UFS Dispensaries Ltd. is a mutual organisation owned entirely by its members that operates on a not-for-profit basis as a social enterprise. Its core focus is to improve the health of its members and the local community. UFS has cared for generations of families in Ballarat and the western region since opening its first dispensary in Ballarat in 1881.

Today UFS owns and operates eleven pharmacies in Ballarat as well as two in Bacchus Marsh, two in Gisborne, two in Melton, one in Ballan and one in Beaufort. UFS also operates three pharmacies in Coburg in Melbourne’s inner-north, on behalf of another mutual organisation, Friendly Pharmacy (Victoria) Ltd., with these pharmacies operating under the UFS banner. Other business units of UFS include UFS Medical, Supercare Nursing Services and the Peace & Quiet day spa.

UFS is a significant local employer of choice with over 500 full-time, part-time and casual staff including pharmacists, dispensary assistants, pharmacy assistants, retail staff, contracted general practitioners, practice nurses, allied health practitioners, beauty therapists and remedial therapists, as well as positions in management, administration, warehouse and delivery services.

As a mutual organisation, UFS is a public company limited by guarantee and is governed by an elected Board of Directors. Any profits generated are reinvested in the business, and are used to improve services for its members, offer member discounts, invest in its people and support the local communities in which it operates through its sponsorship and donations program.