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Profession-specific course

Ethics and Ethical Standards for Pharmacists in Australia

Applying the Pharmacy Board's Code to Supply, Advice and Conflicts

  • 2 CPD hoursEstimated learning time
  • 15-question assessmentPass mark 80%
  • Online, self-pacedStart any time
  • CertificateFor your CPD records

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About this course

Every shift, pharmacists make decisions the law does not settle for them. Should you supply this Pharmacist Only Medicine to this person? Do you dispense a prescription that came from a ten-minute online questionnaire for a product supplied through a linked pharmacy? How honest should you be about a product your pharmacy sells? What happens when your conscience, your employer's targets and a customer's request all point in different directions?

The Code of conduct used by the Pharmacy Board, the Board's new guidelines on the safe provision of pharmacy services that took effect on 1 October 2026, the joint statement on prescribing and dispensing and Ahpra's September 2026 interim guidance on commercial conflicts of interest all make the same point: your professional judgement cannot be handed to a prescriber, a platform or an employer. This course gives you a practical way to exercise that judgement well, using realistic Australian scenarios from community and hospital pharmacy.

You will finish with a short decision model you can use at the counter, scripts for declining and disclosing, a clear view of how to handle conscientious objection and commercial pressure, and a written reflective account for your CPD records.

Who this course is for

  • Registered pharmacists in community, hospital, aged care, general practice and telehealth-linked pharmacy settings
  • Intern pharmacists preparing for registration who want to strengthen ethical reasoning
  • Pharmacists who prescribe or supply under state and territory protocols
  • Pharmacist proprietors and managers who set targets, promotions and staffing
  • Pharmacists returning to practice or moving into new models of care
  • Pharmacists responding to feedback or a concern who want structured learning on ethics

What you’ll learn

  • Reason quickly and soundly

    Use a seven-step model at the counter to make supply decisions you can explain to the patient, a colleague and the Board.

  • Decline and query with confidence

    Refuse unsafe supply respectfully, contact prescribers effectively and keep independent judgement in closed-loop and telehealth models.

  • Manage conscience and conflicts

    Handle conscientious objection without denying access, and identify and resolve financial and non-financial conflicts of interest.

  • Build trust through honesty

    Protect confidentiality at an open counter, disclose errors openly and speak up about unsafe practice.

Learning objectives

  • Explain what makes the ethical position of pharmacists distinctive and identify the documents that shape it.
  • Apply core ethical principles and a short decision model to time-pressured supply decisions.
  • Decline a supply respectfully and respond to prescriptions that raise safety concerns.
  • Respect informed choice while giving honest advice about evidence.
  • Manage conscientious objection in line with the Code of conduct.
  • Recognise and resolve conflicts of interest, including those arising from targets, promotions and closed-loop models.
  • Protect confidentiality, disclose errors honestly and speak up about unsafe practice.
  • Apply ethical safeguards to pharmacist prescribing and sustain ethical resilience.

Scenarios covered

Practice situations you reason through, step by step, in the course.

  • The repeat request for a sleep aid

    A young man asks for a sedating antihistamine for the third time in a fortnight. You will practise exploring what lies behind the request and declining or supplying in a way that protects dignity and safety.

  • The online cannabis prescription

    A prescription from an asynchronous telehealth service arrives for a patient with a history of psychosis. You will apply the joint statement and decide what your judgement requires.

  • Emergency contraception and conscience

    You are the only pharmacist on duty and hold a conscientious objection. You will work through what the Code of conduct requires to protect timely access.

  • The probiotic bonus

    Staff are paid per probiotic sold with an antibiotic. You will apply Ahpra's interim guidance and the code to keep recommendations in the person's interests.

  • Yesterday's dispensing error

    You find a patient received the wrong strength. You will plan an honest disclosure, an apology and the next steps.

  • The UTI protocol with red flags

    A woman seeks treatment under a pharmacist protocol but reports fever and back pain. You will apply the safeguards needed when one person both prescribes and supplies.

Course contents

6 sections, 20 lessons, then the final assessment.

