“Our concern is first and foremost for the patients who rely on these pharmacies as primary health care hubs and for the dedicated team members whose livelihoods are now uncertain.
“This development underscores that community pharmacies, like all small businesses, are not immune to the financial challenges of spiralling energy costs and burdesome tax rates and compliance costs.
“Adding to these pressures is the impact of reduced prescription volumes from 60‑day dispensing. The introduction of 60-day dispensing in September 2023 has had a significant and lasting impact on the community pharmacy operating model.
“While the additional community supply support payments negotiated through 8CPA has offset some of the impact, pharmacies still receive less remuneration for providing the same level of service due to the lost dispensing fee on each 60-day script.
Total script volume declined by 1.3% in this financial year compared to FY24 - a direct change in trend from the average annual growth rate of 2.2% in the previous five years. At the same time, operating costs have grown exponentially.
“This is a sad day for community pharmacy, but unfortunately not unexpected. It’s an outcome the Guild forewarned the Federal Government of.”