I was proud to stand in Canberra with the Minister for Health, Disability and Ageing, the Hon Mark Butler MP, to announce the tabling of the legislation. Minister Butler described it as one of the core components of Labor’s new health agenda.
Alongside us was Jess, a patient advocate from the Affordable Medicines Now campaign, who candidly shared the toll medicine costs have taken — and the relief she and many others will feel when the reduction takes effect from January 1, 2026.
This success was only possible through collaboration. The Pharmacy Guild of Australia (PGA) partnered with more than 20 health and patient advocate organisations through the Affordable Medicines Now campaign, and it was a privilege to celebrate this win with them in Canberra recently.
We proved the change we can affect and the good we can do – when we work together. Many of my fellow National Councillors joined me in Canberra during the first sitting period. We thanked members of parliament and senators for their support for cheaper medicines and began introducing new parliamentarians to the role of community pharmacy and the PGA’s policy priorities.
Meeting with the Minister
Our first extended meeting with Minister Butler and his team this term was productive. We discussed the benefits cheaper medicines will deliver from 2026 and wasted no time in exploring opportunities to collaborate on more positive change in the term ahead.
We also met with Australia’s Shadow Health Minister Senator Anne Ruston, Assistant Minister for Health Emma McBride and the new Special Envoy for Men’s Health, Dan Repacholi.
Women's health in Canberra
On August 27, PGA in partnership with Sexual and Reproductive Health Australia, hosted a very special event which highlighted how community pharmacy is improving women’s healthcare by providing faster, safer and more affordable essential services.
The event was held at Parliament House and featured a fullscale model consult room complete with clinical examination essentials such as a treatment bed, blood pressure monitor, and basic diagnostic kits.
Members of parliament, stakeholders and visitors were all given an opportunity to experience the consultation room and speak with our prescribing pharmacists about how community pharmacy is changing the face of healthcare for women across the country.
Small business reform
The PGA has recently joined an alliance of more than 30 leading business groups, led by the Business Council of Australia, calling for sensible regulation and genuine economic reform.
Key among our positions is support for a 20 percent company tax rate for businesses with turnover under AUD20 million, down from the current 25 percent, a reform championed by the Council of Small Business Organisations of Australia.
Towards 2035 strategic plan
The best part of being National President is meeting and reconnecting with community pharmacy owners from across thecountry at events like the recent Pharmacy WA Forum 2025 and Pharmacy Connect, which was held in Sydney at the beginning of September.
The communities and the patients we serve are diverse, but we’re united in our commitment to deliver excellence in primary healthcare. In my conversations with members, I have been buoyed to hear of more opportunities than challenges.
And, following the largest member consultation in the PGA’s history, I feel our new strategic plan – Towards 2035 – strikes the right balance between mitigating the risks and tackling the headwinds while seizing the opportunities and forging a path of growth.
At its heart, Towards 2035 sets bold but achievable targets: by 2035, 80 percent of community pharmacies examining, diagnosing, and treating acute and chronic everyday health conditions and 80 percent of community pharmacists qualified to prescribe.
Independent modelling shows that delivering on this goal would free up 6.5 million general practioner consultations annually, relieve 52,000 hours of emergency department demand, generate AUD1.4 billion in productivity returns through reduced absenteeism and presenteeism, and yield AUD 5.1 billion in annual healthcare system savings.
If you haven’t yet engaged with Towards 2035 and its four key focus areas, I strongly encourage you to do so. Our Purpose: to create healthier communities. Our Vision: for Australians to think pharmacy first for healthcare. Together, I am confident, we will achieve this.
