About the Guild
The Pharmacy Guild of Australia is a national employers’ organisation registered under the federal Fair Work Act 2009, with almost 100 years of experience in representing and promoting the value of community pharmacy in the Australian health care system.
Community pharmacies are a vital part of our national health system with the potential to make an even bigger contribution to the health of all Australians.
About Community Pharmacy
See detailed fact sheets on a range of community pharmacy issues.
Establishment
The Pharmacy Guild of Australia was established in 1927 as the Federated Pharmaceutical Services Guild of Australia and was registered under the Federal Industrial Relations Act as an employers’ organisation for the owners of community pharmacies. It was set up to serve the interests of its members. Almost 100 years later, it continues to serve its members and the Australian public who value their local pharmacy.
- Aims and Objectives
- Vision, Mission and Beliefs
- Structure
- Contact the Guild
Aims and Objectives
About the Community Pharmacy Network
There are over 5,800 community pharmacies equitably distributed around Australia.
Community pharmacies are the most frequently accessed and most accessible health destination in Australia, with over 462 million individual patient visits annually and the vast majority of pharmacies open after-hours, including weekends.
Each year, community pharmacies dispense a total of over 218 million prescriptions, with a value of $10.6 billion and 460 million sales of over-the-counter products, with a value of $5.2 billion.
Australia’s community pharmacies employ over 70,000 staff directly, including approximately 20,000 registered pharmacists.
Pharmacists are one of the most trusted professions in Australia along with nurses and doctors. Public opinion surveys have shown that 84% of adults trust the advice they receive from pharmacists.
About the Guild
Formed in 1927, the Pharmacy Guild of Australia (the Guild) is a peak national employer organisation, which represents Australia’s community pharmacies.
The core role of the Guild is to represent the interests of Members in industrial matters in the Fair Work Commission and state jurisdictions as well as providing local member support and advice regarding workplace relations matters.
The majority of the proprietors of community pharmacies around Australia are direct Members of the Guild, with most of the remainder affiliated through the services that are provided by the Guild and its companies.
The Guild is governed by a National Council and Branch Committees in every State and Territory.
We own a number of successful companies, including the Guild Group (insurance, superannuation, legal, health care industry software solutions) and Gold Cross (products and services). Additionally, the Guild is part owner of FRED IT (dispensing, point-of-sale, prescription exchange).
Please refer to Guild’s Strategic Plan Centenary for more information about our aims and objectives.
Vision, Mission and Beliefs
Our Beliefs
We believe in:
- Access to medicines and community pharmacy services for all Australians including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and older Australians
- Equity of health care standards across regional, rural, remote and metropolitan communities
- Diversity and inclusion
- Patient choice
- Quality and safety for patients and health consumers
- Compassion and community
- Professional practice
Our Vision
To embed community pharmacy as a key element in Australia’s primary health infrastructure.
Our Mission
To enable community pharmacy to serve the needs and preferences of patients and health consumers across Australia using pharmacy’s unique role in medication management and safety.
Focus Areas
We will deliver our Mission through four Focus Areas, with each area based on strategies, outcomes and measures.
Our Focus Areas are:
- Member Services and Engagement
- Advocacy
- Community Pharmacy Sustainability; and
- Governance and Enabling Functions
The Focus Areas will achieve the Guild’s Mission through ongoing advocacy, continuous improvement, best practice innovation and enduring business solutions that are underpinned by a stable industrial relations framework.
This ensures that our Members have a platform for a remunerated, independent role in disease state screening, treatment, management and referral, where patient choice and equity of access to medicines for all Australians is central to healthcare delivery.
Please refer to Guild’s Strategic Plan Centenary for more information about our vision, mission and beliefs.
Structure
The Pharmacy Guild of Australia is a single legal entity with branches in each state and territory to serve members and assist the National Council and National Executive in carrying out its aims and objectives.
Branch activities centre on the day-to-day servicing of members in such fields as industrial relations, marketing, staff training, and product and economic information.
The National Council is the supreme governing body. It lays down all Guild policies, decides major issues and has the power to amend the Constitution, subject to referendum where required. Supporting National Council in the development of policies is a number of national committees that undertake research, examine strategies, provide advice and recommend policy approaches.
The Executive Director is entrusted with implementing the policies and decisions of National Council through the National Secretariat, a small, flexible organisation with salaried, professional and administrative staff, and consultants engaged as required. The Secretariat is located in the Parliamentary Zone in Canberra, close to Parliament House. The National President works closely with the Executive Director and the Secretariat, and is the main spokesperson for the Guild. While always a pharmacist proprietor, the role of National President is effectively full-time.
National Secretariat operations focus on the following areas: Member Services and Engagement, Advocacy, Community Pharmacy Sustainability, and Governance and Enabling Functions.
Contact the Guild
Membership Enquiries
Contact your local branch membership manager.
Other Enquiries
Contact the Pharmacy Guild National Secretariat or you state/territory branch.
Page last updated on: 19 February 2024