National Psychology Exam: A Complete Guide for Candidates

The national psychology exam is a Psychology Board of Australia regulatory exam that provisional psychologists on the 4+2 and 5+1 internship pathways must pass before applying for general registration. It is 150 multiple-choice questions across four domains, sat in one 3.5 hour sitting, with a scaled passing score of 70 per cent.

It is not a university exam, and it does not reward the study habits that got you through one. This guide sets out what the Board actually requires, drawn from its guidelines, curriculum and candidate manual.

Who has to sit the national psychology exam?

The Guidelines for the national psychology exam name three groups who must pass before applying for general registration:

• Provisionally registered psychologists undertaking a 5+1 internship program.
• Provisionally registered psychologists undertaking a 4+2 internship program (closed to new applications on 30 June 2022).
• Internationally trained psychologists seeking general registration in Australia, unless exempt.

Two further groups may be required to sit it: people returning to practice who do not meet the Recency of practice registration standard, and anyone directed to sit by the Board, a committee, panel, tribunal or co-regulatory jurisdiction, whether in relation to a registration application or a notification about their health, performance or conduct.

That last category surprises people. A psychologist who came through the higher degree pathway and never sat the exam can still be directed to sit it during a notification process, to demonstrate current competency.

Who is exempt from the exam?

Three groups are exempt under the guidelines:

• New Zealand psychologists applying for general registration in Australia under the Trans-Tasman Mutual Recognition arrangements.
• Applicants who completed the higher degree pathway: a Board-approved accredited six-year professional Masters, an accredited doctorate, or a combined Masters/PhD. The Board's reasoning is that this pathway is already regulated through APAC accreditation.
• Applicants with international qualifications assessed by the Board as substantially equivalent to, or based on similar competencies to, a Board-approved qualification at fifth and sixth year level.

If you hold international qualifications, the exemption turns on the wording in your qualification assessment outcome letter from Ahpra. The Board's exam FAQ says that if the letter states your postgraduate qualification "was assessed as being based on similar competencies to a fifth-and-sixth year of study", you are exempt. Exempt or not, you still complete the transitional program.

What is actually on the exam?

The exam assesses the eight threshold professional competencies through four curriculum domains. The exam curriculum, effective 1 December 2025, is the Board's official statement of exam content, and every question derives from it. The domains are weighted unevenly, and the split tells you where to spend study time:

• Ethics (including applied ethical and professional reasoning): 45 questions, 30 per cent.
• Assessment (methods and approaches): 45 questions, 30 per cent.
• Intervention (selection and implementation): 45 questions, 30 per cent.
• Communication (communication and reporting skills): 15 questions, 10 per cent.

Communication carries the fewest questions because it overlaps heavily with the other three, so reporting and feedback tend to appear inside assessment and intervention scenarios rather than as standalone items.

Within the assessment domain the curriculum is unusually specific. Candidates need detailed knowledge, including competence in administration, scoring and interpretation, of six core tests: the DASS, K10, PAI, SDQ, WAIS and WISC. General familiarity with the use and purpose of a further 22 tests is also expected.

How is the exam structured and scored?

Every question is multiple choice and mostly follows one shape: a vignette, a lead-in question, and five options of which one is correct and four are distracters. Questions are written by senior practitioners, and the correct answer is their consensus view of the best option. The candidate manual sets out the mechanics:

• 150 questions of equal value, with no penalty for wrong answers. Attempt everything.
• 3.5 hours (210 minutes) in a single sitting: it cannot be paused, split, or taken one domain at a time.
• You can skip and flag questions, then return via the review screen.
• Raw scores out of 150 are converted to a 0 to 100 scale, with a scaled passing score of 70 per cent.

Scores are scaled across everyone sitting in a given exam period, so a harder version does not disadvantage that cohort. The Board is explicit that marks can be scaled up but are never scaled down.

You do not need to pass each domain separately: the 70 per cent applies to your total score, because the domains overlap so much in practice. Scores are not carried over between attempts, so a re-sit means re-sitting the whole exam.

What is the national psychology exam pass rate?

The Board does not publish a routine pass rate, and candidates are not told their own scaled score. Results come back as pass or fail only, with no breakdown of which questions you got right or wrong and no release of answers, because this is a regulatory exam rather than an educational one.

If you fail, you do receive a performance report by email identifying which standard was not met, for example underperformance in ethics. That report is the feedback loop, designed to be read with your supervisor and used to target re-sit study.

When are the 2026 exam dates?

