Advocacy priorities
Our purpose: We exist to support and advance the business and professional needs of community pharmacy.
Our vision: Community pharmacy is recognised as the centre of accessible, equitable, high quality, value for money healthcare and wellbeing services, for all patients in our communities.
Our 2025 advocacy priorities are listed below.
The Guild represents members in all key funding discussions, including annual Integrated Community Pharmacy Services Agreement (ICPSA) reviews. The Guild is equipped with the funds, capacity, expertise and relationships to do this effectively on your behalf.
The Guild lobbies politicians and decision-makers to improve the position of community pharmacy within the health sector and advocates for community pharmacy with Te Whatu Ora, health officials and other key stakeholders. This includes regular submissions and meetings with officials on policy developments that impact community pharmacy.
Members have access to personalised audit advice, an 0800 HR advice line, an 0800 legal advice line, and practice support helpdesks.
- Online access to Micromedex, the Pregnancy and Breastfeeding Medicines Guide and the Health and disability services pharmacy services Standard.
- Guild member app with automatic notification of legislation changes.
- Audit checklists and guides.
- Quality improvement tools.
Guild members have access to a huge range of tools and resources to help them run their businesses more effectively, including audit support, member discounts, and business, practice, and HR tools.
- Retail manual
- Health and Safety at Work Act resources
- Privacy Act resources
- Guidance on crime prevention, natural disasters, advertising, business planning, and more.
- Employment agreement templates
- Children’s Act resources
- Job descriptions
- Annual remuneration survey
- Guidance on redundancy, parental leave, performance management,
- and more
- Vaccination SOPs
- ICPSA and LTC resources
- ECP consultation record
- Guidance on recalls, patient data, veterinary prescriptions, drug seekers, PSOs, and more.
Exclusive member discounts on banking, first aid training, legal advice, accounting services, retail music licences, and pain training
Influence pending legislative and policy change:
Medical Products Bill (MPB) development
Goal: Retain majority pharmacist ownership and effective control provisions and address key opportunities (e.g., pharmacist prescribing) and challenges (e.g., Section 29 medicines).
Nationwide contracting policy
Goal: Support HNZ’s development of a nationwide contracting policy for gaining access to a community pharmacy contract.
12-month prescription policy
Goal: Address impacts of the 12-month prescription policy following Budget 2025 decisions.
Continuously improve our core business as usual activity:
Ensure strong sector representation
Goal: Deliver leading community pharmacy representation via ongoing effective engagement with members, key stakeholders, official advisors and government decision-makers.
Advance the community pharmacy contract
Goal: Improve standard ICPSA service pricing, terms and conditions.
Service model expansion opportunities
Goal: Move towards full scope of practice to achieve improved patient access, better health outcomes and increased value for money.
Address pressing sector issues:
Sustainable funding model for core services
Goal: Advance the development and implementation of a sustainable funding model to maintain access to essential dispensing services.
Community pharmacy workforce crisis
Goal: Lead the development and implementation of a comprehensive plan to address the workforce sustainability pressures facing community pharmacy.
Sustainable supply chain funding model
Goal: Progress development and implementation of a sustainable supply chain funding model.
Ensure the Guild remains fit for purpose:
Continue to increase our value proposition to members and attract more non-members to join the Guild.
Refresh and reregister the Guild’s Constitution.
Maintain the ongoing financial viability of all Guild and PSL activities.