Pre-Conference Workshops

One year on from the launch of the MP Liaison Program, join fellow advocates from across Australia to reflect on the program’s achievements, share insights and explore opportunities to strengthen our impact in the future.

Why Attend?
As a member of the Guild’s MP Liaison Program, your conversations with MPs play an important role in shaping awareness of the issues affecting community pharmacy. This workshop will help you build on that foundation through practical learning, shared experiences and meaningful discussion with fellow advocates. By attending, you will:

• Gain a deeper understanding of how policy and political change happens the role MP Liaisons can play in influencing decision-makers.
• Feel more confident engaging with MPs and advocating for community pharmacy.
• Strengthen connections with fellow MP Liaisons and feel part of a growing national network of pharmacy advocates.
• Contribute to ideas and identify opportunities to maximise advocacy impact in the year ahead.

Featured Session: How Change Happens – From Outside Pressure to Inside Action
What turns an issue into a political priority? How does a conversation with an MP contribute to real policy change? This interactive session will explore how advocacy and government processes work together to create change. Gain practical insights into the journey from grassroots campaigning and community advocacy through to political decision-making and government action.

The session will feature two complementary perspectives:

Part 1: Influencing from the Outside
Hear a real-world advocacy case study from a successful campaign leader and explore the strategies, relationships and actions that helped drive change.

Part 2: Influencing from the Inside
Gain insight into how governments and political offices respond to advocacy, consider emerging issues, and progress policy priorities through the political system.

Together, these perspectives will help MP Liaisons better understand where advocacy fits within the broader policy journey and how they can maximise their influence.

(speakers to be announced)

Cost: FREE. Morning tea included
This is a closed workshop for trained MP Liaisons.

As community pharmacy continues to strengthen its role as a central pillar of Australia’s primary healthcare system, the expectations placed on pharmacies are evolving. Pharmacies are now delivering a broader range of clinical services, including vaccinations, medicines checks, chronic disease support and other patient-facing care. With this expanded role comes the need for stronger systems, better governance, improved clinical oversight and more consistent ways to demonstrate quality, safety and compliance.

The transition from the Quality Care Pharmacy Program (QCPP) to the Quality and Safety Pharmacy Program (QSPP), aligned with AS 85000:2024 and the National Safety and Quality Primary and Community Healthcare Standards, represents an important step forward for community pharmacy. This interactive workshop will explore how digital systems and technology can support pharmacies on their journey to QSPP accreditation – not as an additional burden, but as an enabler of safer, smarter and more efficient practice.
The session will look at how technology can help embed clinical governance into daily pharmacy workflows, support documentation and evidence requirements, strengthen operational consistency, and reduce duplication across teams. It will also explore what pharmacies should be thinking about when reviewing or selecting digital solutions, including interoperability, conformance, cyber security, privacy, data quality and future readiness.

Importantly, this workshop will take a practical and agnostic approach. It will focus on the capabilities, considerations and questions pharmacies should be asking, rather than a single system or vendor. Participants will leave with a clearer understanding of how digital tools can support QSPP preparation, what good technology enablement looks like in practice, and how technology can become a foundation for stronger workflows, better governance and the continued delivery of high-quality patient care in community pharmacy.

Moderators:
Erica Vowles – Head of Quality and Safety, Quality Care Pharmacy Program
Simon Caroll – CEO, Pharmacy Hive
Ben Wilkins – Pharmacy Owner
Aaron D’Souza – Head of Government Programs, MedAdvisor Solutions

This interactive workshop is designed to equip community pharmacists with the skills, confidence and tools to effectively communicate their expanding role in diagnosing, treating and managing a range of everyday health conditions. As scope of practice evolves, success will depend not just on clinical capability, but on how clearly and consistently pharmacists can articulate their value to patients, teams and communities.

Bringing together expert speakers, real-world examples and hands-on activities, the session explores how to build awareness, trust and engagement across multiple audiences. Participants will learn how to activate their teams as advocates, simplify patient conversations, and strengthen relationships with local stakeholders including with other health professionals and community groups.

A strong focus is placed on practical communication strategies, including digital and social media, local engagement and content creation. Participants will leave with a clear action plan, ready-to-use tools and a deeper understanding of how to tell their pharmacy’s story in a way that drives service uptake and reinforces their role as accessible primary healthcare providers.

The workshop will cover:

• Communicating full scope services in clear, patient-friendly language
• Turning pharmacy teams into confident advocates through simple messaging
• Practical roleplay to build confidence in patient conversations
• Strategies to engage other health professionals and local community groups
• Creating effective organic and paid social media campaigns
• Hands-on content creation using Canva for in-store and digital promotion
• Development of a personalised 30-day communication action plan

Facilitator: Laureta Wallace – General Manager, Communications & Marketing, The Pharmacy Guild of Australia

Following strong support and recent announcements from the Minns Labor Government, pharmacists in NSW now have expanded opportunities to practise to their full scope. This workshop is designed to help pharmacists understand these new opportunities and develop a practical, pharmacy level implementation plan to safely and sustainably deliver full scope services.

