The Aged Care On-site Pharmacist (ACOP) program provides dedicated, ongoing funding for aged care homes to have a pharmacist as part of their clinical care team, either directly employed by the home or engaged through a local pharmacy.
This program was a key recommendation of the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety, aiming to:
- Improve the safe and effective use of medicines.
- Strengthen clinical governance.
- Provide better team-based care and support for residents, families, and staff.
WA Primary Health Alliance is committed to helping residential aged care homes (RACH) to successfully integrate on-site pharmacists into their care teams by:
- Connecting RACH with qualified pharmacists or community pharmacies.
- Guiding RACH through program implementation and recruitment.
- Sharing resources and best practice tools.
- Facilitating collaboration with GPs and other health care providers.
More information:
- Aged Care On-site Pharmacist
Australian Government Department of Health, Disability and Ageing - View the program FAQs
- Residential aged care home EOI
- Community pharmacy EOI
- Individual pharmacy EOI
- For general enquiries please email: acop@wapha.org.au
Expressions of interest
Benefits of having an on-site pharmacist
An on-site pharmacist works as an integral member of your team, supporting residents and staff by:
- Collaborating with residents, families, GPs, and staff to optimise medicines.
- Identifying and resolving medication-related problems.
- Providing personalised medication reviews.
- Supporting accreditation, Quality Use of Medicine (QUM) activities, and quality indicators.
- Leading or participating in Medication Advisory Committee (MAC) meetings.
- Assisting with safe medication storage and handling.
- Supporting safe transitions of care.
If you are interested in sourcing an ACOP for your RACH, please fill out this simple EOI form and we will be in touch.
What pharmacists pursuing an ACOP role can expect:
- Professional development, credentialing and training opportunities
- Become an integrated member of the aged care team, collaborating with GPs, nurses, and other health professionals
- Lead or participate in Medication Advisory Committee (MAC) meetings and quality improvement initiatives
- Flexible working arrangements
- Government funding support
If you’re a pharmacist and interested in the ACOP role, please fill out the community pharmacy EOI form or individual pharmacy EOI and we will be in touch.
For more information visit the Pharmaceutical Society of Australia
Click below to expand
Participation in the ACOP program is completely voluntary. Your facility can choose whether or not to engage an on-site pharmacist.
Before hiring an on-site pharmacist directly, your facility should first try to engage one through a community pharmacy of your choice. This step helps ensure good collaboration and options are considered. Please keep a record of this attempt for your records.
No, you don’t need to have the eNRMC in place to start.
Funding is based on your aged care home’s total bed capacity, reflecting the number of residents you care for. This determines the Full Time Equivalent (FTE) of an on-site pharmacist.
No. The ACOP program is designed to provide more comprehensive on-site pharmacist services. If you have a government-funded on-site pharmacist, you cannot also receive separate government-funded visiting pharmacist services through RMMR or QUM programs.
Salary payments are made directly to the on-site pharmacist’s employer, which can be either your aged care home or a partnering community pharmacy.
Claims are submitted through the PPA portal for the days the pharmacist works on-site at your aged care home.
No. Your aged care home must be registered and approved in the PPA portal before you can claim salary payments under the program.
Yes. You can employ an on-site pharmacist as casual, permanent, or contract staff, as long as the arrangement meets the requirements of the Fair Work Act, any applicable industrial award or agreement, and other relevant employment laws.
If the pharmacist works regular, ongoing hours at the aged care home, the role will usually need to be permanent (full-time or part-time) under the Fair Work Act. Casual arrangements are generally suited to irregular or ad-hoc hours.
Yes. If your funding entitles you to more than 0.2 full-time equivalent (FTE), you can engage multiple pharmacists to share the on-site hours.
While specific duties may vary depending on your facility, all on–site pharmacists follow a standard role description. They maintain a weekly timesheet and activity log to document their work, which your aged care home should keep for auditing purposes.
No. Only the time the pharmacist spends physically on-site counts toward funded hours. Travel time is not included.
Most activities must be done on-site. However, the pharmacist may participate in Medication Advisory Committee (MAC) meetings held virtually.
This depends on state or territory laws. In some states, pharmacists are allowed to vaccinate residents directly in aged care homes, while in others, vaccinations must be given in a community pharmacy setting. It’s important to check local regulations before planning vaccination services with your on-site pharmacist.
Yes — if criteria are met. The on-site pharmacist will often do in-depth reviews which meets the criteria for a GP to claim the relevant Medicare item for a medication review.
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