The Quality and Safety Pharmacy Program (QSPP) is the national accreditation program for community pharmacies and is administered by the Pharmacy Guild of Australia. It replaces the Quality Care Pharmacy Program (QCPP), which has operated since 1997.

QSPP accredits Community Pharmacies against the Australian Community Pharmacy Standard, and covers areas including clinical governance, patient safety, workforce capability, consumer engagement and risk management.

Further information about QSPP, including the accreditation process and how to become accredited, is available on the QSPP website.

From 1 October 2026:

– The commencement of the transition from QCPP to QSPP as the applicable accreditation program.

– Pharmacies that are accredited under QCPP as at 30 September 2026 will be issued a QSPP certificate by 1 October 2026. Pharmacies with unresolved accreditation issues, outstanding corrective actions, or unpaid accreditation fees must resolve these with their accreditation provider first before a QSPP certificate can be issued by your accreditation provider.

–  The PPA will no longer accept QCPP certificates as new evidence of accreditation. Only QSPP certificates will be accepted from this date.

30 June 2027:

– Any waivers (also referred to as exemptions) from the accreditation requirement will cease.

1 July 2027:

– QSPP accreditation will be required for participation in all 8CPA Programs, being:

– Dose Administration Aids (DAA)

– Indigenous Dose Administration Aids (IDAA)

– Staged Supply

– MedsCheck

– Diabetes MedsCheck

– Regional Pharmacy Maintenance Allowance (RPMA)

– All Service Providers participating in any 8CPA Programs must hold QSPP accreditation.

If your pharmacy held QCPP accreditation as at 30 September 2026, you will receive a QSPP certificate by 1 October 2026. You do not need to apply to change from QCPP to QSPP or to receive an updated certificate. Pharmacies with unresolved accreditation issues, outstanding corrective actions, or unpaid accreditation fees must resolve these with their accreditation provider first before a QSPP certificate can be issued by your accreditation provider.

On 5 October 2026, the PPA will email your pharmacy’s Main Authorised Person a link to a secure online form to upload a copy of the pharmacy’s QSPP certificate. Please submit the certificate using this form rather than sending it to the PPA by email. The form has been established to support the efficient processing of the large volume of QSPP certificates expected during the transition.

Once you have provided your QSPP certificate through the online form, the PPA will update your pharmacy’s accreditation information in the PPA Portal in due course.

No further action is required. However, each time your pharmacy is issued a QSPP certificate following an assessment or a change in Service Categories accredited, you must provide a copy of your new certificate to the PPA.

If your pharmacy does not currently hold QCPP accreditation, you will need to obtain QSPP accreditation by 1 July 2027 to remain eligible to participate in all 8CPA Programs.

We recommend commencing the accreditation process as early as possible. Obtaining accreditation involves an assessment process which may take time. Service Providers who are not currently accredited are encouraged to begin the process early rather than waiting.

Please visit the QSPP website for information on commencing the QSPP accreditation process. Once accredited, please email a copy of your QSPP certificate to the PPA at support@ppaonline.com.au.

Your exemption (also referred to as a waiver) remains in effect until 30 June 2027. In accordance with the 8CPA, all waivers will cease on this date and no extensions will be granted.

To continue participating in 8CPA Programs from 1 July 2027, you will need to obtain QSPP accreditation and provide evidence of it to the PPA before that date.

Obtaining accreditation involves an assessment process and may take time. Service Providers who are not currently accredited are encouraged to begin the process early rather than waiting.

Please visit the QSPP website for information on commencing the QSPP accreditation process. Once accredited, please email a copy of your QSPP certificate to the PPA at support@ppaonline.com.au.

The Eighth Community Pharmacy Agreement (8CPA) [PDF – 502 KB] refers to the AS 85000:2017 standard for participation in 8CPA Programs. Footnote 11 allows the Signatories to adopt a newer standard, being the standard AS 85000:2024.

The Australian Government Department of Health, Disability and Ageing and the Pharmacy Guild of Australia, as signatories to the Eighth Community Pharmacy Agreement (8CPA), have agreed to adopt the newer standard.

The relevant sections of the 8CPA are as follows:

8.1.5 To support clinical safety and quality in health care through an appropriate clinical governance framework, providers of Community Pharmacy Programs are to be accredited against AS 85000:2017 Quality Care Community Pharmacy Standard11 through an approved pharmacy or primary care accreditation program, such as the Quality Care Pharmacy Program, or another pharmacy accreditation program.12

11 Should a new standard of equivalent or higher quality become available, the Signatories will consider in good faith the adoption of that standard.

