ANZSCO 251513

Retail Pharmacist

STSOLCSOLSkill level 1Assessed by APharmCShortage

General information, not immigration advice. Data as at 2026-10-22.

About this occupation

ANZSCO 2022

Dispenses prescribed pharmaceuticals to the public, educates customers on health promotion, disease prevention and the proper use of medicines, and sells non-prescription medicines and related goods in a community pharmacy. Registration or licensing is required.

Skill level 1

Also called

Community Pharmacist

Unit group 2515

Pharmacists

Pharmacists 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.

Indicative skill level

In Australia and New Zealand

Occupations in this unit group have a level of skill commensurate with a bachelor degree or higher qualification and a one year traineeship (ANZSCO Skill Level 1).

Registration or licensing is required.

Tasks include

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

Show all 12 tasks

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

Occupations in this unit group

251511 Hospital Pharmacist
251512 Industrial Pharmacist
251513 Retail PharmacistThis occupation

Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics, ANZSCO 2022. CC BY 4.0.

ANZSCO 2022 (the edition the CSOL uses for the 482 and 186 visas)

Title in this edition: Retail Pharmacist, skill level 1

Major group: 2 Professionals
Sub-major group: 25 Health Professionals
Minor group: 251 Health Diagnostic and Promotion Professionals
Unit group: 2515 Pharmacists

The title and groups are the same in ANZSCO 2013 v1.2 and ANZSCO 2022.

Occupation Shortage List (2026)

National rating: Shortage
Confidence: Clear
Rated on: ANZSCO 2022

Source: Jobs and Skills Australia, 2026 Occupation Shortage List - 6 digit ANZSCO and OSCA, released 21 October 2026. CC BY 4.0.

Possible visa options

Visas that Retail Pharmacist may be eligible for through its skilled list placement. Being on a list is one requirement; each visa has others (points, age, English, nomination or sponsorship).

Visa	Stay	MLTSSL	STSOL	ROL	CSOL	Instrument
Skilled Nominated (subclass 190)	Permanent	Not on MLTSSL	On STSOL	ROL not used for this visa	CSOL not used for this visa	LIN 19/051, s 7(1) item 3
Skilled Work Regional (provisional) visa (subclass 491) State or Territory nominated	—	Not on MLTSSL	On STSOL	Not on ROL	CSOL not used for this visa	LIN 19/051, s 7(1) item 4
Training visa (subclass 407)	Temporary (Up to 2 years)	Not on MLTSSL	On STSOL	Not on ROL	CSOL not used for this visa	LIN 19/050, s 6
Skilled Employer Sponsored Regional (provisional) (subclass 494) - Employer sponsored stream	Temporary (5 years)	Not on MLTSSL	STSOL not used for this visa	On ROL	CSOL not used for this visa	LIN 19/219, s 5(1)
Skills in Demand (subclass 482) - Core Skills stream	Temporary (Up to 4 years)	MLTSSL not used for this visa	STSOL not used for this visa	ROL not used for this visa	On CSOL	LIN 24/089, s 6(3)
Employer Nomination Scheme visa (subclass 186) - Direct Entry Pathway	Permanent	MLTSSL not used for this visa	STSOL not used for this visa	ROL not used for this visa	On CSOL	LIN 24/093, s 7(1)

✓ the occupation is on a list this visa uses · ✗ this visa uses the list but the occupation is not on it · — the visa does not use this list. Source: Australian Government Department of Home Affairs, visa pages, CC BY 3.0 AU.

Average salary, May 2025

Unit group 2515 Pharmacists (ANZSCO 2022). all employees, Average weekly total cash earnings.

	Average weekly earnings	Average age
All employees	$1,547.70	36.7
Males	$1,828.00	39.9
Females	$1,398.90	34.9

Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Employee Earnings and Hours, Australia, May 2025: data cube 63060DO011_202505 (Table 1), released 23 January 2026. CC BY 4.0.

Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics, ANZSCO (CC BY 4.0). Source: Department of Home Affairs, Skilled occupation list (CC BY 4.0). Source: Jobs and Skills Australia, 2026 Occupation Shortage List. © Commonwealth of Australia, CC BY 4.0. Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Employee Earnings and Hours, Australia, May 2025. © Commonwealth of Australia, CC BY 4.0. Search another occupation