About the Pharmacy Guild

We are the voice of Community Pharmacy.

Founded in 1928, the Pharmacy Guild of Australia (Guild) is a national employers organisation registered under the Commonwealth’s Fair Work Act 2009.

With over 90 years of experience representing and promoting the value of Community Pharmacy in the Australian primary health care system, the Guild is the voice of the industry.

There are over 5,800 community pharmacies equitably distributed around Australia.

Community pharmacies are the most frequently accessed and most accessible health destination in Australia, with over 462 million individual patient visits annually and the vast majority of pharmacies open after-hours, including weekends.

Australia’s community pharmacies employ over 70,000 staff directly, including approximately 20,000 registered pharmacists.

Pharmacists are one of the most highly trained and trusted professions in Australia along with nurses and doctors.

Everyday across Australia, Pharmacist go to work as medicine experts to keep their patients safe and improve their health outcomes.

In capital cities, 97 per cent of people have access to at least one pharmacy within 2.5 km radius, while in the rest of Australia 66 per cent of people are within 2.5 km of a pharmacy.

Community-pharmacist led medication-adherence interventions have improved adherence rates by 9.3% and reduced health system costs by $1.9 billionⁱ.

Community Pharmacies are owned and operated by a Pharmacist, given the critical nature of care given and the responsibility for PBS medicines and monitored medicinesⁱⁱ.

You can find out more about the Guild at www.guild.org.au