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Dr Amanda Cross

Dr Amanda Cross is a practising pharmacist and postdoctoral research fellow. Dr Amanda Cross’s research focuses on quality use of medicine, particularly evaluating innovative roles for pharmacists to support safe and effective use of medicines. Dr Amanda Cross has worked in community pharmacy and as a consultant pharmacist, and is currently investigating the roles of on-site aged care pharmacists.

 

Dr Amanda Cross was a member of the Victorian Branch Committee 2017-2021, including serving as Vice President 2018-2021. In 2019 Dr Amanda Cross was awarded the PSA Victorian Early Career Pharmacist of the year award.

A/Prof Helen Benson

A/Prof Helen Benson is an accredited consultant pharmacist with more than 20 years pharmacy experience. Her varied career has included working as a hospital pharmacist, military pharmacist in the Royal Australian Airforce, community pharmacist and as a community pharmacy owner. Currently A/Prof Helen Benson is working as a Senior Lecturer in Pharmacy Practice teaching Master of Pharmacy Students at the University of Technology Sydney. A/Prof Helen Benson has a particular interest in improving patient therapy through medication reviews and continues to work as a consultant pharmacist providing medication reviews for referring general practitioners. In 2019 A/Prof Helen Benson completed a PhD investigating the integration of pharmacists in general practice teams in Australia. A/Prof Helen Benson’s current research is focussed on expanding scope of practice within the profession to allow pharmacists to perform their role as medication experts.

Bridget Totterman

Bridget Totterman B.Pharm; GAICD, MPS  joined the PSA board in 2023.

 

Bridget is a registered pharmacist and community pharmacy owner with over 15 years’ experience in whole of business management including operations and frontline leadership.

 

She is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors (GAICD).

 

Bridget is a member of the Australian Community Pharmacy Authority (ACPA) and is a member of the Queensland branch committee for the Pharmaceutical Society of Australia.

 

Bridget was awarded with the Bowl of Hygiea – QLD Pharmacist of the Year in 2020 for outstanding leadership and change management.

 

Bridget was a member of the Steering Advisory Group (SAG) for UTIPP-Q (2020-2022) and was a vaccinating pharmacist in QPIP (2014). She is credentialed to administer injections and immunisations. Bridget was appointed Clinical Fellow of Queensland University of Technology in 2018 and is a member of the Course Advisory Group for QUT Bachelor of Pharmacy (Hons.).

 

Bridget has completed courses in Directorships; Management; Marketing; Successful Negotiations; Human Resources and has an Associate Diploma in Speech and Drama.

A/Prof Fei Sim

A/Prof Fei Sim is the first female National President to lead PSA since its Federation in 1977. A/Prof Sim is a Senior Lecturer and the Coordinator of International Engagement in the Curtin Medical School at Curtin University, Western Australia (WA).

 

In 2020 she was also made a Fellow of the Society before being appointed as a Director on the PSA National Board in 2021. A/Prof Sim has over 14 years of clinical practice experience and is currently a practising community pharmacist and a community pharmacy proprietor. A/Prof Sim also served as PSA’s WA President from 2017 to 2021.

 

A/Prof Sim holds a Doctor of Philosophy degree in Pharmacy and a Bachelor of Pharmacy degree with First Class Honours and is a qualified pharmacist immuniser and an Accredited Mental Health First Aid Instructor. She is a Fellow of the PSA and the Higher Education Academy, and a Graduate Member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors. A/Prof Sim serves on a number of professional and academic committees.

 

A/Prof Sim was awarded the Excellence and Innovation in Teaching Award in 2014, the PSA WA Early Career Pharmacist Award in 2018 and the National Early Career Pharmacist of The Year Award in 2019, all of which are testament to her commitment to patient care, learning and teaching, leadership in pharmacy, innovation and initiative in pharmacy service delivery, as well as peer and professional engagement.

