There has been a trend for pharmacy business structures to become increasingly complex over time. This has led to an increase in the volume and complexity of business and financial documentation provided to the Council in support of an ownership application (new pharmacy, change of ownership, etc).

In 2018 revised lodgement dates will be implemented to address the additional time taken to assess such applications. From 2018 the following schedule applies to all applications including those involving trusts.

The closing dates for lodgement of applications for Council consideration during 2018 are as follows:

These dates should be brought to the attention of the applicant’s legal and financial advisers and taken into consideration when arranging settlement of contracts, inspection of premises and submission of documents.

Incomplete and unsigned applications and/or failure to submit appropriate documents will invariably cause delays in the initial assessment of an application. This has the potential to cause inconvenience to the applicant. Applications remaining incomplete for more than three Council meetings will be deemed to have lapsed. A new application will need to be submitted for it to be considered by the Council after the lapsed date.

Any requests for extensions of time to complete an application must be made in writing. It is in the applicant’s interest not to submit an application unless and until all required documents are available and in order.

It is recommended that professional advice and assistance is obtained when preparing new pharmacy or change of ownership applications particularly if the proposed business structure is complex.