Industrial Pharmacists undertake research, testing, and analysis related to the development, production, storage, quality control and distribution of drugs and related supplies.

Skill Level

1

Unless you are exempt in very limited circumstances, you are required to have a positive Skills Assessment to apply for the visas listed above.

Skills Assessment authority for Industrial Pharmacist is Vocational & Education Training Assessment (VETASSESS). To have a positive skills assessment, you must meet the following criteria:

• Qualification assessed at Australian Bachelor degree or higher in a highly relevant field of study AND at least one year of post-qualification highly relevant employment at an appropriate skill level in the last five years
• Applicants must meet both the qualification and employment requirements to obtain a positive skills assessment
• Highly relevant major fields of study include:
  • Pharmacy
  • Industrial Pharmacy
  • Pharmaceutical Science

Ensure safe and quality use of medicines, and optimise health outcomes by contributing to selecting, prescribing, monitoring and evaluating medicine therapy, and researching, testing and developing pharmaceuticals and medical products.

Tasks

• Receiving prescriptions, checking patients’ medicine histories, and ensuring optimal dosage and methods of administration and drug compatibility before dispensing
• Preparing or supervising the preparation and labelling of liquid medicines, ointments, powders, tablets and other medications to fill prescriptions
• Advising prescribers on drug incompatibility and contra-indications
• Reviewing and monitoring the medicine therapy of individual patients, and assessing the effectiveness of the total medicine therapy
• Maintaining prescription files and recording issue of narcotics, poisons and habit-forming drugs
• Storing and preserving vaccines, serums and other drugs subject to deterioration
• Supplying non-prescription medicines, and diagnostic and therapeutic aids
• Supervising and coordinating the work of Pharmacy Technicians, pharmacy interns and Pharmacy Sales Assistants
• Conducting research to develop and improve pharmaceuticals, cosmetics and related chemical products
• Conferring with Chemists, Engineering Professionals and other professionals about manufacturing techniques and ingredients
• Testing and analysing drugs to determine their identity, purity and strength in relation to specified standards
• Developing standards for drugs used in pharmaceuticals

Skill Level

In Australia and New Zealand:

Most occupations in this unit group have a level of skill commensurate with a bachelor’s degree or higher qualification and a one-year traineeship (ANZSCO Skill Level 1). This occupation requires registration or licensing.

Occupations in this Group

• 251511 Hospital Pharmacist
• 251512 Industrial Pharmacist
• 251513 Retail Pharmacist