12 The Department may waive this requirement for accreditation on a case by case basis in circumstances where the requirement restricts patients’ access to the Community Pharmacy Program, and the Department is satisfied that the relevant provider adheres, in all material respects, to the requirements of an Australian pharmacy accreditation program, but any such waivers will cease on 30 June 2027.

For the purposes of participating in 8CPA Programs, the PPA requires evidence that your pharmacy holds a current QSPP certificate (AS85000:2017 or AS85000:2024).

The Community Pharmacy Programs outlined in the Eighth Community Pharmacy Agreement (8CPA) are:

– Dose Administration Aids (DAA)

– Indigenous Dose Administration Aids (IDAA)

– Staged Supply

– MedsCheck

– Diabetes MedsCheck

– Regional Pharmacy Maintenance Allowance (RPMA)

Under QSPP, pharmacy services are grouped into Service Categories. Your pharmacy’s Service Categories will be listed on your QSPP certificate. The different Service Categories are as follows:

– General Pharmacy Services
– Vaccination and Medicine Administration Services
– Full Scope of Practice Services
– Complex Compounding

Pharmacies accredited under QCPP as at 30 September 2026 will transition to QSPP including Service Categories mapped against current QCPP accreditation.

All 8CPA Programs, excluding RPMA, fall under the Service Category of General Pharmacy Services.

As RPMA is not a pharmacy service it falls within whole-of-pharmacy QSPP accreditation, not a specific QSPP Service Category. Eligibility for RPMA is confirmed through holding of a valid QSPP accreditation assessed against the four QSPP Domains.

1 October 2026

– QSPP replaces QCPP as the applicable accreditation program.

– If your pharmacy was accredited under QCPP as at 30 September 2026, you will receive a QSPP certificate. Pharmacies with unresolved accreditation issues, outstanding corrective actions, or unpaid accreditation fees must resolve these with their accreditation provider first before a QSPP certificate can be issued by your accreditation provider.

– The PPA stops accepting QCPP certificates as new evidence of accreditation.

5 October 2026

– If your pharmacy was registered for a Program that required evidence of QCPP accreditation on the PPA Portal, the PPA will email your pharmacy’s Main Authorised Person a link to a secure online form to upload a copy of the pharmacy’s QSPP certificate.

30 June 2027

– Waivers and exemptions from the accreditation requirement cease. Service Providers operating under a waiver must hold QSPP accreditation and have provided evidence to the PPA before this date to continue participating in 8CPA Programs.

1 July 2027

– All pharmacies participating in 8CPA Programs must have provided evidence of QSPP accreditation to the PPA.

– Where no evidence of QSPP accreditation or being in the process to obtain QSPP accreditation has been provided, the PPA will suspend your claiming ability of the respective Programs until evidence of a valid QSPP accreditation has been provided.

It is the responsibility of each Service Provider to ensure the PPA holds current evidence of accreditation, in accordance with the relevant Program Rules.

Where the PPA does not hold current accreditation evidence, registrations for Programs that require accreditation will be suspended on the PPA Portal and claims for those Programs will not be able to be submitted.

If you are issued a QSPP certificate by 1 October 2026 and do not complete the online form sent by the PPA on 5 October 2026, the PPA will continue to rely on any current QCPP accreditation evidence already on file. This evidence will remain valid until its expiry date or 1 July 2027, whichever is earlier. Prior to expiry, the PPA will contact you to advise that evidence of current QSPP accreditation must be provided to avoid suspension of your participation in Programs requiring accreditation.

Suspended Program registrations can be reinstated once current QSPP accreditation evidence is provided.

If your pharmacy was accredited under QCPP as at 30 September 2026 and received a QSPP certificate by October 1 2026:

Please follow the instructions outlined in the email sent by the PPA to the Main Authorised Person on 5 October 2026 to upload a copy of your QSPP certificate to a secure online form. Please submit the certificate using this form rather than sending it to the PPA by email. The form has been established to support the efficient processing of the large volume of QSPP certificates expected during the transition.

If your pharmacy undergoes an assessment and obtains QSPP accreditation after 1 October 2026:

Please email a copy of your QSPP certificate to the PPA at support@ppaonline.com.au. You will also be required to upload a copy of your QSPP certificate when registering for new Programs on the PPA Portal.

A reminder to all Service Providers that each time you undergo a re-accreditation assessment or change Service Categories, to please provide a copy of your updated QSPP certificate to the PPA at support@ppaonline.com.au.

It is the responsibility of each Service Provider to ensure the PPA holds current evidence of accreditation, in accordance with the relevant Program Rules

For questions about QSPP accreditation, assessments, certificates or Service Categories, visit the QSPP website or contact QSPP at  support@qspp.com or 1300 363 340.

For questions about providing accreditation evidence to the PPA or program eligibility requirements, contact the PPA Support Centre at support@ppaonline.com.au.