Who is eligible to own a pharmacy business
Under section 23 of the Pharmacy Business Ownership Act 2024 (PBO Act), only an eligible person can apply to the Council for a pharmacy business licence.
An eligible person is:
- a practising pharmacist
- a corporation whose directors and shareholders are all practising pharmacists
- a corporation:
- whose directors and shareholders are a combination of practising pharmacists and close adult relatives (spouses or adult children) of practising pharmacists, and
- in which a majority of shares, and all voting shares, are held by practising pharmacists
- a friendly society that, on 29 April 2005, carried on a pharmacy business in Queensland or another State
- a friendly society that is an amalgamation of two or more friendly societies, where both friendly societies carried on businesses in Queensland or another State on 29 April 2005
- the Mater Misericordiae Ltd.
A practising pharmacist means a person who is registered under the Health Practitioner Regulation National Law to practise in the pharmacy profession with general registration. It does not include a non-practising pharmacist.
What to do if you are a non-practising pharmacist and own a pharmacy business
If you are an existing owner who holds non-practising registration, you have two years from 1 November 2025 to ensure that all pharmacist owners have practising registration. This two-year period only applies to a pharmacist owner who held non-practising registration immediately before the licensing provisions commenced.
How many pharmacies can a person own or hold an interest in
A person must not own or hold an interest in more than the following number of pharmacies at the same time:
- five pharmacies – if the person is a practising pharmacist, a corporation whose directors and shareholders are all practising pharmacists, or a corporation:
- whose directors and shareholders are a combination of practising pharmacists and close adult relatives of practising pharmacists, and
- in which a majority of shares, and all voting shares, are held by practising pharmacists
- six pharmacies if the person is:
- a friendly society that, on 29 April 2005, carried on a pharmacy business in Queensland or another State
- a friendly society that is an amalgamation of two or more friendly societies, where both friendly societies carried on businesses in Queensland or another State on 29 April 2005, or
- the Mater Misericordiae Ltd.
An interest is defined to mean:
- an interest as an owner of the business, or
- a material interest in the business.
Example 1
Tom Roberts owns five pharmacies and is a shareholder in a company that owns another pharmacy. Tom has an interest in six pharmacies. This is not permitted under the PBO Act.
Example 2
Jennifer Jackson owns two pharmacies and is a shareholder of Pharmacy Business Pty Ltd. Pharmacy Business Pty Ltd owns another three pharmacies. Jennifer has an interest in five pharmacies. This is permitted under the PBO Act.
Friendly societies
Friendly societies that own a pharmacy business are generally subject to the same requirements as other types of owners under the PBO Act. However, key distinctions to note are that friendly societies must not own or have an interest in more than six pharmacy businesses at the same time, and that the interest of a member of a friendly society that owns a pharmacy business is not a material interest in that business.