ACT New Zealand has announced a plan called "Pharmacy First" that would let pharmacists treat more health conditions, make it easier for new pharmacies to open, and let people pick up prescriptions from secure lockers at any time.

Party leader David Seymour unveiled the plan in Auckland on Thursday. It was published on ACT's website under the title "Your pharmacist should be your first stop" and sent out as a press release via Scoop ACT Party Scoop. RNZ and the New Zealand Herald both reported the announcement on 6 August RNZ NZ Herald.

Pharmacists treating more conditions

Right now, pharmacists in Aotearoa can already treat some common problems without you needing to see a doctor — things like urinary tract infections, conjunctivitis, chest infections and ear infections. ACT wants to add more conditions to that list and also let pharmacists help manage long-term conditions that are stable, like someone whose diabetes or blood pressure is under control RNZ.

Making it easier to open new pharmacies

There are rules about who can own a pharmacy and where one can open. One rule says a person or company can own no more than five pharmacies. Another says a new pharmacy can't open too close to an existing one. These rules were meant to keep pharmacies spread out and locally owned.

ACT would scrap both rules. The party points to a Government review from October 2025 that said the ownership cap was "not being meaningfully followed," according to ACT. Under ACT's plan, any pharmacy that meets safety and quality standards could open RNZ.

Picking up prescriptions from a locker

The third part of the plan is a secure locker system, like a post office box you open with a code on your phone. People with stable long-term conditions could collect medicines that have already been prepared for them at any time, day or night. Seymour said this would be especially helpful for people in rural areas where pharmacies might not be open for long hours. The lockers would not be used for controlled drugs, medicines that need refrigeration, or medicines that need checking RNZ ACT Party.

What the plan doesn't answer

ACT's argument is that because the Government's own review says the ownership cap isn't really being enforced, removing the rules just makes official what is already happening. But pharmacy owners who set up their businesses based on the current rules might see things differently, and the announcement doesn't address that.

Letting pharmacists manage long-term conditions also raises questions the plan doesn't answer — like how it would be funded and how it would work alongside GP clinics. The announcement is more of a statement of what ACT wants to do than a detailed plan with costs attached.

The locker idea is the most practical part. By limiting it to medicines that are already prepared and skipping anything risky like controlled drugs or refrigerated items, the plan keeps things simple. But who pays for the lockers — pharmacies, the government, or both — isn't specified.

The current government has already been moving to let pharmacists do more. ACT's plan would take that further and faster, while also removing ownership and location rules the Government's own review has flagged as not really working.