The government’s decision to allow 60-day dispensing will only benefit 1.8 million people, but leave millions of Australians worse off and put the services you receive in jeopardy.

What will it cost you?

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The government is bringing in 60-day dispensing.

This means pharmacists will be made to dispense double the amount of medicines to some patients for a single dispensing fee.

Most pharmacy income comes from the dispensing fee they receive from the government.

Pharmacies use dispensing fees to run their business, open after hours and weekends and provide services like blood pressure checks, medicine delivery to elderly or housebound people, baby weighing, and after hours advice when you've got nowhere else to go.

But with 60-day dispensing, the government is cutting remuneration, and putting the services you receive in jeopardy.

The projected fallout of implementing 60-day dispensing includes 20,818 job losses, cut back pharmacy opening hours and 665 pharmacy closures, and impacts which disproportionately affect people in regional and remote areas, the elderly, and families with young children.

Please read what Labor promised last year in their 2022 Federal Election Commitment Letter.

"Labor has a long history of support and cooperation with the Community Pharmacy sector...

Labor's approach has not changed... Labor remains committed to the central place that community pharmacy plays in the primary healthcare sector."

The Federal Government is going to break its promise to patients and Community Pharmacy.

When it comes to 60-day dispensing, some people will benefit, but there will be a cost.

The impacts of 60-day dispensing

20,818

job losses

665

pharmacy closures
An average of

2.5

hours of opening hours cut every day
Read the full report

The government's policy to allow 60-day dispensing will put millions of Australians at risk.

This policy is rushed and the negative impacts far outweigh the benefits.

With 20,818 jobs in jeopardy, 665 pharmacies at risk of closure, and the inevitability of reduced opening hours, the fallout of 60-day dispensing will be nothing short of devastating. This is not scaremongering, it is a heartbreaking reality.

Proponents of 60-day dispensing claim it will be more convenient, but what's convenient about a local community pharmacy forced to reduce its hours or worse, close down entirely?

Convenience quickly turns into a crisis when you're left without accessible healthcare in your community.

Our most vulnerable—the elderly, aged care residents, children, and those in regional areas—who rely heavily on their local community pharmacies, stand to suffer the most. They're the people at the frontline of this policy's devastating impacts.

When it comes to 60-day dispensing, some people will benefit, but there will be a cost.

Sign the petition today to demand the government rethink and renegotiate their position. Stand up for the healthcare rights of all Australians.

60-day dispensing will cost your community

All Australians, including regional and rural communities, aged care facilities, and vulnerable patients are at risk of compromising their health.

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impact of 60-Day
dispensing on
you

60-day dispensing will benefit some people, but there will be a cost.

How much will it cost you?

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Q1. Do you live in a regional area?

Q2. Do you regularly take prescription medicines?

Q3. Are you in aged care?

Q4. Do you rely on your local community pharmacy for home deliveries or Webster-paks?

Q5. Do you mainly rely on a single community pharmacy?

Q6. Do you have parents receiving aged care - either in home or in an aged care facility?

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What’s the cost of 60-Day dispensing for you?

Some people will benefit, but millions of others will suffer.

Pharmacies dispense more than 300 million* prescriptions a year, and implementing 60-day dispensing is expected to lead to the closure of almost one-in-six pharmacies across the country.

In regional areas, 72% of people are within 2.5 km* of a pharmacy, but with closures, these distances could increase, reducing access to primary healthcare in hundreds of communities across Australia.

Sadly, elderly patients, aged care residents, children and those living in regional areas will be impacted the most, and pharmacies will no longer be able to ensure medicines will be available when patients need them. Additionally, people who rely on pharmacy services, such as home deliveries or Webster-paks, might be forced to pay more, putting more financial strain on them at a time when cost of living is already a concern.

60-day dispensing will mean those who need accessible, affordable health services the most will be the ones who are forced to suffer.

Please sign the petition or share your story to stand up for those who will be impacted by 60-day dispensing.

*Vital facts on community pharmacy

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Share your story

If you’re worried about shorter pharmacy opening hours, closures, reduced services or if you’ve got a story about how your community pharmacy has been there for you and your family, we want to hear from you.

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Help influence the Government to ensure your medicines are always available, by sharing your story.

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Patient videos

Hear what others are saying and watch the impact of 60-day dispensing as members of the community share their stories with us.

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FAQ’s

It is anticipated that 60-day dispensing will be implemented from 1 September 2023, unless the Government reconsiders and proposes another option.

The easiest way to find out whether your pharmacy will be impacted by 60-day dispensing is to call or head into your local pharmacy and speak with your pharmacist.

The changes will lead to community pharmacies closing their doors on average 1.5-2.5 hours earlier each day.

It is a short-sighted measure made without fully understanding and addressing the long-term ramifications. Help the government understand the impact by sharing your story.

Yes. Most aged care facilities use their local pharmacy to dispense scripts for their residents. That arrangement is usually subsidised by the pharmacy itself, and ongoing medicine shortages will impact most pharmacies and cut their supply to aged care.

Community pharmacies proudly serve the community and always strive for the best outcome for our patients, but 60-day dispensing means 665 pharmacies are at risk of closure, and 20,818 jobs at risk. This is not scaremongering, it is a heartbreaking reality.

We’ve performed 10 million covid vaccinations, we’re proud of providing cheaper medicines and will continue to advocate for $19 payments, but we are concerned for communities that will end up without a local pharmacy, particularly in rural Australia.

60-day dispensing impacts our most vulnerable—the elderly, aged care residents, children, and those in regional areas—who rely heavily on their local community pharmacies, and they stand to suffer the most.

Community voices

References: Henry Ergas AO, 2023, 60-Day Dispensing: An Analysis of Likely Impacts and Key Policy Issues

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