Good afternoon,

Acknowledgement of receipt of Freedom of Information request

I refer to your request received by the Department of Health and Aged Care
(the department) for access to documents under the Freedom of Information
Act 1982 (FOI Act). You have requested access to:

Recently Minister Butler announced that 60 day dispensing would be
included in the upcoming budget to provide financial relief to patients
across the country.

After this there has been a public debate about the benefits this will
have for the public and potential financial impacts on pharmacies.

Can the Minister’s Office or Department of Health please advise on what
dates the following three organisations were advised of 60 day dispensing
being included in the budget and what, if any, consultation was undertaken
with these groups and on what dates:

- Pharmaceutical Society of Australia (peak pharmacist body in Australia)

- Pharmacy Guild of Australia (employers organisation representing
pharmacy owners)

- Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (peak body for GPs in
Australia)

Can you also please advise any analysis, if any, that was undertaken to
see financial impact to pharmacies of this policy, as well as any analysis
showing benefits to the public and paying consumers.

The reference number for your request is FOI-4400 Please ensure that you
quote this number in future correspondence with us concerning this
request.

Timeframes

Your request was received on 08 May 2023. The statutory timeframe for
processing your request is 30 calendar days and you should expect to be
notified of a decision from the department on or before 07 June 2023.
period of 30 days may be extended if the department needs to consult
third parties or for other reasons. We will advise you if this happens.

Other information

The department may impose a charge for the work involved in providing
access to the documents.  If this request attracts a charge you will be
notified in writing.

Unless you advise otherwise:

·       any draft and duplicate documents will be excluded from the scope
of your request, and

·       any public service employee names below Senior Executive Service
level and direct telephone numbers of all staff will be excluded from the
scope of your request under s22(1)(a)(ii) of the FOI Act.

Please note that information released under the FOI Act may later be
published online on our disclosure log
[1]www.health.gov.au/resources/foi-disclosure-log, subject to certain
exceptions. (For example, personal information will not be published where
this would be unreasonable.)

You can contact the FOI team via email at [2][email address] or by phone
on 02 6289 1666, should you have any questions.

Kind regards,

Tegan

FOI Officer – Freedom of Information Section

Legal Advice and Legislation

Legal and Assurance Division | Corporate Operations Group

Australian Government, Department of Health and Aged Care

T: 02 6289 1666 | E: [3][email address]

PO Box 9848, Canberra ACT 2601, Australia

The Department of Health and Aged Care acknowledges the traditional owners
of country throughout Australia, and their continuing connection to land,
sea and community. We pay our respects to them and their cultures, and to
elders both past and present

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