pharmacist

pharmacy intern

pharmacy assistant

pharmacist in charge

pharmacy technician

Chemist Warehouse

I've worked as full-time and part-time and in both cases I was treated awfully. As a full-timer they overwork you and give you things to do but never enough time to do them. There's no appreciation for hard work and although they pay award rates, it isn't enough to compensate for the stress and pressure that they put on you. When they need you to make a decision they intimidate you and don't give you time to consider your options.
Working as a pharmacy assistant I learned how to lie to customers about products because although they train you how to run the store, they don't train you about anything to do with medical stuff unless you are a dispensary staff member. Big difference there in treatment.
Management is awful, even if you have a good store manager, they are controlled by their own bosses who often interfere with your work and make you feel like you are bad at your job and that you are replaceable. 
If you take a job here, be prepared to have your shifts cut without proper paperwork, to not get paid overtime if you are part-time unless you fight for it and to have to take significant time off from work and life due to the stress levels. But don't expect them to be nice about you taking sick leave either. Ever. Because even though you will work in a place that means you can catch a cold or other illnesses quite easily and you won't want to spread your sickness to customers or other employees, you'll get treated poorly for staying home.
The most enjoyable part of the job is when they contact me in the late evenings about work related things instead of just waiting until the morning like a decent person. It's so fun to get messages at 11pm asking if you can work extra hours the following week.

ive worked at three locations, all have been the same. 

(1) megalomaniac, inflexible and condescending management. special shout out to the sunbury stores where the managers will patronise you, give u the same mundane instructions repeatedly as though u are a child, and in general, treat u as though u are a burden. 

(2) expect no training.  in fact, they were lucky i had previous employers who took OHS seriously, because they sent me to a training session 6 months after i started my employment with them. not even as much as an instruction on how to correctly lift a heavy box, use a box cutter or use a ladder. however, for being beginning the working life, not being shown how to do those things can be seriously detrimental. at chemist warehouse prices are low, and staff safety is lower. 

(3) have u read orwells 1984? well, chemist warehouse is the manifestation of that dystopia. management watch u on cameras, its uncomfortable, unnecessary, and probably illegal. 

(4) their environmental impact is atrocious. ticket prices are changed every two weeks, with massive amounts of paper thrown in the rubbish - not recycle. when i suggested management implement a more environmentally friendly policy, i was dismissed. who cares about the environment when ur making money, right? 

(5) anti-competitive and customer manipulation. they own wagner and healthy care and force u to promote those brands, even though the pharmacists ive spoken to agree that those arent the best for customers. additionally, part of the job involves deceiving customers by putting fluorescent pink tickets which display the regular price, not a price that is on sale. i hate having to lie so they can get wealthier. 

overall, just run as quickly as u can away from CWH

Customers are not REAL customers. Stores are full of daigou shoppers who are only there to resell the products for a profit in China. The shop is so busy and hectic there is no real customer service at all. 
In fact staff get told off for spending too long with any one customer, being told that you are wasting company time. Not to mention the serious OH&S breaches littered throughout the whole store. 
The tiny aisles are near impossible to manoeuvre in, especially with warehouse boxes full of stock we need to refill the shelves with. Fire exits and fire extinguishers are blocked with mountains of stock... thank goodness there hasn't been a fire hazard yet. The staff fridge has had cockroaches found inside of it at one point and we are expected to use that same fridge still everyday. Everything is filthy and disorganised. Shelves have never been cleaned for years. 
Pay is award rate but they are extra sneaky, they will only roster you consistently if you are a pharmacy student, pharmacist or in the vitamin aisle. Speaking of which there is a huge bias towards Chinese speaking staff because management are all Chinese and in on the daigou business. No career progression, pharmacists with actual degrees are being paid less than casual staff. If you are a serious pharmacist who values patient care you wouldn't be caught dead in this store. Most pharmacists and pharmacy students want to leave this company as soon as they find another position anyway and I think that says a lot about the company. Also staff discounts are only 10%.

Managers are hit and miss. You may get a good one or you may get one that is a total bully. My old manager was great but after moving to a new store I got stuck with a manager who bullied staff, belittled them in front of other staff and also made us do product training in our tea breaks. The once a month catalogue training isn't paid training and we are expected to do it in the evening after work. It is not compulsory but you will be made to feel bad if you don't go. The pay is absolutely terrible, pharmacy award wage is one of the lowest in the country. You will only ever earn about $21 an hour which is ridiculous considering all the training you will be made to do, the amount of abuse you will cop from customers and the how hard you will be expected to work. It's Chaos. I am also completely disgusted and embarrassed by the amount of waste this company produces especially every two weeks on catalogue day when all the old tickets are thrown in the bin (not recycled) and new ones are put up. It is often the same product on special with the same ticket price just a different expiry date. Such a waste of paper. In addition to this all the promotional material -  batwings, gondola headers, display boxes, security gate covers etc (a lot of which is plastic) are all changed fortnightly or monthly and usually thrown in the bin and then often replaced with exactly the same promotional material. So much waste in a world drowning in rubbish. I am ashamed I contributed to this for as long as I did.  All that matters is money.

