Provisional to General Registration

You can apply online through Ahpra’s online services portal using your User ID - click the Apply online now button at the top of this page.

You will need to provide evidence of successful completion of:

• your approved intern training program, and
• 1824 hours of approved supervised practice or the period of supervised practice approved by the Board for interns affected by the COVID-19 pandemic (read more in the news item).

You must also have successfully completed your written and oral examinations; you don’t need to provide your results to us as once they have been confirmed, we will already have them.

You will be asked if there’s been any change to your Australian criminal history status, and if you need to disclose any impairment not previously disclosed. If you do declare a change in status, you might be asked to provide further information.

You will receive an automated confirmation via email when you submit your application.

You can apply for general registration as soon as you have completed your 1824 hours of approved supervised practice (or the period of supervised practice approved by the Board for interns affected by the COVID-19 pandemic), intern training program, passed both registration examinations (written examination and oral examination) and your approved supervised practice hours have been signed off.

Once we have all the required information, we aim to have your complete application finalised within two weeks. That’s if you’ve provided everything we need to assess your application (see ‘When can I apply?’).

If you will not finish your internship within one month of your current provisional registration expiry date, apply to renew your provisional registration.

If you will complete your internship before your current provisional registration expiry date, or within one month after your current provisional registration expiry date, you do not need to renew your provisional registration.

Please contact Ahpra customer service team on 1300 419 495 between 9:00am – 5:00pm Australian Eastern Standard Time to ask for the appropriate form; you will need to provide your provisional registration number, your name and date of birth.

Ahpra will contact you directly to confirm whether you need to renew your provisional registration prior to applying for general registration in the future.

You can download a certificate from your online services account.

If a practitioner or employer wants to check someone’s registration details the safest and most up-to-date way to do so is via the online Register of practitioners which is updated every day.

You are registered and entitled to practise unsupervised when you have been granted general registration and your details have been updated and published on the Register of Practitioners.

Ahpra will send you an email to confirm your registration.

No. You cannot work unsupervised as a pharmacist until you have been granted general registration.

You can continue to practise as a pharmacist under supervision while you hold provisional registration.

In most cases, your provisional registration will remain in effect while we assess your application for general registration. That’s if you’ve lodged your application before your current provisional registration expiry date.

However, if you’ve already renewed your provisional registration twice, your registration can’t remain in effect and you will become unregistered on the expiry date.

You are required to pay an application fee to transition from provisional to general and the annual registration fee for general registration.

See the Pharmacy Board’s schedule of fees for further information on exact fee amounts.

The application fee to transition from provisional to general registration is non-refundable.

If you apply for general registration but do not successfully complete the requirements for general registration or choose to withdraw your application after it has been assessed, we will confirm whether you need to renew your provisional registration to continue to work under supervision and if so, you will be required to pay the annual renewal fee for provisional registration only and not the fee for general registration. Ahpra will refund you the difference between the two amounts.

The Board and Ahpra made a payment plan available for pharmacy interns applying to renew their provisional registration or applying for general registration who were experiencing genuine financial hardship due to COVID-19. Applications closed on 30 April 2021.

My application was accepted. How do I pay the second instalment?

We will send you these details separately within three months of your successful application. Please ensure your contact details are up to date using the online practitioner services.

Refer to the Board’s registration standards, guidelines and policies and relevant Fact sheets and FAQ.