By Professor Trent Twomey, National President, The Pharmacy Guild of Australia
Originally published in Pharmacy Daily
The Australian Pharmacy Council review of accreditation standards is the single biggest opportunity we have to shape the next generation of pharmacists, and with it, the future of community pharmacy in Australia.
For too long, pharmacy education has lagged behind the reality of contemporary practice. Community pharmacies are delivering vaccinations, providing contraception and treating UTIs. We’re supporting aged care residents, conducting medication reviews, and handling increasingly complex primary care presentations. Yet the pathways supposed to prepare graduates for this work remain fragmented, inconsistent and, in some areas, outdated.
If we want pharmacists practising at full scope, safely and confidently, we need accreditation standards that guarantee graduates are job ready from day one. That is the benchmark the public deserves.
Pharmacy degrees must reflect how pharmacists practise. That means earlier and more frequent hands-on learning. Students should graduate fully trained to prescribe, dispense, administer and review medicines, and provide the services patients already rely on.
Contemporary care is digital by default. Accreditation standards must require core capability in digital health, clinical documentation, secure messaging, decision support tools and the emerging influence of AI in practice. These are no longer optional skill sets — they’re fundamental to safe, modern care.
We need to see a Masters Extended model, with intern training embedded into the degree. By 2028, all pharmacist competencies should be built into university programs so graduates can enter the workforce ready to practise, without duplication or delay.
A single, integrated training pathway will ensure national consistency. Employers will know what skills a graduate brings. Students will know what’s required. And the profession will finally have a coherent, end-to-end, education framework.
Accreditation standards must change to support student success.
Diversity matters too. A strong profession must reflect the communities it serves, including students from rural and regional areas, culturally diverse backgrounds, and those historically underrepresented in health education.
And for First Nations students, culturally safe learning environments must be an explicit accreditation requirement, not an aspiration.
If this review delivers what the profession and patients’ need, we will see graduates who are not only clinically competent but practice ready, confident and capable of delivering at the top of their scope from day one. That’s the future the Guild is advocating for — and the future patients deserve.
Stronger accreditation means stronger pharmacists and a stronger profession. Now is the time to set a standard that drives capability, not constrains it.