 

A/Prof Sim is an active pharmacy practice researcher and is also the recipient of a number of research grants and projects focusing on advancing the practice of pharmacy and the implementation of professional pharmacy services in community pharmacy, including the noteworthy JM O’Hara Research Fund grant from the Pharmaceutical Society of West Australia (PSWA) in 2018. Through this grant, A/Prof Sim and her team conducted and published on a feasibility study on point-of-care C-reactive protein testing in community pharmacy. It is hoped this project will contribute towards facilitating antimicrobial stewardship and advancing evidence-based community pharmacy practice to improve recognition of pharmacists’ roles and remuneration.

Prof Mark Naunton

Prof Mark Naunton is currently Head of the School of Health Sciences and Professor of Pharmacy at the University of Canberra and teaches primarily in therapeutics and pharmacy practice. His career includes: academic, community pharmacy, hospital pharmacy, and accredited pharmacist in Tasmania, Northern Territory, and the ACT. Prof Mark Naunton has a wide-reaching interest in the pharmacy profession and has worked internationally as a post-doctoral fellow at the University of Groningen in the Netherlands. He is credentialed to undertake medication reviews and occasionally practice in community pharmacy.

 

Prof Mark’ Naunton’s recent research has focused on expanding the scope of practice of pharmacists and has supervised several PhD candidates in two relevant areas: evaluating the impact of pharmacists working in general practice and RACFs.

 

He has served on the Tasmanian PSA Branch committee (2000-2001) and the South Australian/Northern Territory PSA Branch committee (2008-2010).

 

Prof Mark Naunton has been on the PSA ACT branch committee since 2017 and served on the PSA National Board since 2022 and graduated from the Australian Institute of Company Directors in 2022.

 

Prof Mark Naunton has been a PSA member for 20 years and an active member of the pharmacy profession for over 25 years. He undertook one of the first clinical trials in Australia evaluating the benefits of HMRs post-discharge. He has also been involved in various evaluations of community pharmacist screening (osteoporosis) and disease management (cardiovascular disease. Mark is passionate about medication safety and firmly believes pharmacists are the most suited professional to ensure this occurs.

Caroline Diamantis

Caroline Diamantis is a passionate community pharmacist with over 30 years of experience in pharmacy ownership.

 

Shortly after completing her Bachelor of Pharmacy at Sydney University, she was able to fulfil her dream of buying her first pharmacy, where she realised the importance of differentiating pharmacists as professionals, advocating clinical pharmacy and the professional services model.

 

Caroline went on to become a director on the board of Blooms the Chemist, where she spent several years advocating for female pharmacy owners and gender diversity in industry leadership positions, and mentoring early career pharmacists (ECPs) into ownership roles with programs designed to support and engage.

 

Caroline was elected as Vice President of the NSW Pharmacy Guild in 2017. In this role she continued advocating for community pharmacy, particularly clinical pharmacy, and for pharmacists to be acknowledged and remunerated fairly for their role in primary health care and the critical difference they make to health outcomes.

 

Other Pharmacy Guild positions have included chairperson of the Viability sub-committee and Finance and Risk sub-committee, and alternate National Councillor.

 

Caroline is a passionate advocate for recognition of the profession during crisis, seeking acknowledgement and financial support from the NSW government. She is committed to addressing workforce issues, including mentorship to ECPs and support and advocacy for appropriate pharmacist salaries, and determined to achieve full scope of clinical practice.

Code of Ethics review

July 2025 to June 2026

The Pharmaceutical Society of Australia (PSA), in partnership with the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing, is undertaking a review, update and further development of the Code of Ethics for Pharmacists (the ‘Code’).  The Code is a fundamental resource that articulates the values of the pharmacy profession and expected standards of ethical behaviour of pharmacists towards individuals, the community and society. The Code underpins the professional practice of all pharmacists in Australia.

 

The core objectives are to:

  • review, revise and further develop the Code to align with contemporary pharmacy practice and the expectations of the profession and the wider community
  • deliver a revised Code with increased clarity on emerging ethical issues (e.g. broadening scope of practice, increased compounding, expansion of digital systems that provide clinical information to pharmacists)
  • support pharmacists to implement the revised Code to enable pharmacists to continue to provide the highest quality of care in their daily practice.

Public consultation:
Draft revised Code of Ethics

Over the past eight months, the project has undertaken a best-practice review of the Code, including extensive stakeholder consultation, and developed a draft of the next Code. The next stage of this project is public consultation on the draft Code.

