Pharmacy Council (Previously Listed as Pharmacy Council of New Zealand) (Fees) Notice 2024

Pursuant to sections 130–133 of the Health Practitioners Competence Assurance Act 2003, the following notice is given.

Notice

1. Title and Commencement

(1) This notice may be cited as the Pharmacy Council (Fees) Notice 2024 and shall come into force on 25 February 2024.

(2) This notice has the status of secondary legislation for the purposes of the Legislation Act 2019.

(3) This notice revokes and replaces all previous Pharmacy Council fees notices.

2. Fees and Levies

The Pharmacy Council sets its fees and levies as specified in the following Schedule.

3. Tax

The fees are stated exclusive of goods and services tax (GST). All fees are subject to the addition of GST at the prevailing IRD rate.

Schedule

Fees and Levies Payable to the Pharmacy Council effective from 25 February 2024.

Disciplinary Levy	$
Is included within the value of the full Annual Practising Certificate (APC) fee	130.43
Is pro-rated for an APC issued after 30 November	43.48
Is pro-rated for a short-dated APC (2 months only)	21.74

Intern Pharmacist
Application for Initial Registration and APC - Intern	706.09
Change of Scope – Intern to Pharmacist APC (following the May Assessment Centre)	832.17
Change of Scope – Intern to Pharmacist APC (following the November Assessment Centre)	295.94
Reissue of Intern APC (Round Two)	503.48
Intern Reinstatement and issue of APC if > Two Years	640.00
Change of Scope - Intern to Pharmacist (Non-Practising)	115.65

Pharmacist
Application for Registration – Pharmacist (includes TTMR* and REQR*)	1,140.87
Application for Registration – Pharmacist (includes TTMR* and REQR*) post 30 November	604.63
Application for Initial Consideration of Registration for non-REQR* Applicants	675.65
Issue of an APC - Pharmacist	804.35
Short-dated APC (2 months only)	134.06
Non-Practising Fee	87.83

Pharmacist Prescriber
Application for Registration – Pharmacist Prescriber	86.96
Application for Registration of Overseas Pharmacist Prescriber	2,021.74
Application for Pharmacist Prescriber (Category 1)	360.87
Application for Pharmacist Prescriber (Category 2)	675.65
Issue of an APC - Pharmacist Prescriber	889.57

Register Reinstatement
Reinstate to Non-Practising	224.35
Reinstate to Practising - post 30 November	404.63
Reinstate to Practising	940.87
Reinstate to Practising - plus Interview	1141.74
Reinstate to Practising - plus Interview - post 30 November	605.50

Return to Practice (RTP)
Category 1
RTP2 – APC & Transfer Fee - post 30 November	295.94
RTP4 – APC & Transfer Fee	832.17
RTP6 – APC & Transfer Fee (less credit for Non-Practising Fee previously paid)	744.35

Category 2
RTP3 – APC, Law & Ethics Interview & Transfer Fee - post 30 November	496.81
RTP5 – APC, Law & Ethics Interview, Transfer Fee	1,033.04
RTP1 – APC, Law & Ethics Interview & Transfer Fee (less credit for Non-Practising Fee previously paid)	945.22

Other Fees
Transfer Scope Fee	27.83
Certificate of Current Professional Status	68.70
Decision Review Fee	488.70
Inspection of the Register	68.70
Request Lodgment Fee	136.52
Registration Certificate Replacement	68.70

*TTMR = Trans-Tasman Mutual Recognition Act (1997) applicants from Australia.

* REQR = Recognised Equivalent Qualification Route applicants are overseas qualified pharmacists holding recognised qualifications and registration from countries recognised by the Pharmacy Council. These are the United Kingdom, Ireland, Canada, and the United States of America.

* Non-REQR = Non- Recognised Equivalent Qualification Route. Applicants that are registered pharmacists overseas, but do not meet the eligibility criteria for REQR route.

Explanatory Note

The proposed changes to fees and levies were consulted on with pharmacists, pharmacist prescribers, interns, and other sector stakeholders between 10 November 2023 and 11 December 2023.

Following the close of the consultation period, and after due consideration, the 2024/25 fees and levies were approved by the Pharmacy Council members on 22 December 2023.

Overall, the total ordinary APC - Pharmacist fee (including the Disciplinary Levy) has increased from $850.00 to $925.00 (inclusive of GST) and is comprised of the following changes:

Fee Type	Original Fee Payable	Increase ($)	Increase (%)	New Fee Payable
Disciplinary Levy	$86.95	$43.48	50%	$130.43
Annual Practising Certificate	$652.18	$21.74	3.33%	$673.92
Total (ex GST)	$739.13	$65.22	8.824%	$804.35
GST	$110.87	$9.78		$120.65
Total (incl GST)	$850.00	$75.00		$925.00

Rationale for proposed changes to the Disciplinary levy.

An increase of 50% to the Disciplinary Levy has been applied. The Pharmacy Council’s policy is to maintain a Disciplinary reserve in the event of unexpected increases in the number of, or highly complex, notifications and cases, and,
Since July 2021 increases in investigation, prosecution and debt recovery costs have depleted the Disciplinary reserve balance to a level of unacceptable risk.

Rationale for proposed changes to the APC fee.

An increase of 3.3% to the APC fee has been applied. Cost increases to the Pharmacy Council arise from sources such as inflation, improving services and systems, and increasing obligations / duties imposed by statute or expected by stakeholders.

Other fees collectable by the Pharmacy Council from time to time have been increased by 5% for inflationary cost pressures.

Except as described above, no other changes have been made to fees previously published in the Pharmacy Council (previously listed as Pharmacy Council of New Zealand) (Fees) Notice 2023 notice published in the New Zealand Gazette, 30 January 2023, Notice No. 2023-sl269.

Dated at Wellington this 18th day of January 2024.

MICHAEL A. PEAD, Chief Executive / Acting Registrar, Pharmacy Council.