For such a large company you know they will be around and COVID was the best thing for them. Also for the workers to have a job during the lockdown. Pay is not bad fortnightly and like clockwork but they have underpaid me a few times ... Never overpay! funny that! And I'm the sort of person that would say hey you over paid me but at least get my normal pay correct.
 Holidays has been an issue been told when to take time off and when it suits the company rather when you want to which kind of defeats the purpose of a Holiday when you have to take it if you can take and can't book it unless it is approved which can be an issue like Christmas Easter. 4 years later not one Christmas off like wait what... Merry Christmas!  A lot of cutbacks and automation to remove labour which is understandable but we are all expandable. You pretty need a doctor's certificate for any time you are sick or your kid is sick. Everytime! Is it a migraine in the middle of the day for to the doctor which you can't find an appointment. 

+Good pay 
+ Overtime
+Safety 🛟 
+Some cool people
+Public holidays and RDO (non paid)
+ 4 day week 6-4 or 6-2 for 5 day week
+Tiny gym available to all employees ,

-No career progression and they encourage internally to apply for a position only to hire someone externally to leave the company during probationary period.
- Easter and Christmas time off is almost impossible due to not enough employees to run the place on a daily basis it used to be really good but that has changed.
- $28-30 for base rate isn't enough for especially with the revenues the company makes and smaller businesses are around the 25-28 mark.





The minimum wage pay is simply not worth the stressful environment that management will put their employees under. The retail aspect of the store takes itself too seriously. If you make a mistake, it will be brought up, no matter how small it is. This is because there are cameras at every single corner of the store. If you feel uncomfortable because you feel like you’re being watched your entire shift, that is because you are being stalked.

They only look for your mistakes. Don’t expect to be rewarded or applauded for handling poor customers greatly or stocking shelves at a fast pace. Managers only want to put you down. 

Management has not had corporate training and are simply employees who have survived that far at the place. They do not know what they are doing, don’t understand how to compromise with their employees, and will do everything in their power to keep their power and ensure you do not touch it.

With management so tight, you best believe that some employees will throw you under the bus to avoid being told off. This isn’t all employees, but only some. The work environment forces this behaviour.

Only take a job here if you are trying to get your foot in the door of the retail or pharmacy door. If you already have that experience, you can do better.



A typical day at Chemist Warehouse was fast‑paced and involved customer service, stock management, assisting with supplements, and supporting the pharmacy team during busy periods. I learned a lot about working in a high‑volume retail pharmacy, including multitasking, prioritising tasks, and maintaining professionalism under pressure.
The workplace culture could be challenging at times, particularly around communication and leadership when managers were not on site. On some shifts, expectations were unclear and concerns were raised without full context, which could make staff feel judged rather than supported. Clearer communication and more consistent leadership would have improved team morale and efficiency.
The hardest part of the job was managing inconsistent instructions and feeling under pressure despite making an effort to help during staff shortages or while unwell. The most enjoyable part was helping customers, supporting colleagues, and gaining hands‑on experience in a busy community pharmacy environment.

Working in various places around the world has provided me with a broad perspective on different work environments, and my experience at this store has been particularly eye-opening regarding certain challenges in the workplace. This job has definitely taught me patience. While some younger employees may perceive this as a fair position, the reality often is that the effort put in surpasses the compensation received. Believing that the pay is sufficient might be an oversight because, in reality, much of our hard work primarily benefits the owners financially. Many colleagues work diligently under the belief that hard work in sales is essential, but if the benefits of those sales don't reflect back on the employees adequately, it leads to the question: why should we care as much? If you find yourself in this job, it might be best to adjust your investment in the work—do what's required, but remember that your true value should be recognized and compensated accordingly by the owners. Ultimately, the mindset should be that if the owner expects us to contribute significantly to their wealth, appropriate compensation should follow.

Working for a multi-billion-dollar company with countless store locations, the work culture and management is going to change vastly between each one. However, overall, you're working for a giant corporation with thousands of employees, so surprise surprise, they don't give two tosses about you.
Thankfully I get along with most people at my store and the culture is pretty cute.

Work security is fantastic as it's permanent part/full time. Advancement opportunities though are almost non-existent to most staff, as they don't want to spend any more money than they need. 
Personally, I take on weekend manager responsibilities without the pay or job title as my manager just expects it of me at this point.

Staff get 10% off most things
We get lots of free stuff when it is taken of the shelf for being expired or almost at expiry.

Pay is minimum wage.

My store manager is a fantastic woman - but management above her is terrible.

If you're just a kid in high school or even studying in uni I would actually recommend working at a CWH as a first job or just to make some money while you study - but if you're looking for a 'career' then definitely stay away.

Overworked, understaffed underappreciated.
Essentially you're just a number. 
Extremely poor culture with terrible pay.
If you're going to be a number, at least get paid like one.

Very easy to gain full time employment if you're young, but you won't want to be here at all.
If you're slightly older it will be harder to gain employment, don't believe me?
Go into a Chemist warehouse and check out the staff, odds are the older ones are seasoned employees and they're outnumbered.
More mature people are less likely to put up with my next point:
Very toxic management who will degrade and mismanage you,  because its extremely obvious they themselves have no management experience outside of Chemist Warehouse, which is as sad as it is extremely funny, seeing them fumble their way around staffing, culture, and basic managment problems/issues.


 These are people range from being responsible for multiple stores managers or "assisting" stores in a "support" role.

These "managers" and "support workers"  are the extremely dangerous mix of arrogant, inexperienced, stupid and vindictive. 
Especially in this store.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Pharmacist 10 salaries reported	$34.40 per hour
Pharmacy intern 3 salaries reported	$29.00 per hour
Pharmacy assistant 25 salaries reported	$26.00 per hour
Pharmacist in charge 9 salaries reported	$84,444 per year
Pharmacy technician 7 salaries reported	$67,857 per year

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