Mon 5 May 2025
AdPha congratulates re-elected Albanese Government, urging bold action to strengthen Australia’s health system
Strengthening the health workforce and innovative models of patient care should go hand in hand with Strengthening Medicare.
Advanced Pharmacy Australia (AdPha) today congratulates the Australian Labor Party (ALP) and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on their re-election and looks forward to continuing its productive relationship with the Labor Health Ministry team to further strengthen our healthcare system for all Australians.
AdPha President Tom Simpson FANZCAP (Lead&Mgmt) welcomed Labor’s renewed commitments to Medicare—through cheaper medicines, stronger bulk billing, and increased public hospital funding—but urged the government to go further.
'I congratulate Prime Minister Albanese and his Labor government on securing another term and the commitments they have made already to improve health care access for Australians.
‘To truly relieve pressure on overcrowded hospitals and emergency departments, we must however, urgently invest in the hospital pharmacy workforce and support new, evidence-based models of care.
’The forthcoming Pharmacy Programs Agreement must champion innovative, multidisciplinary care to ensure Australians can access high-quality pharmacy services wherever medicines are needed—whether in hospitals, aged care, general practice or community settings.'
Looking ahead to the next National Health Reform Agreement, AdPha is calling for stronger investment in health and pharmacy workforce capacity to meet growing demand and manage the complexity of new medicines entering the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS).
'Our members are responsible for managing more than a quarter of PBS spending, and the majority of new PBS medicines are used in acute or specialist settings.
'These high-value therapies require advanced pharmacy expertise—held by our members across 34 Specialty Practice domains—working closely with nurses and other clinicians.
‘Last week’s long-awaited PBS listing of edaravone for ALS is a prime example. This treatment requires daily infusion and complex preparation, which can only be delivered by skilled hospital pharmacists in team-based models of care.
'We need more hospital pharmacists embedded in care teams to ensure patients receive timely, life-changing therapies safely and effectively, whether they live in our capital cities or our rural plains.’
AdPha renews its call to prioritise expansion of the Partnered Pharmacist Medication Prescribing (PPMP) collaborative care model; establishment of bilateral Pharmaceutical Reform Agreements (PRAs) in NSW and ACT; and formation of a dedicated Medicine Shortages and Discontinuations Clinical Advice Service.
Mr Simpson says these priorities will deliver more equitable, efficient and quality healthcare for all Australians while strengthening Australia’s world-class health system.
'Medicines are Australia’s most common health intervention and critical to preventive care and chronic disease management.
‘It’s time to back pharmacy with bold, evidence-based policy to build a fairer, stronger and more sustainable health system.’