The simple answer is, yes, you can.
An employee can be required to provide a medical certificate to verify absences from work due to illness or injury (personal leave), or absences due to the illness or injury to a member of the employee’s immediate family or household (carer’s leave).
Employees are now starting to obtain a medical certificate to verify a sick day, from their pharmacist.
Pursuant to section Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth), 'medical certificate' means a certificate signed by a medical practitioner.
Arguable a pharmacist is a not a medical practitioner for that purpose.
What employers should do is issue a direction via a policy that:
1. A certificate issued by a Pharmacist is not satisfactory; and
2. Any medical certificate must be issued by a medical practitioner (a General Practitioner or a specialist), otherwise it will be deemed an unauthorised period of absence.
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