This morning the Pharmacy Guild of Australia and the Commonwealth Government signed the 8th Community Pharmacy Agreement (8CPA), delivering cost of living relief for all Australians and ensuring a vibrant and growing community pharmacy network for the next 5 years.
The signing ceremony between Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, Health Minister Mark Butler and the Guild's Trent Twomey and National Executive Director Gerard Benedet followed 9 months of productive and good-faith negotiations, informed by a shared commitment to National Medicines Policy.
The Guild's National President Trent Twomey said, "Patients will see cost of living relief via the 8CPA, done in a sustainable way that recognises the importance of Community Pharmacists' role delivering world-class, affordable primary healthcare. The 8CPA reinforces community pharmacies as Australians' most accessible primary health destination."
Key features of the Agreement include:
- The phasing-in of the $1 discount for all Australians, funded by the Commonwealth Government
- The freezing of PBS copayments for up to 5 years
- CPI indexation on the dispensing fees paid to community pharmacies by the Commonwealth Government
- An additional AHI payment to community pharmacies for dispensing a 60-day prescription
- A 30% increase for everyday healthcare programs delivered by community pharmacies, like Dose Administration Aids, Indigenous Dose Administration Aids, MedsCheck, Diabetes MedsCheck and Staged Supply Programs.
- An increase in the weekly base cap for small pharmacies of Dose Administration Aids that a community pharmacy is funded to provide.
- Increase in the regional pharmacy maintenance alliance to support the 1,226 pharmacies supporting regional Australia.
The Pharmacy Guild's 8CPA lead negotiator, and National Vice-President for Health Economics and Policy, Anthony Tassone said, "The Agreement is good news for all Australians who rely on their local community pharmacy for medicines, advice and everyday healthcare services."
Community Pharmacy Agreement between the Commonwealth and the Pharmacy Guild have been in place since 1990, providing for the timely and equitable supply of PBS medicines across Australia for over three decades.
The Agreements provide certainty for the Government and for the community pharmacies tasked with the effective supply of PBS medicines on behalf of taxpayers to the maximum benefit of patients.
The 8CPA will take effect from 1 July 2024 and expire on 30 June 2029.
