Transparency of payments and transfers of value
Medicines Australia is a strong advocate for transparency of payments and other transfers of value provided by the Australian medicines industry to health consumer organisations and healthcare professionals. The purpose of disclosure of payments and other activities is to demonstrate our ongoing commitment to this endeavour. It is our hope that this disclosure will help the general public to better understand the nature and extent of programs we support in the interest of increasing quality use of medicines, advancing patient care and supporting our local communities.
For this reason, and to ensure continued public trust in these relationships, the Code of Conduct includes requirements for reporting of payments and benefits to healthcare professionals (e.g. speaker fees, consultant fees, and advisory board member fees) and greater disclosure of the nature of our relationships with health consumer organisations.
To access the new reports for payments and transfers of value made to healthcare professionals please click here (please follow link)
Refer to the table below for the transparency reporting transition plan, which reflects the updates introduced in Edition 20 of the Code of Conduct.
| Report Type | Period covered | Data Submission | Date Published |
|---|---|---|---|
| Payments and Transfer of value to Healthcare Professionals | 1 January – 30 June 1 July – 31 December |
Due to Disclosure Australia by 31 October Due to Disclosure Australia by 30 April |
10 November 10 May |
| Third-Party Meeting and Symposia Sponsorship and Grants and Donations to Healthcare Organisations | 1 January – 30 June 1 July – 31 December |
Due to Medicines Australia 31 October Due to Medicines Australia 30 April |
10 December 10 June |
| Patient Organisation Support | Calendar year | Due to Medicines Australia 30 April | 30 June |
* Adjustments are only made where the date falls on the weekend, in which case the date will be the Friday before.
Breaching the Code of Conduct
Where a breach of the Code of Conduct is suspected, a complaint can be lodged with the Code of Conduct Committee, an independent body chaired by a trade practices lawyer.
Companies found to have breached the Code of Conduct can be fined up to $300,000.
Medicines Australia invites scrutiny of these activities. We encourage people to lodge a complaint with the independent Code of Conduct Committee where they think company behaviour may be inappropriate.