ACT New Zealand has laid out a "Pharmacy First" policy that would let pharmacists treat more conditions, remove long-standing rules limiting who can own pharmacies and where they can open, and introduce 24-hour prescription collection through secure electronic lockers.

Party leader David Seymour unveiled the package in Auckland on Thursday. The policy was published on ACT's website under the title "Your pharmacist should be your first stop" and distributed 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.

Treating more conditions

Pharmacists in Aotearoa can already treat a set list of minor ailments under existing government changes — urinary tract infections, conjunctivitis, chest infections and ear infections among them. The Minor Ailments Scheme is the framework that sets out which conditions pharmacists can assess and treat without a GP visit. ACT's policy would expand that list to include additional conditions pharmacists are trained to handle, and would also let pharmacists manage stable long-term conditions — think regular medication reviews for someone whose diabetes or blood pressure is well-controlled RNZ.

Removing ownership and location rules

New Zealand currently caps pharmacy ownership at five pharmacies per owner and requires new pharmacies to meet proximity rules — meaning they cannot open too close to an existing one. The idea behind both rules was to preserve the owner-operator model (where the pharmacist who owns the business also works in it) and stop pharmacies clustering in one area.

ACT would scrap both. The party points to the Government's own October 2025 Regulatory Impact Statement — a formal review of whether regulations are working — which acknowledged the ownership cap was "not being meaningfully followed," according to ACT. Under the policy, any pharmacy meeting safety and quality standards could open RNZ.

Electronic lockers for prescriptions

The third part of the package is a secure electronic locker system. Patients with stable long-term conditions could collect pre-dispensed medicines at any time using a digital code. Seymour said the e-lockers would be especially useful for rural communities where pharmacy hours may be limited. The lockers would not be used for controlled drugs, refrigerated medicines, or medications requiring monitoring RNZ ACT Party.

What the policy doesn't spell out

The ownership cap and proximity rules have been part of New Zealand's pharmacy regulations for decades. Because the Government's own Regulatory Impact Statement says the ownership cap is not being meaningfully enforced, ACT can argue that removing the rules simply formalises what is already happening, rather than introducing radical change. Whether that argument holds up for community pharmacy operators who bought or built their businesses on the basis of the existing rules is a separate question the announcement does not address.

The same gap applies to expanding pharmacist scope into long-term condition management. Extending pharmacists into chronic care would likely require new funding protocols, clinical governance frameworks and integration with general practice. The announcement is a statement of intent rather than a fully costed implementation plan.

The e-locker proposal is the most concrete element. By restricting it to pre-dispensed medicines for stable conditions and excluding controlled drugs, refrigerated items and medicines needing monitoring, the policy keeps the scope narrow and low-risk. Who pays for the infrastructure — pharmacies, the government, or a mix of both — is not specified.

The wider picture

ACT's policy sits in a broader health landscape where the current coalition government has already moved to expand pharmacist prescribing and minor ailment treatment. ACT is positioning itself to push that direction further and faster, while also deregulating ownership and location rules that the Government's own review has flagged as effectively non-functional.