Pharmacy

Community Service Obligation for Pharmaceutical Wholesalers

The Fourth Agreement introduced the Community Service Obligation (CSO) Funding Pool in recognition of the additional costs faced by some pharmaceutical wholesalers in providing the full range of PBS medicines to pharmacies.

The Fourth Agreement introduced the Community Service Obligation (CSO) Funding Pool in July 2006 in recognition of the additional costs faced by some pharmaceutical wholesalers in providing the full range of PBS medicines to pharmacies.

The aim of the CSO Funding Pool is to ensure there are arrangements in place for all Australians to have access to the full range of PBS medicines, via their community pharmacy, regardless of where they live and usually within 24 hours.

The CSO Funding Pool financially supports pharmaceutical wholesalers to supply the full range of PBS medicines to pharmacies across Australia, regardless of pharmacy location and the relative cost of supply.

Under these arrangements, payments are provided directly to eligible wholesalers who supply the full range of PBS medicines to any pharmacy, usually within 24 hours, and that meet compliance requirements and service standards. These payments are over and above those made directly to pharmacists to cover the costs of supply from the wholesaler.

For information on the CSO operational arrangements, including the service standards and compliance requirements that wholesalers eligible to receive payments under the CSO Funding Pool are required to meet, please refer to the attachment below – The Operational Arrangements of the CSO Funding Pool.

CSO Funding Pool Operational Guidelines (PDF 525 KB)
CSO Funding Pool Operational Guidelines (Word 913 KB)

CSO Complaints Handling Procedure (PDF 141 KB)
CSO Complaints Handling Procedure (Word 264 KB)

CSO Complaint Form (PDF 40 KB)
CSO Complaint Form (Word 224 KB)