Map reveals Australia's 'pharmacy deserts' are not all in the bush

'Pharmacy deserts' in remote Australia and outer-city regions mapped Wed 22 Jul 2026 at 5:00am In short: There's an average of 2.2 community pharmacies for every 10,000 Australians, according to a new study which mapped pharmacy density across Australia. The researchers found there were fewer pharmacies per person in remote NT communities and some metropolitan areas such as outer-city Melbourne. What's next? Experts say more needs to be done to attract and retain pharmacists outside big cities. Locations of Australia's "pharmacy deserts" have been mapped for the first time, showing fewer services in remote Northern Territory communities and outer-city Melbourne. The study, published in the Australian Journal of Rural Health, used 2024 data to map the density of Australia's 6,032 community pharmacies per 10,000 people. It found several areas with no community pharmacies at all, including remote Aboriginal communities in West Arnhem Land and the Tiwi Islands; rural towns south of the Blue Mountains and the coastal region of Jervis Bay. And it's not just the bush with fewer services. Areas just outside of big city centres — including outer-city Melbourne and outer-city Perth — recorded community pharmacy density levels below the national average. It was a pattern which surprised the study's lead author Michael Leach, a senior lecturer at Monash University's School of Rural Health. "This hasn't been looked at before in Australia, so really we didn't know what to find," he said. "We found that community pharmacy density overall across regional, rural and remote areas was significantly higher than metropolitan areas overall. "And we found that overall across Australia, community pharmacy density was below the global average." Australia's community pharmacy 'deserts' Based off 2024 data, Dr Leach's study found there was an average of 2.2 community pharmacies for every 10,000 Australians. This was "well below" the global average of 2.75, he said, which indicated "room for improvement" to make sure all Australians had access to pharmacy services. Dr Leach said community pharmacies, also known as retail pharmacies, were often the "first port of call for patients" who were unwell, so having easy access to one was in the best interest of the community. This global average was calculated off 2021 data from 77 countries, a comparison which Dr Leach conceded "wasn't ideal" but was the best available as a benchmark. The study found "pharmacy deserts" — defined as multiple areas next to each other with few community pharmacies per 10,000 people — in all Australian states and territories. Areas with fewer than 1.73 community pharmacies per 10,000 people — including Alice Springs and north of Cairns — were classified as "very low community pharmacy density". Dr Leach said just because some regions had very high community pharmacy density — such as Outback South in rural Queensland — it didn't mean everyone who lived there had equal access to services. Outback South had 10 pharmacies servicing 17,629 people who lived across 625,222 square kilometres, which meant some people who lived in the region would still need to travel long distances to reach a pharmacy. Dr Leach said "unsurprisingly" areas with very high community pharmacy densities — more than 2.88 per 10,000 people — included the big city centres of Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth. But the data shows an interesting phenomenon unfolding outside these city centres, including Perth, Sydney and Melbourne. This is best illustrated looking at a map of Victoria. While Melbourne City has a very high community pharmacy density, there are multiple areas with very low density just on the outskirts of the city. "It's possible that there's relatively few community pharmacies in those outer city areas, because potentially people are travelling into the city and then getting their prescriptions filled," Dr Leach explained. But he noted there needed to be more initiatives to attract and retain pharmacy workers outside big cities, with areas with few or no community pharmacies prioritised in future legislation. Not all pharmacies created equal Mark Naunton, president of the Pharmaceutical Society of Australia and professor of pharmacy at the University of Canberra who did not contribute to the study, said he was not "totally surprised". He said central business districts attracted more foot traffic and pharmacies naturally clustered around other health points such as hospitals or medical services. Sometimes outer suburbs had fewer pharmacies as it took time for infrastructure and populations to grow, he added. Patients also typically had different needs as well, he said, with inner city pharmacies typically seeing younger people who took fewer medicines. Professor Naunton said a key limitation of the study was that it simply counted community pharmacies but access to services also depended on the number of pharmacists employed in those businesses. If a pharmacy in a regional area only included one pharmacist, this reduced the hours that people can have medicines dispensed. "A more even distribution of pharmacy staffing, pharmacists and pharmacy assistants would be beneficial," he said. "The key issue for the profession … is a more even distribution of pharmacy staffing, pharmacists and pharmacy assistant. "The distribution of pharmacies is less relevant." Staffing was also a key concern for Simon Blacker, national vice president of the Pharmacy Guild of Australia, who did not contribute to the study. "Like many industries, community pharmacies in regional and rural areas struggle to attract talent from metropolitan centres," he said. Mr Blacker said although the study raised "important questions about healthcare access in Australia", the central findings should be "interpreted cautiously". He noted the study didn't take into account factors such as trading hours, workforce capacity or the range of services provided. "Pharmacy density alone does not necessarily reflect patient access to pharmacy care,"he said. Filling gaps in care Pharmacy Guild of Australia NT branch president Peter Hatswell who did not contribute to the study, said there used to be a community pharmacy on the Tiwi Islands, but even with substantial government funding, it wasn't "commercially viable" and was forced to close. "You need about 2,500 to 3,000 people for a pharmacy to be viable," he said. People who live in towns or communities with no local community pharmacy often have to travel long distances to fill scripts, or have medications sent by post. In the Northern Territory, remote residents who don't have a community pharmacy can fill some urgent scripts through the local health centre, he explained. But over the past few decades, Alice Springs-based Mr Hatswell said he'd taken many calls from remote clinics to arrange for emergency medications to be sent in at very short notice. "I was supplying 32 different communities that stretched all the way down into South Australia and up to Tennant Creek and beyond," he said. "We had a huge, huge area to cover and I used to go out into these communities two or three times a year to see if there was anything more I could do to make sure that their supply was trouble-free and reliable and needs were being met." Kelly Abbott, an independent consultant pharmacist, visits patients in their homes to review their medications, many of whom aren't able to drive themselves to a physical pharmacy. She said pharmacists were the "most accessible health professional" available to most Australians. "Someone can to walk into a pharmacy and just ask a question rather than having a book an appointment," she said. "That's a fantastic asset to have … and the thinner they get on the ground, the harder it is for people to actually get these benefits."