Wed 9 September 2026
Policy and Advocacy impact: August 2026
August saw AdPha continue its advocacy on pharmacist prescribing, aged care pharmacy services and medicines policy reform, ensuring the perspectives of pharmacists practising in complex, team-based care settings are reflected in national policy development.
A key focus was the Australian Pharmacy Council’s consultation on revised Accreditation Standards for Pharmacist Prescriber Education Programs. AdPha worked alongside the Pharmacy Guild of Australia and the Pharmaceutical Society of Australia to develop a Joint Pharmacy Organisations (JPO) submission, advocating for accreditation standards that support a nationally consistent approach to pharmacist prescribing education. In addition, AdPha lodged an accompanying submission to ensure the unique perspectives of pharmacists working in hospitals and other complex team-based care settings were clearly represented. Our submission highlighted the importance of the proposed learning domains being relevant across all practice settings, the need for transitional pathways for existing hospital pharmacist prescribers, and the value of a national scope of practice framework, such as ANZCAP, to support recognition of pharmacists' expertise and scope of practice.
AdPha also provided input to the Parliamentary Inquiry into the Support at Home Program, reinforcing the important role pharmacists play in supporting the safe and effective use of medicines for older Australians and highlighting opportunities to strengthen medicines management as care increasingly shifts into the home. In aged care, AdPha submitted feedback to the Independent Health and Aged Care Pricing Authority (IHACPA) Pricing Framework for Australian Residential Aged Care Services 2027–28 consultation. Drawing on members’ frontline experience with the Aged Care Onsite Pharmacist (ACOP) Program, AdPha advocated for future funding arrangements to be incorporated into the Australian National Aged Care Classification (AN-ACC) model and informed by the true cost of delivering quality onsite clinical pharmacy services. The submission highlighted challenges associated with the current funding model, including workforce sustainability, service viability in rural and regional areas, and administrative requirements that can detract from clinical care.
AdPha also made a submission on the remake of the National Health (Pharmaceutical Benefits) Regulations 2017 ahead of their sunset in April 2027. The submission highlighted several practical issues affecting hospital pharmacy services, including good-faith claiming for chemotherapy that is prepared but ultimately not administered, dose reconciliation for clinically appropriate chemotherapy adjustments, correcting PBS item code errors without financial penalty, and ensuring hospital pharmacists are represented on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee (PBAC).
As part of Kidney Action Week, Carla Scuderi, Chair of AdPha’s Nephrology Leadership Committee, and Marina Hanna, Manager Strategic Policy & Advocacy at AdPha, met with Senator Smith’s adviser to brief them on AdPha’s updated Nephrology Standards and discuss the important role of pharmacists in improving outcomes for people living with kidney disease.
Across August, AdPha continued engagement with governments, regulators and sector stakeholders on pharmacist prescribing, aged care, medicines funding and workforce priorities, ensuring hospital pharmacy perspectives remain central to the implementation of health system reforms.