22-24 OCTOBER 2025
PROGRAM SCHEDULE
WEDNESDAY 22 OCTOBER 2025
5.00pm – 7.30pm REGISTRATION DESK OPEN
WELCOME RECEPTION
5.30pm – 7.30pm
Join fellow delegates, Guild representatives, and key industry suppliers at this casual function set against the backdrop of the hotel’s stunning outdoor pool and urban oasis. Mingle with fellow delegates while enjoying a selection of gourmet canapés, beverages, and live entertainment. Whether you’re reconnecting with familiar faces or meeting new ones, this laid-back setting offers the ideal atmosphere to ease into the symposium experience.
Venue: The Promenade (Poolside), The Westin Brisbane
Additional tickets: $100 per person
THURSDAY 23 OCTOBER 2025
7.45am – 5.30pm REGISTRATION DESK OPEN
8.00am – 8.30am ARRIVAL TEA & COFFEE
8.30am – 5.00pm SYMPOSIUM SESSIONS -
8.30am – 8.45am
8.45am – 9.15am
9.15am – 10.00am
10.00am – 10.30am
SYMPOSIUM WELCOME
MC: JOE O’MALLEY
Speaker: Professor Trent Twomey – National President, The Pharmacy Guild of Australia
The political landscape in Australia post 2025 Federal Election
Speaker: Evan Moorhead – Director, Anacta Strategies
What are the key factors impacting the Australian economy? Where are we heading?
Speaker: Trent Saunders – Senior Economist, Commonwealth Bank Australia
Pharmacy industry update – a Guild perspective
Speakers: Professor Trent Twomey – National President, The Pharmacy Guild of Australia; Anthony Tassone – Chair of Health Economics & Policy Services, The Pharmacy Guild of Australia
10.30am – 11.00am MORNING TEA
SYMPOSIUM SESSIONS - MC: GEORGE TAMBASSIS
11.00am – 11.30pm
11.30am – 12.00pm
12.00pm – 12.30pm
Pharmacist Prescribing
Speaker: Dr Cameron Phillips – Chair, Pharmacy Board of Australia
8CPA dispensing renumeration
Speaker: Anthony Tassone – Chair of Health Economics & Policy Services, The Pharmacy Guild of Australia; Simon Blacker – National Senior Vice-President, The Pharmacy Guild of Australia
60-DD update and 8CPA progress
Speakers: Jim Xenos – CEO, NostraData; Nick Biggs – General Manager Client Services, NostraData
Panel Discussion: Dispensing: – a core essential pharmacy service
Facilitator: Kos Sclavos AM – Convenor & Past National President, The Pharmacy Guild of Australia
12.30pm – 1.15pm
Panellists: Dennis Bastas - Executive Chairman & Group CEO, DBG Health; Professor Trent Twomey - National President, The Pharmacy Guild of Australia; Anthony Tassone - Chair of Health Economics & Policy Services, The Pharmacy Guild of Australia; Nick Biggs - General Manager Client Services, NostraData
PROGRAM SCHEDULE
THURSDAY 23 OCTOBER 2025
1.15pm – 2.15pm NETWORKING LUNCH
SYMPOSIUM SESSIONS - MC: ANDREW NGEOW
2.15pm – 2.45pm The IR landscape in Community Pharmacy
Speaker: Sharlene Wellard- Principal, Meridian Lawyers
2.45pm – 3.30pm Practical applications of AI technology in community pharmacy
Speaker: Julian Moore – AI Specialist
3.30pm – 4.00pm AFTERNOON TEA
SYMPOSIUM SESSIONS - MC: SIMON BLACKER
Panel Discussion – Community Pharmacy in Australia – Destination Next?
Facilitator: Gerard Benedet – National Executive Director, The Pharmacy Guild of Australia
VERSION 15 OCT 2025
4.00pm – 4.45pm
4.45pm – 5.15pm
7.00pm – 10.00pm
Panellists: Aaron Ford - Chief Logistics Officer, Sigma Healthcare; Richard Pearson – Chief Customer Officer, Wesfarmers Health; Nick Munroe – Executive General Manager, TerryWhite Chemmart
FEEDBACK SESSION #1
Facilitator: Gerard Benedet – National Executive Director, The Pharmacy Guild of Australia
SYMPOSIUM DINNER
Join us for a night where history meets hospitality in one of Brisbane’s most treasured landmarks, Customs House. Nestled along the Brisbane River, this grand heritage-listed venue offers a stunning backdrop of neoclassical architecture, soaring ceilings, and glittering chandeliers—perfect for an unforgettable night of fine dining and networking.
Enjoy pre-dinner drinks on a balcony overlooking the river before dining on a three-course meal under the building’s magnificent copper dome in the iconic Long Room.
Venue: The Long Room, Customs House
Special Guest Speaker: Claire Hooper, Comedian
Cost: inclusive in registration fees
Additional tickets: $165 per person
FRIDAY 24 OCTOBER 2025
8.00am – 2.00pm REGISTRATION DESK OPEN
8.00am – 8.30am ARRIVAL TEA & COFFEE
8.30am – 3.15pm SYMPOSIUM SESSIONS - MC: NATALIE WILLIS
8.30am – 9.00am Australia Post Community Pharmacy Partnership
Speaker: Paul Graham – CEO, Australia Post
9.00am – 9.30am The business case for full scope
Speaker: Kos Sclavos AM – Convenor & Past National President, The Pharmacy Guild of Australia
PROGRAM SCHEDULE
9.30am – 10.00am
Priorities for the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing – what role for community pharmacy?
Speaker: Penny Shakespeare - Deputy Secretary, Department of Health
FRIDAY 24 OCTOBER 2025
Panel Discussion: On boarding full scope – bringing the profession with us
Facilitator: Amanda Seeto – CEO, Australasian College of Pharmacy
VERSION 15 OCT 2025
10.00am – 10.45am
Panellists: Chris Owen - National Vice-President Finance, The Pharmacy Guild of Australia; Assoc Prof John Smithson - Head of Pharmacy, James Cook University; Georgina Twomey – Credentialed Full Scope Pharmacist; Kylie Birkinshaw – Full Scope Implementation Support Pharmacist, The Pharmacy Guild of Australia, Queensland Branch
10.45am - 11.15am MORNING TEA
SYMPOSIUM SESSIONS - MC: CHRIS OWEN
QCPP: the transition from a 2-year to a 3-year cycle
11.15am – 11.30am
Speaker: Natalie Willis – Chair of Clinical Governance Committee, The Pharmacy Guild of Australia
11.30am – 12.00pm Front of pharmacy category performance – a data review
Speaker: Sashi Anantham – Principal, Consumer Intelligence and Insights, IQVIA
Panel Discussion – Pharmacy performance in retail categories
Facilitator: George Tambassis – Victorian Branch President, The Pharmacy Guild of Australia
12.00pm – 12.45pm
12.45pm – 1.15pm
Panellists: Cathie Watts – Head of Sales, Metagenics ANZ; Sashi Anantham - Principal, Consumer Intelligence and Insights, IQVIA; Roger Kluth – Head of Operations, Gold Cross Products and Services; Andrew Ngeow - WA Branch President, The Pharmacy Guild of Australia
Feedback Session #2
Facilitator: Gerard Benedet, National Executive Director, The Pharmacy Guild of Australia
1.15pm – 2.00pm NETWORKING LUNCH