‘Unethical’ pharmacist gets $38k fine

A SUSPENDED pharmacist who falsely claimed to be registered with the Pharmacy Board of Australia to work as a locum at a pharmacy in Penrith has been fined $38,000 by the Local Court of NSW.

Albert Young pleaded guilty to 19 charges of “holding himself out as a pharmacist” in breach of the Health Practitioner Regulation National Law, at a hearing earlier this week.

Young’s registration had been suspended by the Pharmacy Council of NSW in May 2019 after it received evidence that he had fraudulently ordered medications through the National Diabetes Subsidy Scheme (NDSS), which were shipped to overseas patients (PD 30 Nov 2020).

However, he continued to act as a pharmacist while unregistered, until the Pharmacy Council of NSW notified the owner of the pharmacy where he worked, that he had been suspended.

Magistrate Vivien Swain imposed a fine of $2,000 for each of the 19 charges against Young, and ordered him to pay the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency’s (AHPRA’s) legal costs of $2,500 and the court’s costs of $3,230.

Swain described Young’s conduct as, “unethical, dishonest and Young knew it... pharmacists are held in high regard by the community and are expected to be honest”.

“[Young] is to be held accountable for his actions,” she added.

Pharmacy Board of Australia Chair, Brett Simmonds, welcomed the verdict.

“Falsely claiming to be registered erodes public trust in health practitioners,” he said.

“This outcome is welcome, and we hope it sends a strong message of deterrence to others.”

AHPRA CEO, Martin Fletcher, added that the organisation would not hesitate to prosecute “any individual who continues to practice when their registration is suspended”.