About NAPSAC Accreditation
APC accredits pharmacy schools and programs intended to lead to registration as a pharmacist.

To qualify for registration as a pharmacist, a person must have completed the following:

•	a pharmacy degree course recognised by the registering authority as a registrable qualification; and
•	a period of pre-registration training and supervised practice.

Because pharmacy practice is not subject to specialisation, a registered pharmacist must be competent to practice across the full range of practice settings. The necessary competencies are set out in the Pharmaceutical Society of Australia’s Competency Standards for Pharmacists in Australia and the Pharmaceutical Society of New Zealand’s Competence Standards.

The accreditation process provides assurance that a person who has successfully completed an accredited course will possess the knowledge, skills and attributess necessary to achieve those competencies by the end of their pre-registration training period.

Accreditation involves assessment of program content, andif it is structured and delivered in a manner, necessary to impart the requisite skills, knowledge and attitudes. The accreditation also involves assessment of whether a pharmacy school has the human and physical resources and scholarly environment necessary to allow effective learning.

Accreditation of a new pharmacy school involves three stages:

Preliminary approval
Preliminary approval is granted to a new school to offer a registrable pharmacy degree program after successful initial evaluation of the schools and programs against accreditation criteria. Preliminary approval is normally granted prior to, or commensurate with, the entry of the school’s first cohort into the program.

Provisional Accreditation
Provisional accreditation of a new school and its registrable pharmacy degree program is granted after successful review of the performance of the school in terms of its ability to satisfy the accreditation criteria, usually after its first year of teaching. Provisional accreditation will continue until a school is able to achieve full accreditation or, in the event of major shortcomings, until accreditation is revoked. Graduates from provisionally accreditated schools have a registrable qualification.

Full Accreditation
Full accreditation may be granted for a period of up to five years to a school and course already having provisional accreditation after it has successfully demonstrated through appropriate evaluative procedures that it has satisfied the full accreditation criteria. A school is eligible for full accreditation after its first cohort of graduates have at least twelve months of practice experience following their period of preregistration training.

The pharmacy registering authorities will recognise a provisionally accredited program as a qualification conferring eligibility for registration for that period between registration of the first cohort of graduates and assessment for full accreditation.

The New Zealand and Australian Pharmacy Schools Accreditation Committee (NAPSAC) has responsibility for the conduct of pharmacy school and registrable degree program activities on behalf of APC. Its recommendations on accreditation are subject to approval by the APC.