A prerequisite to entering for the final examination is that practical training has been undertaken under conditions laid down by the board, and in premises approved by the board. Students should check with prospective tutors that the training arrangements have received board approval.
The Pharmacy Board of Victoria and the Pharmaceutical Society of Australia
The Pharmacy Board of Victoria is a statutory body constituted by Act of Parliament and answerable to the Victorian State Parliament through the Minister for Health. The board meets and has its administrative offices at the Victorian College of Pharmacy.
The board approves the prescribed subjects to be studied by students undertaking the pharmacy course, attends to the registration of pharmacists, supervises the practical training of students and trainees including the registration of articles of traineeship, approves tutors and premises for training and issues students' record books. The board's function is to act primarily in the interests of the public. The registrar of the board is also the executive director of the Pharmaceutical Society of Australia (Victorian Branch) Ltd.
The Pharmaceutical Society, on the other hand, is a professional society incorporated under articles of association. The affairs of the society are administered by a council of twelve members. Pharmacists in Australia comprise the membership of the society. The society's function is to act primarily in the interest of the pharmacists who are its members.