AUSTRALIA'S pharmacy workforce has received a 6.5% boost in the numbers of general, provisional and limited registration holders since Mar, new data from the Pharmacy Board of Australia reveals.
The sub-register, launched earlier this year in response to the COVID-19 pandemic (PD 02 Apr), has brought 1,952 retired or former pharmacists back to the profession, with a total of 33,554 pharmacists registered to practice as of 30 Jun, up from 31,503 on 31 Mar.
The latest figures from the Board showed the number of pharmacists holding non-practising registration fell from 1,274 in Mar to 958 in Jun - a decline of almost 25% in the quarter.
Numbers of general registration holders were up across all states and territories in Jun, with those reporting no principle place of practice up 85% to 574 compared with Mar (310).
Provisional and limited registration numbers remained largely static through the second quarter of 2020.
The recent Board figures showed a significant rise in the number of registrants aged over 65 years (2,164), compared with the previous quarter (1,618), with the numbers of registered pharmacists aged 80 or older jumping by 50% to 255, with 80% of those registrants holding general registration.
The under 25 age bracket was the only group to see a dip in numbers, down by 189 registrants in Jun compared with the Mar figures, including a fall of 140 general registration holders.
The profession continues to be female dominated with 62.7% of the profession registering as female, down 0.4% compared with the Board's Mar report.
The ACT and Northern Territory were the only jurisdictions to report an increase in the proportion of female pharmacists.
Tasmania was the only state where female pharmacists accounted for less than 60% of registrants - dipping from 60.6% female in Mar, to 59.4% in Jun.
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