Pharmacy medicines rural communities licence

A pharmacy medicines rural communities licence allows authorised persons to obtain, possess and sell licenced medicines to enable pharmacy products in rural and remote areas. As a pharmacy medicines rural communities licence holder, you can:

• issue a purchase order for a licenced pharmacy medicine, stated in the licence, for retail sale from the licenced premises
• obtain the licenced medicine on a purchase order for retail sale from the licenced premises
• possess the licenced medicine at the licenced premises for retail sale from the licenced premises
• sell the licenced medicine by retail from the licenced premises only to customers attending in person, not over the internet or by mail.

An employee of a pharmacy medicines rural communities licence holder can:

• possess a licenced medicine at the licenced premises for retail sale from the licenced premises
• sell a licenced medicine by retail from the licenced premises to customers attending in person, not over the internet or by mail.

Pharmacy medicines rural communities licence conditions

The pharmacy medicines rural communities licence conditions require that:

• the rural business is more than 25km by the shortest practical route to the nearest community pharmacy
• customers attend in person to the licenced premises to purchase the medicines
• pharmacy medicines are purchased on a complying purchase order
• pharmacy medicines are sold in manufacturer’s packs with complying labelling.

Storage

Medicines must be stored within the manufacturer’s recommended storage temperature range and in any other environmental condition that is necessary to preserve the medicine’s stability and therapeutic quality.

Pharmacy medicines must be stored in a part of the premises where only a licence holder, or a person under the direct supervision of a licence holder, has access to the medicine and to which the public does not have access.

Destruction

Expired or unwanted pharmacy medicines should be returned to the wholesaler for disposal or disposed of responsibly.

It is an offence under the Medicines, Poisons and Therapeutic Goods Act 2008 to discard a medicine in a way that puts the health or safety of people at risk or is likely to cause damage to property or the environment.

Record keeping

As the licence holder, you must retain an invoice for the purchase of a pharmacy medicine for 2 years.

You must be able to easily retrieve records of all dealings in controlled medicines, dangerous poisons and prohibited substances for 2 years.

Inspections and reporting

Premises identified in a Rural Communities Licence will be the subject of inspections under the Medicines, Poisons and Therapeutic Goods Act 2008.

There are no reporting requirements for holders of a Rural Communities Licence.

Apply for a licence

Apply for a pharmacy medicines rural communities licence by completing a Medicines, Poisons and Therapeutic Goods Licence Application form [PDF 439KB].