Pharmacists’ rego fees on the rise

PHARMACISTS’ registration fees for the 2022/23 year are on the rise, while five other Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA) regulated professions have seen fees frozen and the fees for chiropractors has been slashed by 15%.

The new fee of $439 represents a 1.4% increase ($6) on the 2021/22 rate, while pharmacists whose principle place of practice is NSW, will see their renewal costs rise by $11 to $518, with $79 going to the Pharmacy Council of NSW (up from $74 last year).

Announcing the updated registration fees, Pharmacy Board of Australia Chair, Brett Simmonds, said the regulator was committed to keeping them as low as possible.

However, he noted that the fees were needed to fund the work of AHPRA and the Board to keep the public safe.

While the pharmacy profession is facing a modest below indexation increase in fees, doctors, radiologists, occupational therapists, optometrists, and osteopaths will see their fees rise in line with indexation, while physiotherapists are facing a “corrective increase” of 18%.

“The National Registration and Accreditation Scheme operates on a cost-recovery basis, with each Board meeting the full costs for the professions they regulate,” AHPRA said.

“There should not be crosssubsidisation between professions or jurisdictions.

“In 2022/23 we are introducing a new model for allocating costs for each Board which considers the complexity, volume, and time to manage the regulatory activity for each profession, together with the costs of shared services across the professions.

“The new model reflects access to more detailed data and is designed to ensure costs for regulating each profession are appropriately recovered, target equity levels are maintained to ensure sufficient funds for future activity, and the risk of cross-subsidisation minimised.”