of the same person.
In conclusion, we would like to emphasize that the Initial skills assessment eligibility is your gateway for pharmacy practice in Australia. Particularly, the Australian pharmacy council makes sure that only qualified and eligible candidates migrate to Australia by these rigorous checks. Subsequently, you can kickstart your global pharma career by completing this process.
We at coachminister, help you clear the KAPS exam with ease. Do visit our website here, for more information regarding the same. In addition to this, follow us on our YouTube channel, where we post regular updates regarding the KAPS exam.
