We all know our health system is seriously stretched.
60 day dispensing will make it harder to access health services.
And will mean those who need accessible,
affordable health services the most will suffer.
Learn more
Demand action on Australia's essential medicine shortages.
Take our questionnaire to see whether you’re affected
Community voices
Sign the petition Send a letter TAKE NOW“To all our patients who will have trouble accessing basic medications, who will no longer be able to have their medications packed… in a pharmacy, I’m sorry.”
Maher Najem - - NSW
Share your storyThe government’s decision to allow 60-day dispensing will only benefit 1.8 million people, but leave millions of Australians worse off.
How will it cost you?
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Imagine walking into your local pharmacy, where you’ve been greeted by your name for years, only to find the doors closed forever. Imagine the desperation you’d feel if your vital medicines are in critical shortage or even out of stock. Unfortunately, these scenarios aren't just hypothetical—they are rapidly becoming a bitter reality for many Australians due to the government’s recent policy allowing for 60-day medication dispensing.
Local community pharmacists are the backbone of our healthcare system, committed to ensuring that each of their patients receives the vital medications they need, exactly when they need them. However, the new policy of 60-day dispensing will mean some patients receive twice the necessary amount, leaving others without any medication at all.
It will also reduce access to primary healthcare in around 1000 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.
60-day dispensing will mean those who need accessible, affordable health services the most will be the ones who are forced to suffer.
It’s not convenience that matters; it’s ensuring every Australian can access their life-sustaining medicines when they need them, where they need them.
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 may benefit, but everyone will suffer. How will it cost you?
Medicine shortages
422
shortage list
72
anticipated
248
discontinuations
The government’s policy to allow 60-day dispensing will put millions of Australians at risk of not being able to access their medicines.
They claim it will save money for patients, but if you aren’t able to get the medicines you need, then it will cost you your health.
They 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.
Not everyone will benefit from 60-day dispensing, but everyone will suffer.
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 at the frontline of this policy's devastating impacts.
The cost of this policy isn't a matter of if, but how and when it will affect you.
Sign the petition today to demand that the government reverse their decision on 60-day dispensing. Stand up for the healthcare rights of all Australians.
Sign the Petition
I'm signing because the Government rushed their decision on 60-day dispensing without consulting the experts, and must reconsider their position before millions of Australians are impacted.
60-day dispensing will cost your community
All Australians, including regional and rural communities, aged care facilities, and vulnerable patients are at risk of missing out on essential medicines and compromising their health.
Calculate the
impact of 60-Day
dispensing on
you
60-day dispensing will benefit some people,
but millions of Australians will suffer.
Are you one of them?
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?
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
Contact your MP
Send a letter to your MP and demand they reverse their decision on 60-day dispensing!
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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.