Healthcare Pharmacy

Pharmacy

The dynamic nature of the pharmacy sector continues to bring about significant change, especially in pharmacy ownership and practice. The profession is tightly regulated and operates in a highly commercial and competitive environment. Our pharmacy team is recognised as a leading pharmacy law practice in Australia and we have a strong understanding of this environment. With our personal approach and intimate knowledge of the pharmacy profession, we assist clients in dealing with the legal and ethical issues that present themselves in day-to-day operations.

We are a principal legal adviser to the Pharmacy Guild of Australia, a number of its state branches and a number of the pharmacy educator institutes. We work closely with all lead organisations in the pharmacy sector including insurers, Pharmaceutical Defence Limited and brokers. Our pharmacy client base extends to over 1000 professionals in the industry from individual pharmacists to large banner groups.

Key services

  • Defending professional negligence claims
  • Defending public liability claims
  • Advising on and managing disciplinary matters
  • Managing discrimination complaints
  • Advising on privacy complaints
  • Coronial inquests
  • Private health fund and Medicare investigations
  • Advising on the acquisition and sale of pharmacy businesses
  • Advising on retail leases, lease disputes and retail leases legislation
  • Advising on PBS approval for new and relocating pharmacies
  • Advising on and managing business restructures
  • Advice on debt refinancing
  • Advice on entering, exiting or establishing partnerships, including business succession planning
  • Resolving partnership, shareholder or unit holder disputes
  • Advice on pharmacy group structures including advising on and preparing banner group, franchise and other member documentation
  • Managing and advising on unfair dismissal claims, general protections disputes, bullying and discrimination claims
  • Employee misconduct and performance management advice
  • Developing employment contracts and workplace policies
  • Managing all relevant regulatory issues under the various state pharmacy practice legislation, the National Health Act 1953, the Personally Controlled Electronic Health Records (Consequential Amendments) Act 2012 and the Fair Work Amendment Act 2012

Related Experience

  • Successfully appealing a decision by Queensland Health to cancel a pharmacist’s endorsements under the Health (Drugs & Poisons) Regulation 1996 for three years (the Tribunal substituted its decision to cancel for two years).
  • Successfully obtained judgment in the Supreme Court of NSW requiring a vendor of a pharmacy to purchase the pharmacy back from the original purchaser, following misrepresentations as to revenue and profitability made by the vendor in the sale process.
  • Providing advice to a large pharmacy banner group (more than 90 pharmacies) on the application of pharmacy ownership laws to its financial structuring arrangements.
  • Regulatory advice in the health and pharmaceutical sectors including advice on pharmacy location rules.
  • Acting for the Pharmacy Guild of Australia in the review of the Pharmacy Industry Award, including on the adjustment to weekend and public holiday penalty rates.
  • Acting for a pharmacy owner on a discrimination claim made against the owner and other senior staff.
  • Advising a pharmacy owner to respond to sexual harassment allegations made by an employee.
  • Defending a pharmacy owner in an unfair dismissal claim.
  • Successfully resolving a complex breach of employment contract and general protections dispute commenced against an employer in the Federal Court.
  • Reviewing and amending a pharmacy employer’s employment contracts and workplace policies.
  • Preparing letters of engagement and employment contracts for a pharmacy owner purchasing a business.
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