Standards Development Organisation (SDO)
The Pharmacy Guild of Australia is an accredited Standards Development Organisation (SDO) through the Standards Australia, Standards Development and Accreditation Committee (SDAC). The SDAC operates to encourage and accredit SDOs in Australia to produce Australian Standards®.
As an SDO the Guild is accredited to develop Australian Standards® for the community pharmacy sector which includes the Australian Standard® (AS) 85000. AS 85000 was first published in 2011 and titled AS 85000:2011 Quality Care Pharmacy Standard: A quality management system for the practice of community pharmacy in Australia. Following a periodic review, the second version of the Standard was published in 2017 and titled AS 85000:2017 the Quality Care Community Pharmacy Standard.
Recently, the Guild has led a project to review AS 85000:2017 using an open process of consultation and consensus, in which all key stakeholders were invited to participate. The review provided an opportunity for the industry to ensure the Standard reflects current practice and can support further advancements in practice into the future.
The latest version of AS 85000:2024 Australian Community Pharmacy Standard sets out the requirements for a quality management system for Australian community pharmacies to support the provision of safe and consistent pharmacy services that contribute to improved health outcomes for Australian patients, consumers, and communities.
In addition, the Standard aligns with the National Safety and Quality Primary and Community Healthcare Standards and this alignment was achieved through close collaboration with the Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care (the Commission).
The revision of the Standard was completed under the guidance and direction of a Standards Development Committee (chair Simon Blacker) and Standards Reference Group (chair Greg Scarlett) . These committees were made up of representatives from key industry stakeholders including:
- The Pharmacy Guild of Australia
- Pharmaceutical Society of Australia
- Pharmaceutical Defence Limited
- Professional Pharmacists Australia
- Australian Pharmacy Council
- Australian Association of Consultant Pharmacy
- Pharmacy Board of Australia
- National Australian Pharmacy Students’ Association
- Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care
- RSM
- Professional Compounding Chemists of Australia
- MedAdvisor (previously GuildLink)
- The National Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation
- Australian Patients Association
- Rural Pharmacists Australia
- Therapeutic Goods Administration
- Pharmacy Premises Registration Authorities of Australia
- Medical Software Industry Association
- Consumer Health Products Australia
- Pharmacy Banner Groups
The Guild would like to acknowledge and sincerely thank the experts from the organisations above who contributed to the development of the revised standard.
The Standard is available for QCPP accredited pharmacies via QCPP’s Knowledge Hub and can be purchased through Standards Australia.
Page last updated on: 09 August 2024