APC Written Assessment 2026: What to Actually Expect

If you're an overseas-qualified physiotherapist preparing for Australian registration, the Written Assessment is probably keeping you up at night. I get it. Let me break down what you're actually facing.

The Basics

The exam is a computer-based MCQ with 120 questions over 3 hours. That's 90 seconds per question on average – sounds generous until you hit a complex clinical scenario that needs proper thinking through.

The pass mark is 60%. Not 50%, not 65% – exactly 60%. That means you can get 48 questions wrong and still pass. Keep that in perspective when you're panicking.

What's Actually on the Exam?

The APC doesn't publish exact weightings, but based on the Written Assessment Booklet and feedback from candidates, here's roughly what you're looking at:

Musculoskeletal (around 35-40%) This is the biggest chunk. Think:

• Spinal conditions and red flags
• Upper and lower limb pathologies
• Post-operative protocols
• Manual therapy indications

Neurological (around 25-30%) Stroke rehabilitation comes up a lot. Also expect:

• Parkinson's and movement disorders
• Spinal cord injuries
• Balance and vestibular conditions
• Paediatric neuro conditions

Cardiorespiratory (around 20-25%) This is where many international candidates struggle. Australian practice puts heavy emphasis on:

• ICU and acute care management
• Chest physiotherapy techniques
• Exercise prescription for cardiac patients
• Post-surgical respiratory care

Professional Practice (around 10-15%) Don't underestimate this section. It covers:

• Consent and capacity
• Documentation standards
• Scope of practice
• Ethics and professional boundaries

What Catches People Out

1. The Australian Context

Questions aren't just about clinical knowledge – they're about how things work in Australia. Medicare, NDIS, private health insurance, the role of GPs... if you don't understand the healthcare system, some questions will leave you guessing.

2. Evidence-Based Practice

You can't just answer based on "how we do it back home." The exam wants you to cite current evidence. If the research says passive treatments don't work for chronic low back pain, that's what they want to hear – even if your training emphasised manual therapy.

3. Red Flags

Every section has questions designed to test whether you can identify when something is seriously wrong. Cauda equina syndrome. Cardiac chest pain masquerading as musculoskeletal. Pulmonary embolism. Know these cold.

4. Time Management

Three hours sounds like plenty. It isn't. Some questions have long clinical vignettes. Some have "select all that apply" formats. Don't spend 5 minutes on question 20 and then rush through the last 40.

How to Actually Prepare

Read the Written Assessment Booklet – Not skim it. Read it. The APC tells you exactly what they're testing. Most candidates don't read it properly.

Study Australian Guidelines – The RACGP red flags, the Stroke Foundation guidelines, the ACSM exercise testing protocols. These aren't just nice to know – they're what the exam is based on.

Practice Under Timed Conditions – Doing 20 questions over coffee isn't the same as doing 120 under exam pressure. Simulate the real thing.

Don't Just Memorise – The exam tests clinical reasoning, not recall. You need to understand why you'd choose one treatment over another, not just memorise lists.

The Day Before

Don't cram. Seriously. If you don't know it by the night before, you're not going to learn it in a panic session. Get sleep. Eat properly. Show up on time.

The exam is hard, but it's passable. Thousands of international physiotherapists have done it. You can too.

---

Need structured preparation? Our Written Assessment prep course covers all content areas with practice questions that mirror the actual exam format.