Cate's Chemist Blog — FAQ

The key components of regulation that underpin the community pharmacy model in Australia are the Location Rules (which are Federal) and the ownership rules which are State and Territory based. The Location Rules were previously subject to a Sunset Clause in the National Health Act which saw them expire with the end of each five-year Community Pharmacy Agreement. This sunset clause was removed from the Act last year, with bi-partisan support in the Federal Parliament. The result is that the Location Rules that are in place, will not expire with the current Sixth Agreement in June next year, but will...

PBS pricing is complex and there is not a generally high level of understanding about how it all works. It is hard to explain fairly in small sound bites in media. Here are some key points: Under our subsidised medicine scheme, the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme, the government subsidises listed medicines and invokes a safety net after concessional patients have been dispensed around 60 prescriptions in any calendar year (reducing the price to zero for pensioners and concession cardholders.) The government decides the scope of ‘universal access to medicine’ by determining which medicines are PBS approved and which patients qualify –...