200+ Pharmacists, One Room: Pharma Connect Melbourne Makes History 2026
Melbourne (Victoria) [Australia], April 30: Melbourneplayed host to one of the most significant pharmacy gatherings in recent Australian memory on Saturday, 25 April 2026, as more than 200 pharmacists came together at a premium medical hotel for Pharma Connect Melbourne, a full afternoon of expert-led sessions, career guidance, and professional networking organised by Elite Expertise.
The event, held on ANZAC Day, opened with a moving tribute to those who served, before turning its energy toward the future of pharmacy in Australia.
The Event That the Pharmacy Community Had Been Waiting For
Elite Expertise hosts a landmark pharmacy event in Melbourne on ANZAC Day, bringing together aspiring interns and registered professionals from across Australia.
PharmaConnectMelbourne was not a conference in the traditional sense. There were no dry presentations, no distant keynote speakers, no gap between the stage and the room. This was a gathering of practitioners, for practitioners, built around the real questions, real challenges, and real career aspirations of pharmacistsat every stage of theirprofessional journey in Australia.
Aspiring intern pharmacists sat alongside fully registered professionals. Recent arrivals from overseas shared tables with pharmacists who have been practising in Australia for years. And at the front of the room were two of the most respected names in Australian pharmacy education, the co-founders of Elite Expertise, ready to deliver the kind of guidance that changes careers.
The atmosphere, by every account, was electric.
What Happened Inside the Room
The afternoon was packed with sessions covering some of the most pressing and career-defining topics in Australian pharmacy today.
Attendees received a comprehensive look at the future of pharmacy in Australia, where the profession is heading, what new roles are opening up, and how pharmacists are working in
Australia right now can position themselves to lead that change ratherthansimply respond to it.
One of the most anticipated sessions of the day focused on how to become a prescribing pharmacist in Australia. Collaborativeprescribing is one of the fastest-growing areas of pharmacy practice in the country, and many pharmacists in the room had heard about the opportunity without fully understanding how to access it. The session laid out the pathways, the postgraduate requirements, and the practical steps needed to move toward this advanced role in 2026 and beyond.
Equally well-received was the detailed breakdown of how to become a credentialed pharmacist to perform HomeMedicines Reviews. HMR credentialing is one of the most valuable and accessible specializations available to Australian pharmacists today, and the session demystified the accreditation process in a way that left attendees with a clear, actionable plan.
The afternoon also included a highly practical and much-discussed session on how to succeed in pharmacy interviews, covering hospital positions, community roles, and clinical placements. Real interview scenarios, real questions from hiring managers, and real strategies for presenting international experience in the Australian context made this one of the standout moments of the day.
Between sessions , the room buzzed with conversation. But these business cards were exchanged. Mentoring relationships were formed. Pharmacists who had only known each otherthrough online communities finally met in person.
The Experts Who Took the Stage
The sessions were led by the co-founders of Elite Expertise, both of whom bring rare credibility to the room, not as academics or commentators, but as clinical pharmacistsactively working within the Australian healthcare system.
Mr. Arief Mohammad, Co-Founder of Elite Expertise, led attendees through the career advancement sessions with the clarity and practical depth that has made him one of the most trusted voices in international pharmacy education in Australia. A specialist in OPRA, KAPS, PEBC, PSI, and NZ Intern OSCE preparation, Arief has guided thousands of pharmacists through the registrationprocessand into successful careers in Australia and around the world.
Mrs. Harika Bheemavarapu, Co-FounderandClinicalPharmacist at Monash Health in Victoria, brought over a decade of hospital and clinical pharmacy experience to the stage. An Accredited Consultant Pharmacist and Certified Immuniser, Harika is known for her ability to make complex clinical and regulatory topics feel genuinely achievable, a quality that was on full display throughouttheafternoon.
Together, they have built Elite Expertise into a platform that has trained over 5,000 pharmacists worldwide with a consistent pass rate of 95 per cent or above.
Voices from the Event
The energy of Pharma Connect Melbourne was perhaps best captured in the words of those who were there.
"I have attended a lot of pharmacy events over the years, but nothing like this. The knowledge in that room, the warmth of the community, the quality of the sessions, it was everything I hoped it would be and more. Arief Sir's session on prescribing pathways alone was worth the trip to Melbourne."
— Registered Pharmacist, Queensland
"I came not knowing what to expect and left with a career plan, three new professionalcontacts, and more confidence than I have felt in years. The HMR session was outstanding, clear, practical, and immediately useful."
— Community Pharmacist, South Australia
"Seeing 200 pharmacists who all understood my journey without me having to explain it, that was something I did not expect to feel so strongly. This community is real, and Pharma Connect madethat very clear."
— Intern Pharmacist, Victoria
"Theinterviewpreparation session gave me things I genuinely could not have found anywhere else. The examples were real, theadvice was direct, and it came from people who know exactly how Australian employers think."
— InternationalPharmacyGraduate, New South Wales
A Milestone for Elite Expertise — and for the Community
For Elite Expertise, Pharma ConnectMelbournerepresented a milestone that went beyond the event itself. Since founding the platform in Melbourne in March 2023, co-founders Arief Mohammad and Harika Bheemavarapu have built an online community of over 5,000 pharmacists across Australia, New Zealand, Canada, India, Ireland, and beyond. Saturday was the first time that the community came together in person.
Across Australia, 350 pharmacists who trained through Elite Expertise are now fully registered and actively practicing, in Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia, Western Australia, Tasmania, and the NorthernTerritory. Pharma Connect Melbourne brought many of them into the same room for the first time, transforming what had always been a digital community into something tangible, visible, and deeply meaningful.
"Today is something we have been working toward since the beginning," said Mrs. HarikaBheemavarapu at the event. "Seeing this community in person, seeing the faces behind the names we have known for years, this is why we built Elite Expertise."
What Makes This Event Different
Pharmacy events in Australia are not uncommon. Continuing professional development sessions, clinical workshops, and industryconferencestakeplaceregularlyacrossthecountry. But Pharma Connect Melbourne occupied a distinct space that none of those events quite fill.
It was specifically designed for pharmacists navigating the Australian system, many of them internationally trained, all of them ambitious, and all of them seeking more than passive learning. It offered expert knowledge that was immediately applicable. It created networking opportunities that were genuine rather than performative. And it did all of this in an environment where every singleperson in the room was genuinely invested in the success of everyone else.
That, more than anything, is what made the afternoon special.
Mark Your Calendar: This Is Just the Beginning
Organisers confirmed at theevent that Pharma Connect Melbourne 2026 marks the beginning of a broader series of in-person gatherings for the Elite ExpertisecommunityacrossAustralia. For pharmacists whomissedSaturday's event, the message was clear, stay connected, because more is coming.
For those who were there, the message was equallyclear. They were part of something that is only going to grow.
About Elite Expertise
EliteExpertise is a Melbourne-based pharmacy exam preparation and career guidance platform founded in March 2023 by Mr. Arief Mohammad and Mrs. Harika Bheemavarapu. The platform has trained over 5,000 pharmacists across Australia, New Zealand, Canada, India, Ireland, and beyond, maintaining a consistent pass rate of 95 per cent or above. Exams covered include OPRA, KAPS, PEBC, DHA, PSI, NZ Intern OSCE, and Australian Intern Written and Oral. All students receive unlimited access until they pass, with no re-enrolment fees.
