Pharmacy Board of Australia v Chung

In the matter of the Pharmacy Board of Australia, the appellant, and Mr Chung, the respondent, the Administrative Appeals Tribunal was tasked with examining whether the state or national scheme applied to the disciplinary proceedings against Mr Chung for his professional conduct as a pharmacist. The respondent, Mr Chung, a pharmacist in a rural town, was accused of failing to comply with the regulatory requirements for recording sales of pseudoephedrine and dispensing clomiphene on a general practitioner's prescription. The tribunal had to determine whether Mr Chung's conduct amounted to unsatisfactory professional conduct, especially considering the notorious use of pseudoephedrine for the illicit manufacture of methyl amphetamine and Mr Chung's professed ignorance of the regulatory requirements.

The tribunal considered whether the national or state scheme applied to the disciplinary proceedings against Mr Chung. Given that the Board had the power to take disciplinary action under the national scheme, the tribunal found that the national scheme applied. The tribunal also found that Mr Chung's conduct amounted to unsatisfactory professional conduct, as he failed to comply with the regulatory requirements for recording sales of pseudoephedrine, which was notorious for its use in the illicit manufacture of methyl amphetamine. The tribunal considered that Mr Chung's professed ignorance of the regulatory requirements did not excuse his failure to comply with them.

Based on its findings, the tribunal imposed several conditions on Mr Chung's registration, including completing 50 credits of continuing professional development, demonstrating that the pharmacy is accredited under the Quality Care Pharmacy Program, maintaining membership of the Pharmaceutical Society of Australia and the Pharmacy Guild of Australia, participating in a mentoring program, and refraining from applying for reinstatement of his unrestricted endorsement under the Health (Drugs and Poisons) Regulation 1996 (Qld) for pseudoephedrine for a period of 12 months. Mr Chung was also ordered to bear the cost incurred to comply with these conditions and pay the Board's costs of and incidental to these proceedings. The details of Mr Chung's reprimand and the conditions imposed on his registration were to be recorded on the Board's register for the relevant periods.