The Pharmacy Guild of Australia is a national

employer's organisation An employers' organization or employers' association is a collective organization of manufacturers, retailers, or other employers of wage labor. Employers' organizations seek to coordinate the behavior of their member companies in matters of mutual ...

representing community pharmacy proprietors in Australia. Еstablished in 1927 as the Federated Pharmaceutical Services Guild of Australia it is registered under the federal

Fair Work Act 2009 The ''Fair Work Act 2009'' (Cth) is an Act of the Parliament of Australia, passed by the Rudd Government to reform the industrial relations system of Australia. It replaced the Howard Government's WorkChoices legislation, it established Fai ...

(Registered Organisations Act) as an employer organization and as a Registered Training Organisation. The principal role of the Guild is to represent the interests of its members in industrial matters with the

Fair Work Commission The Fair Work Commission (FWC), until 2013 known as Fair Work Australia (FWA), is the Australian industrial relations tribunal created by the ''Fair Work Act 2009'' as part of the Rudd Government's reforms to industrial relations in Austral ...

and state jurisdictions; secondary roles include negotiating Community Pharmacy Agreements with the

Australian Government The Australian Government, also known as the Commonwealth Government, is the national government of Australia, a federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy. Like other Westminster-style systems of government, the Australian Government ...

and providing advocacy for members on political issues. The Guild also maintains commercial interests in a number of businesses which span corporate insurance, legal services, outsourced payroll services, pharmaceuticals, pharmacy IT software and superannuation. The Guild's national office is located in

Barton, Australian Capital Territory Barton ( postcode: 2600) is a suburb of Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia. At the , Barton had a population of 1,946 people. Barton is adjacent to Capital Hill. It contains the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet, Attor ...

, in addition to the offices of its branches in each of the states and territories in Australia.

Structure

The Pharmacy Guild of Australia is a single legal entity and is structured as follows:

National Council

The National Council is the governing body of the organisation. The National Council governs Guild policies and makes decision on major issues. It also has the power to amend the Constitution, subject to referendum where required. Supporting the National Council in the development of policies are several committees that undertake research, provide advice and draft policy.

National President

The National President works closely with the Executive Director and the Secretariat, and is the spokesperson for the Guild.

Executive Director

The Executive Director is responsible for the implementation of the policies, decisions and agenda set by the National Council. The Executive Director is responsible for the management of the Secretariat, the administrative arm of the Guild.

State and territory branches

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 Guild has branches in every

Australian State The states and territories are federated administrative divisions in Australia, ruled by regional governments that constitute the second level of governance between the federal government and local governments. States are self-governing ...

and Territory: * Australian Capital Territory * New South Wales * Northern Territory * Queensland * South Australia * Tasmania * Victoria * Western Australia

Function

Services

In addition to its advocacy and

negotiation Negotiation is a dialogue between two or more people or parties to reach the desired outcome regarding one or more issues of conflict. It is an interaction between entities who aspire to agree on matters of mutual interest. The agreement c ...

function, the Guild provides a range of services to its members. These include: * Business development programs * Government relations and policy * Education and training * Quality assurance * Rural, professional and corporate services * Public health pharmacy programs * Pharmacy publications * Events

Community pharmacy agreements

Since 1990, the Government of Australia has entered into and funded seven successive five-year community pharmacy agreements with the Guild to provide a funding arrangement for the dispensing of

Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme The Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) is a program of the Australian Government that subsidises prescription medication for Australian citizens and permanent residents, as well as international visitors covered by a reciprocal health care ag ...

(PBS) medicines to the public. The pharmacy agreements set out the amounts of the various fees ('pharmacy remuneration') which pharmacies are paid to dispense PBS and Repatriation Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (RPBS) medicines, as well as the estimated total cost of pharmacy remuneration over the life of the agreement. More recently the agreements have provided the funding for additional clinical services intended to improve the use of PBS and RPBS medicines in the community.

Commercial Interests

Guild Insurance

Established in 1963, Guild Insurance provides business insurance, professional indemnity, home & contents and car insurance.

Guild Super

Established in 1994, Guild Trustee Services Pty Limited (GTS) is the trustee for the Guild Retirement Fund (GRF), which includes GuildSuper, Child Care Super and GuildPension.

Meridian Lawyers

Established in 2004, with the aim of providing legal services, Meridian provides legal advice in insurance law, health law, corporate and commercial law, employment law, commercial litigation and dispute resolution from their offices in Sydney, Melbourne, Newcastle, Brisbane and Perth.

Gold Cross

Established in 1940 as Gilseal and renamed Gold Cross Products & Services in 1997, Gold Cross endorses pharmacy products and services badged with the Guild's logo. The company owns the Glucojel Confectionary and is the publisher of the official journal of the Pharmacy Guild of Australia, ''In The Know'' (''ITK'').

MedAdvisor

Established as Guildlink in 1995, as a Medicines Information platform and Information Technology Company. GuildLink has been working with pharmaceutical companies, dispensing software vendors and health information providers to distribute medicines information electronically to the Australian market. In 2011 GuildCare was launched as part of the Pharmacy Guild of Australia's initiative to have a national systemised platform for delivering of professional health services. In 2022 Guildlink merged with US based Medadvisor and The Guild became the largest shareholder.

FRED IT Group

Established in 1992, Fred IT Group provides software services to the pharmacy industry. Fred IT currently provides: * cloud based management platform specifically for pharmacy * dispense solution for retail pharmacy – Fred Dispense * Fred Office and

POS Solutions POS Solutions, is an Australian company that provides software and services to small and medium businesses, where the company has enjoyed steady growth so making it particularly well known in Australia Newsagencies where its software has taken h ...

which integrate to provide management of the professional and commercial aspects of retail pharmacy * cloud-based server and network monitoring and maintenance, and backup and recovery * Supply and installation of IT hardware

Australian Association of Consultant Pharmacy (AACP)

Established in 1992, the AACP is the major credentialing body for professional pharmacy cognitive services that are remunerated separately from the supply of medicines. Its primary role is to develop and administer the assessment process leading to the accreditation of registered pharmacists. The AACP was established to develop a national approach to the practice of 'consultant' pharmacy as an expansion of the professional health role of pharmacy in Australia. As such, it promotes and seeks recognition for the practice of consultant pharmacy and the provision of value-added, professional services in Australia.

Controversy

In mid-2018, the Pharmacy Guild Of Australia paid $15,000 in donations to the One Nation political party. This led to complaints from Pharmacy Guild members, due in part to anti-vaccination comments made by the One Nation leader Pauline Hanson. The Victorian president of the Pharmacy Guild, Anthony Tassone, defended the political donation, quoted as saying “The guild continuously considers and reviews its donations to political parties”.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pharmacy Guild Of Australia Pharmaceutical industry trade groups Organizations established in 1928 Pharmacy organisations in Australia