What happens if the Minister decides to exercise his discretionary power?
When the Minister exercises his discretionary power, he will substitute the Secretary’s decision not to approve the pharmacist with a decision to approve the pharmacist. The Minister may attach conditions to such an approval. As soon as practicable after the Minister’s decision, Medicare Australia will allocate an approval number to that pharmacist. An approval granted by the Minister using this discretionary power is treated, for all intents and purposes, as if it were an approval granted under section 90 of the Act. That is, the approved pharmacist has the same rights and obligations as any other approved pharmacist. If a pharmacist approved by the Minister subsequently wants to relocate their pharmacy, they will have to comply with the pharmacy location rules. In addition, if the Minister has attached conditions to the approval regarding future relocations, the pharmacist must comply with those conditions.