About this consultation

This public consultation is designed to provide the opportunity for a broad range of individuals and organisational stakeholders to provide feedback on the draft revised Code.

 

You may wish to address some or all of the consultation questions in your response.

 

You can complete the survey through email submission of the MS Word Template, or by using our online form. If doing the form online, it must be completed in one sitting.

 

The survey will close on 17 April 2026. We will not provide separate responses to individuals who make a submission.

 

Deidentified excerpts from your responses may be used in the communication of the revised Code of Ethics. If you do not consent to this, please mark the statement on the response template or the online form.

 

For any project enquiries or questions, please email Project Manager Leah.Robinson@psa.org.au

Key milestones and timelines for the remainder of the project are:

Consultation opens –
11 March 2026

Consultation closes –
17 April 2026

Review feedback & insights to final draft April 2026

Revised Code of Ethics launch – 1 July 2026

National Webinar – 21 July 2026. Registrations open early July

PSA26 Conference Sessions – 1 August 2026. Check PSA26 program for times

Once you complete the MS Word response, please email to consultations@psa.org.au by 17 April 2026.

 

Please note the MS Word response contains the same questions as the online survey.

 

Please choose only ONE method of responding to avoid duplicating your submission.

Have feedback or insights?

You can either submit the form below or call 1300 369 772 and select “Code of Ethics review project” (option 6), leave a message and the PSA team will contact you.

PSA signs agreement to acquire the Australasian College of Pharmacy

Update: The acquisition was finalised on 19 December. See here for details.

The Pharmaceutical Society of Australia (PSA) is excited to announce an agreement to acquire the Australasian College of Pharmacy (ACP) was signed on 20 October 2025. The acquisition of ACP is part of PSA’s plan to expand educational opportunities, and grow PSA’s role as the premier education and training provider for pharmacists, pharmacy assistants and technicians. 

 

There are still steps to be completed before the settlement of the acquisition. It is expected that the acquisition it will be finalised by the end of the year (2025). 

Frequently Asked Questions

Why has the PSA Board decided to acquire ACP?

The decision to acquire ACP is part of the PSA Board’s broader plan to maximise member value through growth, expanding education opportunities for the profession, and securing a long-term, sustainable future for PSA as the premier training and education provider for pharmacists and pharmacy assistants and technicians.

What steps have been taken to progress the acquisition and when will it be finalised?

At the PSA Special General Meeting on 19 February 2025, PSA members voted overwhelmingly (95%) in support of constitutional amendments to enable the acquisition of the ACP. 

 

PSA proceeded to negotiate the terms of the acquisition and the finalisation of the Shares Purchase Agreement with the current shareholders of the ACP. 

 

PSA proceeded to ensure all regulatory issues were addressed. 

 

On 20 October 2025 the PSA Board voted unanimously to enter into a Share Purchase Agreement (contract) with shareholders of the ACP to formally acquire the ACP. 

 

Before final settlement occurs, additional legal matters related to the Share Purchase Agreement will be addressed, with the expectation the acquisition is finalised before the end of the calendar year. 

Will there be any changes to PSA's product offerings?

Until the acquisition is finalised, PSA’s products and services will continue unchanged. 

 

Once the acquisition has been completed, PSA’s education offering and CPD library is expected to grow as more resources can be invested in our education capabilities. 

 

PSA’s objects and mandate as the peak body representing all pharmacists will not change. This means, PSA will continue to be the body representing and supporting all pharmacists across all areas of practice. 

What does this mean for PSA members?

Until the acquisition is finalised, PSA’s products and services will continue to be provided to members unchanged.  

 

Once the acquisition has been completed, PSA’s education offering and CPD library is expected to grow as more resources can be invested in our education. 

 

PSA members can expect greater support and increased focus on high quality education to meet the growing needs of pharmacists in all areas of practice, and the broader pharmacy workforce.

Where can I find out more information if I have questions?

