New pharmacy premises

Opening a new pharmacy premises or relocating an existing pharmacy to new premises requires a new Licence to Operate Pharmacy.

An initial pharmacy licensing audit of the premises will be conducted before a licence is granted by the Licensing Authority.

Application

Applications for a licence should be received at least 6 weeks before the proposed opening date. Please indicate the date the licence is required in the section headed ‘Preliminary Information’ on the application form. Medicines (including pharmacy, restricted and prescription) can not be ordered or received at the premises until a licence has been granted.

Pharmacies may operate in conjunction with other businesses and may be located with direct access between the pharmacy and other businesses including medical centres. In these situations, only the designated area where pharmacy practice is conducted will be licensed as the pharmacy. Only that area and not the whole enterprise, may display signage identifying the space as a pharmacy and adequate security arrangements must be in place.

Initial pharmacy licensing audit

After an application for a licence has been received by the Licensing Authority, an advisor from Medicines Control will contact you to schedule an audit of the premises. The audit will be conducted when the premises are nearing completion and you should allow approximately 1-2 hours.

During the audit the advisor will assess the proposed pharmacy premises against the criteria specified in the audit tool to ensure compliance with legislative requirements.

On completion of the audit the advisor will summarise the audit findings, indicating any areas requiring attention, before a licence can be issued by the Licensing Authority. An audit report will be sent to the pharmacy specifying any corrective actions required, and any evidence required to demonstrate compliance. You are required to provide a written response to the audit report including any requested information and documentation within the specified timeframe.

Once all corrective actions have been appropriately completed, a recommendation to grant the licence will be made by the advisor to the Licensing Authority.

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