A NSW man who falsely held himself out as a registered pharmacist has been fined $10,000 and ordered to pay legal costs of $4,000, after being convicted in court last Thu.
A sentencing hearing ordered the penalties for Michael Simon, who was alleged to have worked as a pharmacist between 25 and 29 Jun 2018 at a family-owned pharmacy in the Sydney suburb of Randwick.
Simon has never held registration under the National Law, and is not eligible to be registered.
The conduct was identified when an inspector with the Pharmacy Council of NSW conducted a routine inspection of the pharmacy, noting a sign near the dispensary which indicated that Michael George Simon was the Pharmacist in Charge.
The inspector could not find details for Simon on the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA) public register, and ordered the pharmacy to be closed before referring the matter to AHPRA which later charged him.
AHPRA CEO Martin Fletcher said the case demonstrated AHPRA's work to protect health consumers, saying "claiming to be registered as a pharmacist when you're not violates the trust of patients and the community.
"It creates a significant risk to the health and safety of the public and AHPRA will take all necessary steps to protect Australia's health consumers against such unscrupulous claims."
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