COVID-19: how we're keeping people safe

Our highest priority is to keep our candidates and staff safe during the COVID-19 pandemic and the nation’s transition to 'Covid-normal' conditions. This statement details the directions we are taking to keep people safe in regard to vaccinations, examinations and the APC office. We update this page regularly.

We understand these continue to be uncertain times for many. We are committed to supporting and guiding everyone through this unprecedented time.

We are following the guidance of the Australian Government Department of Health, the World Health Organisation (WHO), as well as the health directions issued by each Australian State and Territory. We will continue to update our staff, candidates, accredited providers, and the public on new information as soon as it becomes available.

We want to thank all pharmacists and health practitioners around the globe who are working tirelessly on the frontline to provide care to their communities.

Please stay safe.

Vaccination stance

APC strongly encourages vaccination, as recommended by the Australian Government Department of Health and the World Health Organisation (WHO). The APC Board and staff are fully vaccinated. To continue our important work, all APC staff and contractors meeting face-to-face will need to be fully vaccinated. At this time, APC will not engage contractors who are not fully vaccinated.

Examination candidates

APC engages Pearson VUE to manage all our examination centres. Pearson VUE continue to monitor government instructions regarding COVID-19 management and diligently follow the directions for each jurisdiction, both here and overseas. Read more about Pearson VUE's coronavirus information.

APC Accreditation Members

Accreditation and exam Subject Matter Experts, accreditation Assessors, working group members and consultants who are meeting face-to-face for APC work must be fully vaccinated and follow all conditions of entry to APC or stakeholder premises. This is in place for the safety of everyone and to accommodate all logistical constraints. Rapid Antigen Test kits are available to support a Covid-safe environment.

Our Canberra Office

With the recent lifting of restrictions by the ACT Government aligning closely to NSW and VIC regulations, we have now reopened our Canberra office. Be advised, our office is not open to the general public under any circumstance without a scheduled meeting.

For APC staff and people attending scheduled meetings, the following arrangements are now in place:

1. Do not come into the office if you feel at all unwell or have been required to isolate under health directions or guidelines.
2. RAT tests are available for staff and people wishing to attend our office. Please ask before-hand or when you arrive if you require us to issue you a test kit. We do not mandate testing to attend the office. Please note however that all positive RAT results must be reported to ACT Health in line with current health directions.
3. Masks are no longer required in the APC office, common areas or in the Majura Park precinct. However, in line with ACT Health advice, masks are recommended where social distancing is not possible or you feel unsafe
4. Please sanitise your hands when entering the workplace and make use of the sanitiser and wipes that are available in the office.
5. It will be your responsibility to keep your work area safe. This includes wiping down hard surfaces you are in contact with as necessary.
6. The building owners will continue regular high touch point cleaning through the day in the common areas and our office is cleaned regularly.
7. We share our air conditioning systems with our other building tenants, though separate air units are installed in the APC meeting rooms. Our office is modern and designed to ensure regular exchange of air from outside. Although exposure to air particles from other tenancies is possible, the risk has been assessed as low.

Should there be an incident or exposure on site, APC will act in line with ACT Public Health Directions, which may include:

• temporarily closing the office which may require deep cleaning
• providing confirmation of a negative RAT result to allow a return to work
• advising all staff, impacted visitors and key stakeholders if any situations should occur.

If you're interested in how we have responded to the pandemic since 2019, see APC's responses to the COVID 19 pandemic.