Home / Strengthening Medicare / Aged Care On-site Pharmacist Measure
For more information about the measure, including work scope and salary, visit the Department of Health’s website. If you are an aged care home or pharmacist and are interested in participating, please contact us.
The Aged Care On-site Pharmacist (ACOP) Measure introduced on 1 July 2024 provides funding to support dedicated pharmacists working within aged care homes to improve medication use and resident care.
Having a pharmacist embedded within an aged care home can help:
Northern Territory PHN has been funded to improve awareness about ACOP with aged care homes, support RACHs to engage on-site pharmacists, and identify and link eligible pharmacists with RACHs.
Aged care homes can engage an on-site pharmacist through a community pharmacy or employ one directly if the RACH and community pharmacy cannot come to a suitable agreement.
The funding provides one full-time equivalent pharmacist per 250 beds, allocated in 50-bed increments (equivalent to one day per week on-site per 50 beds). Please note, homes with an on-site pharmacist will not receive Quality Use of Medicines (QUM) or Residential Medication Management Review (RMMR) services from external visiting pharmacists. Homes without an on-site pharmacist will continue to receive QUM and RMMR support.
General Practitioners (GPs) can continue to request medication reviews and receive bulk-billing payments through the relevant RMMR MBS item number.
The on-site pharmacist must be in the residential aged care home for minimum blocks of half days, 3.8 hours, at a time. The on-site pharmacist and residential aged care home must agree to a regular working schedule.
In residential aged care homes located in rural or remote areas (MMM 5 to 7), extended flexible working arrangements are possible. This includes the on-site pharmacist working over a condensed period.
The on-site pharmacist must conduct their activities on site in the residential aged care home. If the facility-level Medication Advisory Committee holds virtual meetings, the on-site pharmacist can attend those virtually.
Any approved Section 90 community pharmacy can participate.
As of 1 July 2026, on-site pharmacists participating in the measure must have completed an Australian Pharmacy Council (APC)-accredited aged care on-site pharmacist training program.
Residential aged care homes are eligible if they either:
• Receive residential care facility subsidy from the Australian Government in accordance with the Aged Care Act 1997
• Are an Australian Government-funded transition care facility
• Are a Multi-Purpose Service (MPS)
• Are a National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Flexible Aged Care (NATSIFAC) facility
Residential aged care homes that provide only respite care are not eligible.