How much the OPRA pathway costs

The three fees you cannot avoid

Each step is charged separately and paid at a different time, which is why the total surprises people who budgeted for the exam alone.

That is $3,355 minimum, before a single re-sit

And before anything outside APC: NAATI translations of your documents if they are not in English, travel to a test centre, and — for most candidates — the visa and registration costs that follow.

A re-sit adds the full $2,245 again. Your eligibility check carries over (it never expires once passed), so a second attempt costs the exam fee rather than the whole pathway — but there is no discount for a repeat attempt. See results and re-sitting for how that works.

Other APC charges you may meet

The eligibility check fee is never refunded

APC does not refund skills assessment application fees at all. If your eligibility check is unsuccessful, the $810 is gone.

That is the strongest argument for reading the eligibility criteria carefully before you apply — particularly the excluded-country rule and the 4-year/3-year study requirement, which are the two that most often turn out not to fit.

If you cancel the exam, you get some of it back

Exam fees are partially refundable, unlike the eligibility check — but a cancellation fee applies to every refund, whatever the reason, and every request is subject to APC's approval.

• Cancel 5 or more days before the exam date: a $100 cancellation fee applies
• Cancel from 5 days before up to 2 weeks after the exam date: a partial refund of 80% of the OPRA exam fee
• APC will not accept refund requests more than 2 weeks after the exam session ends
• You cancel in the Candidate Portal — APC does not accept requests by phone — and you must give a reason, with supporting documents if you cancel on or after the exam date

Rescheduling is free, but only inside the registration window

If you simply need a different date or time, reschedule rather than cancel: you can move your booking in the Candidate Portal, but only during the registration period for that sitting. Once registration closes, rescheduling is no longer an option and cancelling is the only route.

Registration windows for each sitting are listed on OPRA exam dates & deadlines.

How you pay

• All prices are in Australian dollars
• Credit and debit card, plus Google Pay and Apple Pay, through the Candidate Portal
• Your card must be issued by a bank in your country of residence — a common cause of failed payments
• Payment is taken at registration; if it is not received, your seat is released

Budget for the wait, not just the fee

The costs above are APC's. The one candidates underestimate is time: with roughly three sittings a year, missing a registration close means a four-month wait, during which nothing you have paid for expires but nothing progresses either.

This is where free preparation is worth using properly before you commit $2,245 to a sitting date. Our Calculations Lab and study guides need no account at all, and a free account adds practice questions and per-domain tracking — enough to judge whether you are ready to book.

All fees on this page are published by APC and were last checked on 18 August 2026 against APC's skills assessment fees page. APC sets these amounts and can change them — confirm before you pay.