Employees are classified based on their qualifications and the skills they need to do their job.
Pharmacy students & interns
An employee doing training as part of an approved pharmacy course is classified as a pharmacy student. Wage rates for pharmacy students are based on their year of study.
Pharmacy students in the first year of a Master of Pharmacy course are treated as pharmacy students in the 3rd year of a course.
An employee doing clinical training after they’ve passed their accreditation exams is classified as a pharmacy intern.
Example
An employee studying a Master of Pharmacy could be classified as a:
- pharmacy student if they’re doing training as part of an approved program of study
- pharmacy intern if they’ve passed their accreditation exams and they’re doing approved clinical training
- pharmacist if they’re registered as a pharmacist.
Approved programs of study are defined by the Health Practitioner Regulation National Law.
Information about registration as a pharmacist, accreditation and approved study is available from the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency website.
Other students
Students working in pharmacies who aren’t studying a pharmacy course aren’t classified as pharmacy students.
Example
Jean is studying information services at university. She has just started her first job operating a cash register at a pharmacy.
Jean is classified as a pharmacy assistant level 1.
Jean isn’t classified as a Pharmacy Student because she’s not studying pharmacy.
References
What to do next
- Use our Pay and Conditions Tool to calculate pay rates, allowances and penalty rates (including overtime).
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