2.00pm – 2.20pm – NSW legislative update on full scope:
Speaker: Johnson Lee – Chief Pharmacist, The Pharmacy Guild of Australia (NSW)

2.20pm – 3.00pm – Training pathways and requirements
Speakers: Assoc Prof Sarah Dineen-Griffin – Program Convenor, Graduate Certificate in Pharmacist Prescribing & Advanced Practice, The University of Newcastle
Farooq Shaikh – Head of Pharmacy Discipline, Charles Sturt University
Kylie Williams – Head of Discipline  (Pharmacy), University of Technology Sydney
Dr Francisco Javier Martinez Mardones – Senior Lecturer, Graduate School of Health, University of Technology Sydney

3.00pm – 3.30pm – Afternoon Tea

3:30pm – 4.00pm – Business planning for full scope:
Speaker: Daniel Kicuroski – Branch Director, The Pharmacy Guild of Australia (NSW)

4.00pm – 4.30pm – Insights from a full scope pharmacist
Speaker: Karen Carter – Owner, Carter’s Pharmacy Gunnedah & Narrabri Pharmacy

4.30pm – 5.30pm – Interactive Q&A session

Are you an aspiring or current pharmacy owner looking to enhance your knowledge and skills? Join RSM Australia, CommBank Health and partners for an immersive workshop designed to provide a comprehensive 360-degree view on the essentials of pharmacy ownership and management. Whether you are just starting out or looking to refine your existing skills, this program will provide you with the knowledge and confidence to thrive as a pharmacy business owner. This workshop will cover:

• Due diligence – tips for best practice accounting due diligence when acquiring a pharmacy business
• Bank financing journey – navigate the complexities of applying for bank financing with confidence
• Accounting basics – understand how to evaluate financial statements, how this impacts the value of your pharmacy, and managing financial KPIs specific to your pharmacy.
• Utilising full scope of practice – discover how to leverage full scope of pharmacy practice to enhance your pharmacy business. Explore strategies to expand your services and improve patient outcomes
• Building and retaining great pharmacy teams – learn effective team-building techniques and retention practices to create a positive and productive work environment
• Utilising technology to improve pharmacy outcomes – explore innovative tools and systems that can enhance overall pharmacy performance and improve patient care

Facilitators:
Emma Brown – National Director Pharmacy Services, RSM Australia
Nathan Marris – National Director, CommBank Health
Keely Paul – National Professional Services Manager, Independent Pharmacies of Australia Group
Anne Seah – Manager, Pharmacy Services, RSM Australia
Lloyd Smith – Founder, Scrypt Ventures
Taje Zelka – Full Scope of Practice Qualified Pharmacist

THIS WORKSHOP IS FOR PHARMACISTS ONLY

The scope of pharmacist practice is ever expanding, and Harm Minimisation is at the forefront of change. Beyond oral opioid replacement treatments, it is now becoming common to see long-acting injectable buprenorphine administration at the local pharmacy which has allowed flexibility and engaged many living in regional and rural Australia. The use of illicit drugs continues to alarm and how pharmacists react to the new challenges provides opportunities to protect our communities. From tobacco to anabolic androgenic steroids, cannabis to synthetic opioids and ‘party drugs’ it is important that we are all informed pharmacists.

2.00pm – 2.15pm – Welcome & introduction
Moderator: Angelo Pricolo

2.15pm – 2.45pm – Pharmacists and harm reduction
Speaker: Dr Marianne Jauncey – Medical Director, Uniting Medically Supervised Injecting Centre

2.45pm – 3.15pm – Steroid use and ROIDCheck
Speaker: Dr Timothy Piatkowski – Senior Research Fellow, The University of Queensland, Centre for Health Services Research

3.15pm – 3.45pm – Afternoon tea

3.45pm – 4.15pm – The Opioid Dependence Treatment Program – is this care or containment?
Speaker: Dr Hester Wilson – GP & Addiction Specialist

4.15pm – 4.45pm – LAIB and the pharmacist
Speaker: Jalal Chami – Pharmacy Manager, Pharmacy 4 Less Parramatta

4.45pm – 5.30pm – The Great Debate – Party drugs should be available at your community pharmacy

This workshop is a must-attend for all employee and employer pharmacists to get a better insight to complexity of pharmacy regulations in NSW and how compliance, complaints and professional consequences intersect in everyday practice. With presenters from Pharmacy Council of NSW (PC), the Pharmaceutical Services Unit (PSU), and Pharmaceutical Defence Limited (PDL), attendees will gain a clear, practical overview of the laws and regulations governing practice of pharmacy in NSW. The workshop will demonstrate how complaints are raised in terms of performance, conduct and health related issues, and how they may be escalated and the processes involved until a final resolution to the complaint is reached. The workshop will also aim to equip you with strategies to manage and minimise regulatory risks in your workplace and improve patient safety with case studies to demonstrate issues may trigger an investigation, how to respond to regulatory action if raised, and what steps you can take to improve and strengthen proprietor and clinical governance within your pharmacy in order to minimise regulatory issues.

Moderator: Rick Samimi – Community Pharmacist & President, Pharmacy Council of NSW

2.00pm – 2.10pm – Welcome & introduction
Speaker: Rick Samimi – President, Pharmacy Council of NSW

2.10pm – 2.35pm – No place to hide: The new era of PBS integrity
Speakers:
Karen Prstec – Director, PBS Compliance Section, Department of Health, Disability and Ageing
Emily Bofinger – Assistant Director, PBS Compliance Section, Department of Health, Disability and Ageing

2.40pm – 3.00pm – Protecting the public – regulating pharmacists and pharmacies
Speaker: Peter Andrews – Professional Officer, Advisor & Inspector, Pharmacy Council

3.00pm – 3.30pm Afternoon Tea

3.35pm – 3.45pm – First session wrap and introductions

3.45pm – 4.30pm – New Medicines, Poisons and Therapeutic Goods Regulation
Speaker: Monique Reyes – Principal of Policy and Regulation, NSW Ministry of Health

4.30pm – 4.50pm – Pharmacy inspections: Compliance, accountability and continuous improvement
Speaker: Andrew Hargreaves – Director of Pharmaceutical Operations, NSW Ministry of Health

4.50pm to 5.15pm Q&A Panel

5.15pm – 5.30pm Session wrap