The Federal Budget has delivered mixed results for Australia’s pharmacy sector, with expanded access to childhood vaccines welcomed as a win for families, while concerns remain about stalled investment in medicine safety programs.
Expanded childhood vaccine access
The Pharmacy Guild of Australia has welcomed the government’s decision to expand access to National Immunisation Program (NIP) vaccines for children up to 5 years of age through community pharmacies, saying the measure will improve convenience for parents and help vaccine rates.
Guild National President Professor Trent Twomey says the Budget measure will reduce barriers for families facing long wait times and limited appointment availability.
“This is a positive and practical reform that puts children and families first,” says Professor Twomey.
“By expanding access to NIP vaccines through community pharmacy, the government is making it easier for busy parents and carers to get their children vaccinated without long waits or unnecessary barriers.”
Professor Twomey says community pharmacies are ideally placed to support increased vaccine uptake, particularly for young children.
“For many families, getting a child vaccinated can mean taking time off work or waiting weeks for an appointment,” he says.
“Now parents will be able to walk into their local pharmacy, speak to a healthcare professional they trust, and receive care when they need it.”
‘Medicine safety frozen in previous decade’
However, the Pharmaceutical Society of Australia has expressed disappointment at the Budget’s lack of investment in pharmacist-led medicine safety programs, warning that the funding freeze is placing vulnerable patients at risk.
PSA National President, Professor Mark Naunton MPS, says the outcome is “incredibly frustrating”.
“The Federal Government acknowledges medicine safety as a top 10 health priority, yet this Budget continues to neglect these programs, which have now been frozen for 7 years,” he says.
Professor Naunton says that while the First Pharmacy Program Agreement Heads of Agreement secured medicine safety and workforce programs as ongoing initiatives, the absence of funding to address “indexation, service caps and program flexibility” will continue to place pressure on pharmacists and “widen the gender pay gap”.
The PSA has criticised the lack of funding to “reinstate indexation for pharmacist service fees, which have been frozen since 2019”, alongside no changes “to the monthly cap of 30 Home Medicines Reviews”, no added “flexibility measures to help pharmacists care for vulnerable Australians”, and no “change to key medication management programs”.
Professor Naunton calls on the government to address this funding shortfall and fast-track the signing of the First Pharmacy Programs Agreement.
“The 1PPA recognises the need to ensure fair and equitable remuneration for pharmacists and to remove barriers to effective service delivery,” he says.
“The PSA remains determined to negotiate with the government on this, as it is critical to achieve reform of pharmacy program design and service delivery.
“We will not sign a pharmacy programs agreement until we have a pathway to addressing fair remuneration and flexibility.”
The PSA recognises and welcomes the government’s $41.2 million commitment in the Budget to the expansion of the National Immunisation Program Vaccinations in Pharmacy (NIPVIP) Program, which will allow, for the first time, children under the age of 5 years to access free vaccination services in pharmacy, where permitted by state and territory regulation.
“This measure will unlock the potential of pharmacists to do more to help address the declining rates of childhood vaccination in Australia,” says Professor Naunton.
