It’s a timely focus. As health needs continue to shift globally— in both well-resourced and resource-limited settings — empowering pharmacists with the right skills and support has never been more important.
World Pharmacists Day this year will help highlight pharmacists’ critical contribution to prevention; access to care for those in need, such as the elderly; health system resilience; and long-term sustainability.
Every day, pharmacists across Australia and New Zealand address essential health needs in their communities.
World Pharmacists Day is an opportunity to make their contributions visible and to reinforce the importance of fully integrating community pharmacists into health strategies and future-ready systems.
Global Alignment
One of my key international touchpoints most recently was the World Pharmacy Council meeting held in Berlin, Germany, in June.
I was there in my capacity as President of The Council, while you were represented by PGA Executive Director Gerard Benedet, PGA National Councillor Nick Panayiaris and PGNZ President Kesh Naidoo-Rauf, to discuss he pressures and opportunities facing community pharmacy.
Participation in The Council’s annual gathering ensures countries including Australia and New Zealand remain aligned with international best practice and can continue to benchmark ourselves against comparable systems.
For me, the insights from Berlin reinforced what we already know: Australia’s community pharmacy model is strong, but we must continue to evolve.
International collaboration helps us understand where we are leading, where we are aligned, and where we can improve.
It also ensures our advocacy remains grounded in evidence and informed by global experience.
Connect Momentum
September also marks one of our biggest events of the year – Pharmacy Connect in Sydney.
The event kicks off from September 9 and runs through to September 11 — and is the second-largest event for our region in the annual pharmacy calendar, after APP.
Since its launch in 2016, Pharmacy Connect has grown in size, and reputation, to become a key industry event.
As hosts, we’re proud to help bring together pharmacists, owners, executives, assistants, students, interns and industry representatives for clinical updates, business insights and practical networking.
This year’s theme, Connect with Care, reflects the event’s purpose: strengthening professional capability, sharing practical knowledge, and ensuring the sector continues to deliver high-quality care for all.
This year’s program again features two-and-a-half days of education, pre-conference workshops, a stream for pharmacy assistants, and a 90-stand trade exhibition.
The trade hall is set to be the largest on record — a clear sign of industry confidence and engagement. It also reflects the appetite for connection, learning and staying ahead of the curve in an evolving sector.
We’re looking forward to updating our members and their staff on several key developments, including remuneration changes, progress on state-based scope of practice initiatives, and much, much more.
The scale of the event also means we are now outgrowing the current venue, and planning is underway to secure a new Sydney location for next year’s conference. It’s a good problem to have — and a sign of our sector’s momentum.
Affordability first
Affordability remains another major focus. We are proud of the work done with lawmakers in Australia to lower medicine prices, particularly through the AUD 25 medicine price freeze.
The freeze is scheduled to end on December 31, but our position is clear: it should be made permanent.
The policy has been enormously popular — in fact, it was the most popular cost-of-living initiative of Australia’s Albanese government at the last federal election.
More importantly, it supports the quality use of medicines by making them more affordable for people who rely on them.
When those who are most in need can afford their medicines, adherence improves, outcomes improve, and pressures on the broader health system are reduced.
Trust in scope
Scope of practice reforms continue to progress across Australia.
Every state and territory now has a pharmacist prescribing course operational, and by Christmas this year pharmacist prescribers will be delivering full scope initiatives nationwide.
This is a significant milestone, but it also highlights the need for national consistency.
Qualifications must be recognised across jurisdictions, and pharmacists should be able to move between states and territories without unnecessary barriers.
Serving real communities
Finally, I’ll address a recent think tank report which has attracted attention. It has called for a review of pharmacy practices in Australia.
My response is, in-part, a personal one, and centred around my practices and my experiences in my home state of Queensland.
In recent travels from Bamaga on the tip of Cape York, and Dimbulah in Mareeba Shire, I once again delved into the essence of what community pharmacy offers.
Both Bamaga and Dimbulah have busy and thriving community pharmacies — and no other private health services. If you haven’t been ‘outback’ ever, it’s hard to imagine.
But, there are 330 towns across Australia where the local pharmacy is the only piece of health infrastructure. That’s three-hundred-and-thirty towns across the nation with no other health offering for their communities than a local pharmacy.
While think tanks in metropolitan centres brew up hypotheticals about what we should be doing differently — community pharmacy continues serving millions upon millions of people in Australia — where they live and when they need it.
That’s the reality, and it’s important we continue to see this clearly and confidently.
Looking ahead
As we bid farewell to winter and welcome Australia’s springtime, the message is clear: community pharmacy continues to deliver for patients, it continues to adapt to change, and it continues to lead with purpose.
From global collaboration to national reform, affordability measures and member engagement, we will continue to show the strength of the profession and the value it brings to every community in Australia.
Hopefully, I’ll see you at Pharmacy Connect where we can discuss all of this, and more.