If you have questions regarding PSA’s acquisition of ACP, you can: 

  • call our membership team on 1300 369 772 (business hours AEDT) 

National uniformity for pharmacists administering medicines

6 September 2024

 

The Pharmaceutical Society of Australia (PSA) has welcomed confirmation by the South Australian Office of the Chief Pharmacist (OCP) that pharmacists in South Australia can administer medicines to their patients. This marks an important milestone in establishing national consistency in pharmacists’ scope of practice, enabling pharmacists to administer medicines across all Australian states and territories. It also empowers pharmacists to continue delivering essential healthcare services to their communities.

 

Dr Manya Angley FPS, PSA SA/NT President, welcomed the confirmation by the OCP, noting that it brings the nation one step closer to a more accessible, patient-centred healthcare system.

 

“This is a significant outcome for patients and pharmacists,” said Dr Angley. “By enabling pharmacists in South Australia to administer medicines, we are providing more opportunities for patients to access timely care and improve health outcomes, bringing our scope in line with other jurisdictions.”

 

“Confirmation by the OCP that pharmacists in SA can administer medicines aligns with PSA’s visionary roadmap for the future of pharmacy practice in Australia in Pharmacists in 2030, which advocates for legislative and practice changes to allow pharmacists to prescribe and administer a greater range of medicines.”

 

“Pharmacists are highly trained and trusted healthcare professionals, and we are ready to fulfil these expanded responsibilities,” said PSA National President, Associate Professor Fei Sim FPS. “We call on governments to continue working with the profession and take active steps to enable necessary changes to be implemented, ultimately improving patient access to care whilst maintaining standards, professionalism and quality.”

 

PSA has a range of educational resources available for pharmacists wishing to build their competence in administering medicines, including the Administering Medicines by Injection Course and Guidelines for pharmacists administering medicines by injection.

 

As part of the long-term vision for improving access to medicines and reducing pressure on the healthcare system, PSA remains committed to advocating for further enhancements to pharmacists’ scope of practice.

 

PSA’s recently launched Pharmacists in 2030 vision can be found here: www.psa.org.au/advocacy/working-for-our-profession/pharmacists_in_2030/

New South Wales expands the role of community pharmacists

6 September 2024 

The Pharmaceutical Society of Australia (PSA) welcomes the announcement from New South Wales Health Minister Ryan Park, improving access to medicines through the expansion of pharmacists’ scope of practice in NSW.

The NSW Government will enable pharmacists to provide treatment for a broader range of common and mild conditions, including ear infections, nausea and vomiting, reflux, acne, muscle pain and wound management.

PSA NSW President Luke Kelly FPS welcomed the decision which will allow pharmacists to improve access to healthcare across the state.

“PSA has long advocated for expanding pharmacists’ scope of practice in NSW, and we are grateful for the trust placed in pharmacists by the NSW Government following the success of the NSW Pharmacy Trial,” Mr Kelly said

“It is encouraging to see pharmacists’ accessibility and skills leveraged to provide NSW residents with more timely and accessible health care for a broader range of conditions. This will make our health system more efficient and safer.’’

“The recognition of Queensland trained pharmacists being able to offer these services in NSW is a positive step. National harmonisation of training requirements will cut red tape and enable more pharmacists to deliver essential services to their communities.”

“PSA will continue to work collaboratively with Minister Park and the NSW Government to ensure these services are implemented professionally, effectively and safely.” he said.

PSA National President, Associate Professor Fei Sim FPS commended the NSW Government for recognising pharmacists’ expertise as pharmacists continue to play a vital role in supporting community health.

“PSA supports improving timely and equitable access to care for all Australians through the expansion of prescribing by pharmacists in a rigorous, robust and responsible manner,” said A/Prof Sim.

 

“PSA remains committed to preparing the workforce by providing training, education, and practice support to upskill pharmacists, ensuring they are equipped to deliver these services effectively.”

“This announcement follows the launch of Pharmacists in 2030, PSA’s vision for the future of pharmacist practice.  Expanding pharmacists’ scope to deliver greater access to healthcare to address unmet health needs is a key step towards realising this vision.”

PSA’s Pharmacists in 2030 vision can be found here: https://www.psa.org.au/advocacy/working-for-our-profession/pharmacists_in_2030/