  1. Section 1: Ethics in Pharmacy Practice3 lessons
    • 1.1 Why Pharmacy Ethics Is Distinctive
    • 1.2 Core Principles Applied to Pharmacy
    • 1.3 A Decision Model for the Pharmacy Counter
  2. Section 2: Supply Decisions: Judgement at the Counter4 lessons
    • 2.1 Pharmacist Only and Pharmacy Medicines: The Ethics of Saying No
    • 2.2 Prescriptions That Raise Concerns
    • 2.3 Compassion and Rules: Emergency and Continued Supply
    • 2.4 Misuse, Dependence and Harm Reduction
  3. Section 3: Autonomy, Conscience and Access3 lessons
    • 3.1 Respecting Autonomy and Informed Choice
    • 3.2 Conscientious Objection
    • 3.3 Equity, Access and Cultural Safety
  4. Section 4: Conflicts of Interest and Commercial Pressures4 lessons
    • 4.1 The Professional and the Business
    • 4.2 Targets, Promotions and Honest Advice About Evidence
    • 4.3 Closed Loops, Exclusive Arrangements and New Models of Care
    • 4.4 Gifts, Hospitality and Industry Relationships
  5. Section 5: Confidentiality, Honesty and Trust3 lessons
    • 5.1 Confidentiality at an Open Counter
    • 5.2 Honesty When Things Go Wrong
    • 5.3 Speaking Up About Colleagues, Employers and Prescribers
  6. Section 6: Expanding Roles, New Dilemmas3 lessons
    • 6.1 Prescribing and Supplying: When One Person Does Both
    • 6.2 Vaccination, Public Health and Misinformation
    • 6.3 Moral Distress and Ethical Resilience
  7. Final assessment and written reflection15 questions

Assessment and certificate

  1. Work through the course

    Study each section at your own pace, including the case illustrations and apply-it questions.

  2. Pass the assessment

    15 scenario-based questions. You need 12 correct (80%) to pass.

  3. Write your reflection

    A short written reflection on how the learning applies to your own practice.

  4. Download your certificate

    Shows your name, the course, the date and 2 CPD hours. Anyone can check it on our verification page.

What you keep for your CPD records

  • A certificate of completion recording approximately 2 hours of CPD learning time
  • A written reflective account based on three prompts drawn from your own practice
  • A quick-reference guide for supply decisions, conscientious objection, conflicts and disclosure
  • Practical scripts for declining supply, querying prescribers and apologising after an error

How certificates and CPD records workVerify a certificate

Primary sources

The course is built on these official documents. Check them for the current version.

Questions about this course

Is this course recognised by Ahpra or the Pharmacy Board?

No. This is independent education. It is not accredited, not approved and not endorsed by Ahpra, the Pharmacy Board of Australia or any professional body. You decide whether it fits your CPD plan and record the actual time you spend in line with the Board's requirements.

Which code of conduct applies to pharmacists in Australia?

The Pharmacy Board uses the shared Code of conduct, which took effect on 29 June 2022 and also applies to eleven other professions. Professional body codes, such as the Pharmaceutical Society of Australia's Code of Ethics, are useful guides but are not the regulatory standard.

Can a pharmacist refuse to dispense a valid prescription?

Yes, if they believe supply would not be safe. The joint statement on prescribing and dispensing says pharmacists should tell the prescriber and patient about their concerns so alternatives can be considered. The course covers how to do this well and what to record.

What does the Code of conduct say about conscientious objection?

You may decline to provide or take part in care yourself, but your objection must not deny patients access. Tell the patient where relevant, your employer and colleagues, and make sure the patient has alternative care options. Objection must relate to a service, never to a person.

What are the new Pharmacy Board guidelines from 1 October 2026?

The Guidelines on the safe provision of pharmacy services including medicines and advice consolidate four earlier guidelines into one document, with a clearer focus on cultural safety. This course refers to them where they shape ethical decisions; the detailed professional standards are covered in a separate professionalism course.

How does Ahpra's 2026 conflicts of interest guidance affect pharmacists?

It emphasises that practitioners must put patients first regardless of business model, that non-cash benefits such as training or travel can create conflicts, and that website disclosures are not enough. The course applies it to targets, promotions, industry relationships and closed-loop models.

Does the course cover Schedule 8 medicines and dispensing systems?

Only where they raise ethical questions. Schedule 8 prescribing and monitoring, and dispensing systems, records and professional practice standards, are covered in other courses.

I have a Board condition to complete an ethics course. Can I use this one?

Only the Board can say whether a course meets a condition or undertaking. Check with Ahpra or the Pharmacy Board, and your indemnity insurer or lawyer, before enrolling for that purpose.