For concession card holders it is $6.80 for a prescription under the Pharmaceutical Benefit scheme and up to $42.50 if you are not a concession cardholder (only applies to Australian Citizens or permanent Australian residents). If you choose a higher-priced brand of medicine or if your doctor prescribes one, you may need to pay more.
12 months from the date written by the Doctor, for drug of dependence it is 6 months
It is a special benefit scheme applied to Australian Aboriginals, and if endorsed by Doctor, a concession cardholder will not have to pay for a prescription under PBS. For non-concession cardholder it is $6.80 for a prescription under PBS. If you choose a higher-priced brand of medicine or if your doctor prescribes one, you may need to pay more.
To keep the PBS affordable for everyone, PBS prescriptions should not be filled earlier than you need them. Under the Safety Net 20 day rule, an early repeat supply is one that is made within 20 days after a previous supply of the same medicine.
The Safety Net 20 day rule means that if you need to get a repeat for some PBS medicines early, this supply will not count towards your PBS Safety Net threshold. If you have already reached your PBS Safety Net threshold, you will be charged your normal PBS patient contribution instead of the reduced Safety Net amount.
