Copyright of the guidelines rested with VDUAC which continued to be responsible for the writing groups until the TGL company was formed in 1996. The Antibiotic Committee of the VMPF continued to operate as the steering group.

A Ministerial Working Party to Review Drug Usage in Public Hospitals, set up in 1983, had included Mary Hemming and John Spicer, with Neil Naismith as chairman. Their report recommended that Antibiotic Guidelines should be distributed by an agent other than the Health Commission. When VDUAC began operating in 1986, Neil Naismith was appointed VDUAC’s chairman, and Mary Hemming its executive pharmacist. Laurie Mashford was the Victorian Medical Postgraduate Foundation’s (VMPF’s) representative and Rob Moulds represented The Royal Australasian College of Physicians. There were five other members. Rob Moulds, Laurie Mashford and Mary Hemming were also on the VMPF Therapeutics Committee.)

VDUAC’s terms of reference included prescribing practices, educational activities to improve these, and the development of guidelines for drug treatment of certain significant diseases, especially those involving high cost therapy.

The future of the Antibiotic Project was discussed at the first meeting of VDUAC, and recommendations were made to the Health Department of Victoria to continue to fund it and expand and publish new guidelines titles.

VDUAC’s annual funding included $130,000 for the guidelines program. It covered salaries for the executive pharmacist Mary Hemming and part-time secretary Helen Nicholas, as well as costs of the VDUAC office at The Royal Melbourne Hospital. A member of VDUAC usually chaired the guidelines writing groups, and it supported the distribution and evaluation of the guidelines by the Antibiotic Committee of the VMPF.