What you need to know
If you are a registered practising pharmacist in Australia and you own a pharmacy business you can apply to become a PBS approved supplier.
Under section 90 of the National Health Act 1953 (Act), pharmacists must apply to the Department for approval to:
In certain circumstances, pharmacists can make a request to the Minister for Health, Disability and Ageing to become a PBS approved supplier.
Conditions of approval
If you receive approval to supply PBS medicines, you must comply with the conditions outlined in the National Health (Pharmaceutical Benefits) (Conditions for approved pharmacists) Determination 2017 (Determination).
Approved pharmacists are responsible for ensuring that:
- PBS medicines are only supplied at or from the approved premises listed in their approval – with all dispensing steps to occur at the approved premises
- PBS medicines are not dispensed through remote access to the pharmacy – including where the dispensing pharmacist is not an Australian registered pharmacist
- their PBS approval number is used solely for the approved premises and is not shared with other pharmacists or used to dispense from unapproved locations
- no form of arrangements are made that enable PBS medicines to be supplied at or from any other location – including through third-party pharmacies
- they comply with the Code of Ethics for Pharmacists and the Professional Practice Standards – published by the Pharmaceutical Society of Australia in 2017.
We encourage you to read the Determination and the relevant sections of the Act to ensure ongoing compliance.
Minister’s discretionary power
Under section 90A of the Act, pharmacists can make a request to the Minister to use their discretionary power to approve an application.
You can ask the Minister to approve an application to establish a new pharmacy or relocate an existing one in circumstances where your application to the ACPA was not recommended because it did not meet the requirements of the Pharmacy Location Rules.
The Minister may use their discretion to approve a pharmacy if they are satisfied that:
- the decision not to approve the pharmacist will result in a community being left without reasonable access to the supply of pharmaceutical benefits by an approved pharmacist
- it is in the public interest to approve the pharmacist.
If you intend to make a request to the Minister, find out how to prepare and submit a request using the:
- Ministerial discretion guidelines
- Ministerial discretion process map
- Ministerial discretion request form.
