Genuine 24-hour pharmacies are rare in Australia. The clearest concentration is in Adelaide, where SA Health lists four community pharmacies that are open around the clock (24/7 pharmacies, SA Health). Elsewhere the numbers are small and they change, so the reliable way to find one is to check what is open near you right now. This guide covers why round-the-clock pharmacies are so uncommon, how to find one that is genuinely open, and what to do when nothing near you is. For the wider picture, see our find a pharmacy guide and the late-night pharmacy guide.
General information, not medical advice
This guide explains how things work in general. It cannot tell you what is right for you, so check anything that affects you with your pharmacist or GP.
Always read the label and follow the directions for use.
Based on official Australian government and health sources. Rules can change.
Why are genuine 24-hour pharmacies rare?
Two factors make an all-night pharmacy hard to run. Pharmacy laws generally require a pharmacist to supervise a pharmacy while it is open. In Victoria, for example, a pharmacy must be "personally supervised by a registered pharmacist at all times it is open for business" (Victorian Pharmacy Authority guidelines), so an overnight shift is expensive to staff. And in most suburbs, demand falls away sharply after midnight, which can make trading through the night hard to sustain.
South Australia is the exception. SA Health lists four community pharmacies in the Adelaide area that are open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, including public holidays, as one of its community pharmacy initiatives (24/7 pharmacies, SA Health). Elsewhere, 24-hour pharmacies are few and their hours can change from year to year.
How do you find one that is open near you?
Because the picture changes, a fixed list goes stale quickly, so Pharmacy Finder gives you two live views instead, and they do different jobs.
The open-now view shows pharmacies that are open at this moment, worked out from their registered hours. The late-night view lists the pharmacies that trade well into the evening, whether or not they happen to be open right this minute. For an overnight need, the open-now view is the place to start.
You can narrow the late-night view by state, and the pharmacies near you page lists pharmacies close to your location, with filters for open now and open late. Because registered hours can change at short notice, and can differ on public holidays, it is worth phoning a pharmacy to confirm before making a long trip.
A pharmacy that trades overnight can change its hours at short notice. The open-now view reflects each pharmacy's current opening hours, so it is the honest answer to what is open tonight.
What can you do when nothing is open?
If nothing near you is trading and you need medicine overnight, you have four practical options, none of which involves driving to the city on the chance something is open.
Healthdirect on 1800 022 222. A registered nurse answers at any hour (Contact us, healthdirect). They can tell you whether your situation needs care tonight or can safely wait until morning. If you have run out of a regular medicine, a pharmacist may be able to help through continued dispensing, where a pharmacist supplies a further standard quantity of an eligible regular Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) medicine without a new prescription. This is available once in a 12-month period, and only when your prescriber cannot be reached (Continued dispensing, PBS).
An after-hours home doctor service. Healthdirect notes that after-hours general practitioner (GP) services may offer home visits or telehealth appointments, and that some bulk bill while others charge a fee (After-hours health services, healthdirect). Bulk billing means the service bills Medicare and you do not pay (Bulk billing, Services Australia), so it is worth confirming the cost when you book. If you need a prescription urgently and have no script on hand, a home visit can be quicker than an emergency department.
A hospital emergency department. Healthdirect advises going to a hospital emergency department for severe or urgent conditions, including a heart attack or stroke, problems with breathing, serious injuries or a severe mental health concern, and calling triple zero (000) for an ambulance in an emergency (After-hours health services, healthdirect).
Delivery from a pharmacy that is open. Some pharmacies offer home delivery, and delivery times vary between pharmacies, so it is worth asking how late a pharmacy delivers. See our pharmacy delivery guide for how delivery works, what it costs and how fridge medicines are handled.
Is late trading or delivery usually enough?
For most overnight needs, a pharmacy open until late evening does the job: you wait an hour, drive a short way, and fill your script. A genuine 24-hour pharmacy matters in a narrow set of cases, a 3am need, a public-holiday emergency, or when no one in your household can collect for you.
Delivery has changed the picture too. If a pharmacy near you offers same-evening delivery and you order before the cut-off, you may not need to leave home at all, and for a regular medicine, filling the repeat a few days early avoids the problem entirely. Schedule 8 medicines (controlled drugs) are worth planning for, because each state and territory sets extra rules on how they are supplied. In New South Wales, for example, a pharmacist who sends a Schedule 8 medicine by courier must keep evidence of its delivery (Pharmacists frequently asked questions, NSW Health), so it is worth asking the pharmacy whether it will deliver them.
Talk to someone now
Free advice for questions about a medicine, dose, or interaction.
Frequently asked questions
Only a handful, and the number changes. The largest cluster is in Adelaide, where SA Health lists four pharmacies that trade 24 hours a day, seven days a week (24/7 pharmacies, SA Health). A small, changing number operate in other capital cities, which is why the current open-now view tells you more than any headline number.
You can use the open-now view to see what is trading at this moment, and the late-night view for pharmacies open into the evening, which you can narrow by state. The pharmacies near you page lists pharmacies close to your location. Because hours change often, a live view and a quick phone call are the surest way to confirm.
SA Health lists four community pharmacies in the Adelaide area that are open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, including public holidays, as one of its community pharmacy initiatives (24/7 pharmacies, SA Health). Few other parts of Australia have a comparable group of 24-hour pharmacies.
Call Healthdirect on 1800 022 222. A registered nurse can advise what type of care you need, including whether you should see an after-hours GP or go to an emergency department (After-hours health services, healthdirect). A pharmacist may also be able to supply a regular medicine without a new prescription through continued dispensing, once in a 12-month period, if you meet the conditions (Continued dispensing, PBS). In an emergency, call 000.
It varies from pharmacy to pharmacy. Our public holiday hours guide covers the patterns; the short version is to fill anything you will need a couple of days ahead and to phone the pharmacy on the day, because listed hours can differ on public holidays.
Often, yes, if a pharmacy near you offers delivery. Schedule 8 medicines (controlled drugs) have extra supply rules set by each state and territory, so it is worth asking the pharmacy whether it can deliver them (Pharmacists frequently asked questions, NSW Health). See our pharmacy delivery guide for the detail.
