As part of a new stream at Pharmacy Connect focused on pharmacy assistants and pharmacy staff, our panel explored how the assistant’s role is evolving alongside the expanding scope of practice in community pharmacy.
The discussion looked at demographic shifts, emerging opportunities within Australia’s pharmacy landscape, and how assistants can support pharmacies as they take on the role of ‘coordinators of care’ in their communities.
The panel agreed every role within the pharmacy is becoming more specialised, and lifelong learning is essential to meeting the needs of consumers and patients – both now and in the future.
Key insights
1. Understanding demographic shifts
Sashi Anantham – IQVIA
The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare projects by 2026, around 23 percent of Australians will be aged 65 or older – which will be approximately six million people. This is up from less than 10 percent in the 1980s, showing the older population has grown faster than the overall population.
Sashi questioned whether the current healthcare system can sustain this demographic shift given funding pressures and GP availability. While Australians are living longer, many face uncertainty about whether they have the financial resources to maintain quality of life in later years.
He also noted a major shift in Australia’s ethnic composition. Once primarily European, it now includes growing numbers of Indian and Chinese migrants:
- The Indian-born population in Australia has doubled between 2014 and 2024, reaching around one million people.
- 31.5 percent of Australians were born overseas (around nine million people).
- Overseas migration rose from 50,000 in 1993 to 1994, to 435,000 in 2023 to 2024.
- Fertility rates declined from 1.85 births per woman in 1993 to 94 to 1.49 in 2023 to 2024, meaning the population is no longer self-replacing.
Because much of Australia’s population growth now comes from younger, well-educated, and affluent migrants, pharmacies must adapt to diverse cultural preferences, product needs, genetic backgrounds, and health profiles.
As Sashi observed, pharmacy categories and services will need to evolve accordingly.
2. Lessons from retail leaders
Felicity Edmunds – Gold Cross
Felicity highlighted it’s not just pharmacy that’s changing – the entire retail landscape is evolving. She pointed to the Australian beauty retailer Mecca as an example of excellence, where staff are highly trained experts who build customer relationships and drive sales.
She encouraged pharmacy assistants to ‘walk the store’ and see it from the customer’s point of view, focusing on store layout, category organisation, and brand blocking for easier navigation.
Felicity also underscored the importance of prioritising the top 20 precent of products, which typically account for 80 percent of total sales. Pharmacy teams, she said, should know these products inside out, ensuring they are wellstocked, clearly ticketed, and attractively presented.
3. Lifelong learning and professional growth
Alison Hope – Australasian College of Pharmacy
Alison spoke about the growing need for lifelong education and training for pharmacy assistants. This includes both formal accredited qualifications and informal, service-specific learning.
As pharmacists move into full-scope practice and deliver more specialised health services, pharmacy assistants have opportunities to take on expanded responsibilities – for example, leading areas such as appointment triage or sleep apnoea services.
She urged pharmacy owners to review their team structures and identify where assistants can, or want to, step into broader roles to support changing patient needs.
4. Building the pharmacy of the future
Nicole Hooley – Axe Health Services
Nicole described pharmacy assistants as critical to the future pharmacy workflow, enabling pharmacists to focus on clinical care as their scope of practice expands.
She stressed the importance of having a team aligned with the pharmacy’s future vision and goals. Instead of saying ‘we need to change’, Nicole advised discussing new opportunities and pathways for improvement, noting those working in the pharmacy every day often have the best insights into workflow efficiencies.
Empowering the team to take ownership – and celebrating their wins – helps build engagement and momentum, she said.
Nicole also emphasised matching people to the right roles, explaining job satisfaction improves when skills align with responsibilities.
Finally, she encouraged everyone to adopt a growth mindset:
- Progress takes time and effort, but every day is a step forward
- Mistakes are valuable learning experiences
- Anything is possible when teams support one another
- Celebrate small wins and be inspired by others’ success
- Step outside the comfort zone
- Remember: good is the enemy of great.
Panellists
Felicity Edmunds Key Account Manager, Gold Cross
Nicole Hooley General Manager Health Programs, Axe Health Services
Sashi Anantham Principal, IQVIA
Alison Hope General Manager Education and Training, Australasian College of Pharmacy