The exam runs in four sittings a year. The Board's published 2026 schedule, with registration windows:

• 2 to 20 February 2026 (registration 9 December to 16 January).
• 4 to 22 May 2026 (registration 10 March to 17 April).
• 3 to 21 August 2026 (registration 9 June to 17 July).
• 2 to 27 November 2026 (registration 8 September to 16 October).

Dates vary within each period depending on your venue's available space and hours, and you may only lodge one application per quarter. Check the Board's national psychology exam page for the current schedule before planning around these dates.

How do I register, and what does it cost?

Registration runs through the exam portal, also called WebAssessor, operated by the Board's test administrator Kryterion. Create an account first: approval takes up to five working days, so do not leave it to the last week of a registration window.

The exam fee is $450, per the Board's schedule of fees effective 18 September 2025. Payment is by credit card only, through the portal. The Board does not offer a fee reduction for financial hardship, though hardship can be considered when you apply for or renew registration.

All four sittings use dual delivery: a Kryterion test centre in an Australian capital city, or online proctoring from home or work. Online proctoring suits candidates in rural and remote areas, those sitting from overseas, or anyone with health or personal reasons to avoid a test centre, provided you can supply a quiet uncluttered room, reliable internet and a webcam.

Rescheduling and cancellation follow one clock: up to 72 hours before a test centre exam, or 24 hours before an online proctored one, you can change or cancel free with a full refund. Inside those windows you need approved special consideration to avoid forfeiting the fee.

How should I prepare for the exam?

The Board is blunt that responsibility for preparation rests with the candidate, and recommends a study plan with timed milestones rather than broad reading. A workable sequence:

1. Read the guidelines and candidate manual first. They set out the rules, eligibility and what exam day looks like. Reading them late is a common, avoidable mistake.
2. Work from the curriculum, not a textbook. Every question maps to it, and it carries study tips throughout.
3. Use the recommended reading list as a map. It is not mandatory, but the Board states all exam questions can be mapped to a reference on it. The current list was published 23 February 2026.
4. Do the sample exam questions and read the explanations of the preferred answers. That is where you learn what makes one plausible option better than four others.
5. Sit the free practice exam once registered, for structure, question style and timing. Pass it and you cannot re-sit it; fail it and you can re-sit after a day.
6. Bring your supervisor in. The Board expects study plans to be designed with supervisor input, and a post-failure performance report is meant to be worked through together.

One caution, because it costs candidates money: the Board states that commercial preparation courses, books and resources are developed independently of it, and that it has not contributed to or advised on them. They may still help, but none speaks for the Board.

Most candidates study while carrying a full internship caseload, and documentation is usually the part that expands to fill the evening. PractaLuma is AI-native practice management software for Australian mental-health practices, and cutting the after-hours note-writing load frees up study hours. See how the documentation features work, or check plans and pricing.

What happens if I fail?

Fail on your first or second attempt and you may re-sit in the next exam period. Fail three times and you cannot sit another until your registration renewal, or a new application for registration, is approved by the Board, and your portal account may be made inactive in the meantime. The procedure sits in Attachment A of the guidelines, with a dedicated form (SPPD-76, a statement and plan for professional development) to complete. Fail six times and the Board may propose to refuse your application for renewal or registration.

Two integrity rules are worth stating plainly, because breaching them is far more serious than failing. You must not photograph, record, copy or write down any exam question, and you must not discuss exam content with anyone, including your proctor, during or after the exam. You sign a confidentiality declaration when you sit, and the Board treats dishonest conduct as a matter for a tribunal, which can order cancellation of registration.

Frequently asked questions

When am I eligible to sit the exam? On the 5+1 pathway, during your sixth year. On the 4+2 pathway, during the sixth year after 1,500 hours of supervised practice. Internationally qualified candidates sit during their approved transitional program or other period of supervised practice.

How long do results take? Results arrive by email within four to six weeks of the close of the exam period, as a pass or fail rather than a score. They are never given by telephone.

Can I sit the exam from overseas? Only by online proctoring. Test centres for this exam exist in Australia only.

Does passing the exam mean I am competent to practise? No, and the Board says so directly. It is one regulatory tool among several, alongside supervised practice, direct observation, placements, supervisor assessment and a Board-approved qualification. It tests threshold applied knowledge, not everything competence requires.

Does the exam cover my area of practice endorsement? No. It assesses the threshold competencies for general registration only. Endorsement competencies are demonstrated through an approved qualification and the registrar program.

Where to go next

Once you hold general registration the next hurdles arrive quickly: a Medicare provider number, professional indemnity insurance meeting the Board's registration standard, and, if you are going out on your own, starting a private practice. Getting your record-keeping obligations right from day one beats retrofitting them later.