NAIDOC Week 2026 celebrates "50 Years of Deadly", recognising five decades of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander strength, leadership, culture and achievement.

As one of Australia's most accessible healthcare destinations, community pharmacy has an important role to play in creating culturally safe, accessible, and community-led care. Visible signs of respect can empower individuals to make informed choices about their health, ask questions freely, and participate actively in their care.

The Pharmacy Guild of Australia, through the work of the First Nations Pharmacy Network (FNPN), is pleased to provide members with a downloadable poster as a simple but meaningful way to:

  • Recognise and celebrate NAIDOC Week
  • Demonstrate your pharmacy's commitment to culturally safe and inclusive care
  • Welcome Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander patients
  • Encourage conversations about cultural safety and intercultural responsiveness within your pharmacy team

Download poster

Our purpose

The First Nations Pharmacy Network (Network) is a national, community‑led initiative focused on strengthening culturally safe pharmacy care for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples through community pharmacy.

Through First Nations leadership, collaboration and co‑design, the Network will improve access to medicines, support workforce development and ensure community pharmacy plays a meaningful role in Closing the Gap.

Community pharmacies play a vital role as trusted points of care—places where relationships are built, knowledge is shared and people are supported to make informed decisions about their health and wellbeing. The Network seeks to ensure every pharmacy can be a place of cultural connection, respect and healing for First Nations communities.

Our Chair

Linda Burney
Linda Burney | Chair

The Hon. Linda Burney MP is the inaugural Chair of the First Nations Pharmacy Network. A former Australian Minister, Linda brings respected national leadership and a longstanding commitment to improving outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. Under her leadership, the Network supports collaboration across the pharmacy sector to improve access to medicines, build workforce capability and contribute to Closing the Gap health priorities.

Commitee Members

Jesyca Pearson | Committee Member

Jesyca Pearson is a Wiradjuri woman and a community pharmacist intern actively involved in First Nations practice, currently based in Karratha.  Growing up and studying in rural New South Wales, she has seen firsthand the disproportionate burden of chronic disease, mental health challenges, and access barriers faced by First Nations people and these experiences have shaped her determination to work within health systems in a way that prioritises cultural safety, trust, and community-led care.

Jesyca Pearson
Kaail Bohm | Committee Member

Kaail Bohm is a Wiradjuri man and a registered pharmacist from Narromine, New South Wales.  NSW Pharmacist of the Year 2022, he is passionate about staying in his local community and in particular working in First Nations practice.

Kaail Bohm
Alex Burke | Committee Member

Alex Burke is a Wiradjuri man who is a registered pharmacist and lecturer at the University of Sydney School of Pharmacy and works to help create environments where First Nations leadership is embedded rather than consultative, self-determination is respected, and partnerships are sustained through trust.

Alex Burke
Shana Valentine | Committee Member

Shana Valentine is a Kalkadoon and Arrernte woman who is currently serving as the General Manager at Pharmacy First Mount Isa. Shana's journey with the pharmacy began in her teenage years as a Pharmacy Assistant, and she decided to become a pharmacist because of her deep-seated desire to give back to her community.

Shana Valentine
Shi-Anne Wallace | Committee Member

Shi-Anne Wallace is Mamu woman who is studying a Bachelor of Pharmacy (Honours) degree at James Cook University’s Cairns campus. She has decided to study pharmacy because she know that as a trained health professional, with a high level of understanding of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture, she will have the opportunity to build deeper relationships with all members of the community.

Shi-Anne Wallace
Jamie Lowe | Committee Member

Jamie Lowe is a Gundjitmara Djabwurrung man who has been CEO of the National Native Title Council since 2019.  In this role, he is charged with supporting First Nations people’s right to true self-determination in advocating for their right to speak for and manage their own Country; to govern their own communities; to participate fully in decision making and to self-determine their own social and economic development.

Jamie Lowe
Peter Hatswell | Committee Member

Peter Hatswell is a Pharmacy Guild of Australia National Councillor and President of the Northern Territory Branch of the Pharmacy Guild.  He has been a community pharmacist in Alice Springs for almost 40 years.

Peter Hatswell
Cate Whalan | Committee Member

Cate Whalan is a Pharmacy Guild of Australia National Councillor and a member of the Guild’s Queensland Branch committee.  She was originally a pharmacist in the Australian Army, and now practices as a community pharmacist in Townsville.

Cate Whalan
Hannah Mann | Committee Member

Hannah Mann is an experienced pharmacist involved in First Nations practice in Kimberley, WA.  She is a member of the Pharmacy Board of Australia and has dedicated much of her time to improve the cultural safety and cultural responsiveness of pharmacy services in Australia.

Hannah Mann

Get in touch

The Network held its inaugural meeting at the Australian Pharmacy Professional Conference (APP) location on 10 March 2026.

To receive communication updates from the Network, please provide your contact details.

Contact us at fnpn@guild.org.au

About the logo

The logo for the First Nations Pharmacy Network depicts that the Pharmacy Guild of Australia - symbolised by their logo in the middle of the meeting place, signifies the starting place of the network. The artwork symbolises that the network is the meeting place for collaboration from a wide array of healthcare workers and the community to improve health outcomes for mob. With the aim of strengthening cultural safety within community pharmacy.

About the artist

Kirra Natty is a proud Gamilaraay woman, community pharmacist and artist living and working on Country in Gunnedah. Her artwork reflects her deep connection to culture, community and wellbeing, bringing together her lived experience in health with creative expression. Through design, language and storytelling, Kirra uses art as a way to create culturally safe spaces, strengthen community connections and support mob to engage confidently with their health and wellbeing.

Page last updated on: 09 July 2026
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