Patients at risk as the Federal Budget keeps medicine safety frozen in the previous decade

12 May 2026

 

The Pharmaceutical Society of Australia (PSA), the peak body for Australia’s 41,000 pharmacists, has expressed its disappointment with the outcome of the 2026-27 Federal Budget, leaving one of Australia’s top ten national health priorities stuck in the last decade.

 

The Budget has failed to deliver urgent and overdue investment in pharmacist-led medicine safety programs, continuing to leave thousands of pharmacists in financially unviable positions and placing Australians at risk of harm from preventable hospitalisations, medical emergencies, and premature death.

 

PSA National President, Professor Mark Naunton MPS, said the outcome was incredibly frustrating, particularly for vulnerable Australians living with chronic and complex conditions, the elderly, and those in residential care and more acutely felt in rural, remote and regional Australia.

 

“Pharmacists provide frontline patient care, delivering essential medicines safety services every single day to keep people well and out of hospital,” said Professor Naunton.

 

“The Federal Government acknowledges medicine safety as a top ten health priority, yet this Budget continues to neglect these programs, which have now been frozen for seven years. 

 

“The First Pharmacy Program Agreement Heads of Agreement secured these medicine safety programs and workforce programs as ongoing programs. But without funding to address the key issues of indexation, the removal of service caps, and program flexibility, these programs, which are predominantly delivered by women, will continue to widen the gender pay gap for these pharmacists.”

 

Despite the proposals put forward to the government in PSA’s Budget Submission, which included seeking progress on the Heads of Agreement for the First Pharmacy Program Agreement signed last December, there is:

• no funding to reinstate indexation for pharmacist service fees, which have been frozen since 2019, meaning credentialed pharmacists are taking a pay cut each year,
• no change to the monthly cap of 30 Home Medicines Reviews (HMRs), meaning patients will continue to languish on waiting lists, including those who require urgent intervention
• no reform on any flexibility measures to help pharmacists care for vulnerable Australians promptly and effectively,
• and no change to key medication management programs.

 

Professor Naunton called on the government to address this funding shortfall and fast-track the signing of the First Pharmacy Programs Agreement:

 

“The 1PPA recognises the need to ensure fair and equitable remuneration for pharmacists and to remove barriers to effective service delivery,” he said.

 

“The PSA remains determined to negotiate with the government on this, as it is critical to achieve reform of pharmacy program design and service delivery.

 

“We will not sign a pharmacy programs agreement until we have a pathway to addressing fair remuneration and flexibility”.

 

The PSA recognises and welcomes the government’s $41.2 million commitment in the Budget to the expansion of the National Immunisation Program Vaccinations in Pharmacy (NIPVIP) Program, which will allow, for the first time, children under the age of 5 years to access free vaccination services in pharmacy, where permitted by state and territory regulation.

 

“This measure will unlock the potential of pharmacists to do more to help address the declining rates of childhood vaccination in Australia.” Prof Naunton concluded.

 

Media contact: Leah Jacobsen 

M: 0480 099 798 E: leah.jacobsen@psa.org.au  

The Pharmaceutical Society of Australia is the only national peak body that represents all of Australia’s pharmacists across all practice settings. We want every Australian to have access to the best healthcare, and this must include optimising access to pharmacists’ knowledge and medicines expertise at the forefront of our healthcare system.