For many Western Australians, their local community pharmacist is the most accessible healthcare professional. Pharmacies often open earlier and close later than GPs, have no long waitlists, and are conveniently located closer to home than hospitals.

As WA’s population ages, the demand for specialist medications is increasing.

However, many of these medications — particularly Highly Specialised Drugs (HSDs) under Section 100 of the PBS — can only be dispensed at hospital pharmacies.

Similarly, some non-PBS medications are restricted in who can dispense them.

This creates significant challenges for elderly patients and those in regional WA, where accessing a hospital pharmacy may require long travel times and logistical difficulties.

Even for those living in metropolitan areas, expanding access to timely and convenient care through local pharmacies will help busy individuals get the medical attention they need without unnecessary delays.

The WA Liberal Party recognises pharmacists can play a much greater role in our healthcare system, helping to ease pressure on GPs and hospital emergency departments, while providing faster, more affordable care for patients.

Under Labor, healthcare access in Western Australia has become slower, more expensive, and increasingly centralised in major hospitals.

Instead of empowering local healthcare providers, Labor has ignored opportunities to reduce pressure on the system by expanding pharmacists’ roles.

As a result, patients are facing longer GP wait times, overcrowded emergency departments, and ongoing difficulty accessing essential medications — especially in regional areas.

Western Australia needs commonsense healthcare reforms, ensuring that all Western Australians can access care quickly, easily, and locally.

Only a WA Liberal Government will prioritise it.

The WA Liberals believe every Western Australian should have access to high-quality, affordable healthcare close to home.

In Queensland, a successful trial allowed pharmacists to prescribe medications for 23 common conditions, including reflux, rhinitis, mild skin conditions, cold and flu symptoms, and mild ear infections.

Analysis of the trial found it saved the health system up to $20 million annually while delivering faster and more convenient care for patients.

Following this success in Queensland, a WA Liberal Government will expand pharmacists’ prescribing powers, allowing them to provide treatment for common conditions within their scope of training — improving access to primary healthcare and reducing the burden on overstretched GPs.

This will ease pressure on emergency departments and GPs, ensuring patients can receive timely, accessible treatment at their local pharmacy.

We will also invest $3 million to allow community pharmacies to opt-in to dispensing medications that are currently only available in hospital pharmacies.

By shifting medication dispensing to local pharmacies, hospital pharmacists can focus on critical clinical activities, such as preparing discharge medications and reducing wait times.

These changes will improve patient access and strengthen connections between community pharmacies and hospitals.

Western Australians deserve a government that prioritises local healthcare solutions—ensuring services are accessible where and when they’re needed most.

Empowering pharmacists where clinically appropriate is just another way the WA Liberals are delivering care closer to home.

Only the WA Liberal Party is committed to delivering quality healthcare, close to home.