About the 8CPA
The 8CPA is between the:
- Minister for Health and Aged Care
- Pharmacy Guild of Australia.
The 8CPA will come into effect on 1 July 2024, and remain in effect until 30 June 2029.
It outlines the Australian Government’s agreement to reimburse pharmacists for:
- dispensing subsidised medicines on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS)
- community pharmacy medication management programs and services.
The agreement aims to support the central pillars of the National Medicines Policy (2022), which includes:
- equitable, timely, safe and reliable access to medicines and medicine-related services, at a cost that individuals and the community can afford
- medicines that meet the required standards of quality, safety, and efficacy
- quality use of medicines and medicines safety
- a collaborative, innovative and sustainable medicines industry and research sectors with the capability, capacity, and expertise to respond to current and future health needs.
The 8CPA includes a new payment; the Additional Community Supply Support (ACSS) payment. This payment provides a means through which the Commonwealth is able to provide the necessary level of financial support to community pharmacies for the dispensing of PBS medicines, without increasing the costs of medicines for some patients. Read more about the New payments under the Eighth Community Pharmacy Agreement.
Community pharmacy programs administered under the 8CPA
Community pharmacy programs in the 8CPA include:
- MedsCheck and Diabetes MedsCheck
- Dose Administration Aids Program
- Indigenous Dose Administration Aids Program
- Staged Supply Services Program
- Regional Pharmacy Maintenance Allowance program.
The 8CPA commits to carry out a Rapid Review of the Community pharmacy programs within the first year of implementation (2024–25).
There will be subsequent development of an evaluation framework for each of the Community Pharmacy Programs. This work will involve consultation with the Pharmacy Guild of Australia and other key pharmacy sector stakeholders.
Pharmacy Programs Administrator Online
The Pharmacy Programs Administrator is responsible for administering, processing and paying claims for community pharmacy programs funded under the 8CPA.
Previous and other agreements
There have been 7 previous community pharmacy agreements. The first was in 1990. See the Trove website for previous agreements.
During the 8CPA, the Government committed to entering into two separate agreements with:
- the Pharmaceutical Society of Australia (the Strategic Agreement on Pharmacist Professional Practice Standards)
- the National Pharmaceutical Services Association (the First Pharmacy Wholesaler Agreement).