Owner guide
Scope of practice is a staffing problem before it is an opportunity.
Six jurisdictions have expanded what a pharmacist can do. Every one of them adds consulting hours and paid training time to an FTE you already could not fill.
Where it stands
| Jurisdiction | Position |
|---|---|
| Queensland | Pilot made permanent statewide in March 2025 — prescribing across a wide range of acute conditions |
| Victoria | All streams made permanent in May 2025, funded, covering 22 acute and chronic conditions |
| New South Wales | Scope expanded in 2024 — ear infections, reflux, acne, musculoskeletal pain and others |
| South Australia | Hormonal contraception initiation launched in early 2026 |
| Tasmania | UTI service, 10,000+ consultations since 2024 |
| ACT | Pharmacist influenza vaccination extended down to age 2 |
Sources: Pharmaceutical Society of Australia; NSW Health; Australasian Pharmacy.
The roster maths
A consultation is a pharmacist not on the bench.
Every service you add takes a registered pharmacist out of the dispensary for the length of the consult, plus the training time to get accredited for it. If you are running one pharmacist on a Thursday, a scope service is not additional revenue — it is a second pharmacist you now need in order to earn it.
The owners getting value out of expanded scope resourced it first. The ones who did not have a pharmacist doing consults between scripts and a queue building behind both.
What this changes about hiring. The pharmacist you need is no longer just someone who can dispense safely. Ask about vaccination accreditation and scope credentials at screening, not at the offer — they materially change what the person is worth to you and what someone else will pay them.
Next step
Tell us about the vacancy.
You will get the fee in writing, a view on whether the role is fillable as written, and a realistic time to fill — before you commit to anything.