To help meet the cost of the scheme, you pay a proportion (a ‘co-payment’) for your PBS medicines and the Government pays the rest of the cost. Co-payment amounts are normally adjusted in line with indexation on 1 January each year. From 1 January 2026, pharmacists can discount the concessional patient co-payment by up to a maximum of $0.60, should they choose to do so.
The real cost of your medicine
The co-payment arrangements help ensure that medicines remain affordable. The full cost of your medicine can be found on pbs.gov.au by searching for the medicine and is also shown on the dispensing label.
Brand Premiums
Sometimes people have to pay more than the co-payment for prescriptions. This happens if they choose to use a particular brand of medicine listed on the PBS which costs more than another brand of the same medicine.
Generally the price of a medicine produced by different manufacturers is set at the same price. However, at the request of a manufacturer, the Government may allow an additional charge known as a Brand Premium, which is paid by the consumer. Typically this happens when a medicine comes off patent and a competing brand is listed at a reduced price. There is always a brand available without the extra cost, so you do not need to pay the brand premium if you do not want to.
Therapeutic Group Premiums
Therapeutic Group Premiums can apply to groups of drugs which have similar safety and health outcomes. Within these groups the drugs can be used interchangeably. The Government subsidises all drugs within a group up to the level of the lowest price drug. Any difference between the subsidised price and the price of the drug used by the patient is called a therapeutic group premium and is paid by the patient.
There is always at least one drug within each group without a therapeutic group premium. If for a medical reason you are only able to take a drug with a premium, your doctor can request an exemption.
Special Patient Contributions Other Than Premiums
Special patient contributions can also apply because the Government and the supplier cannot agree on price. In these cases, the product is listed, but you pay more than your co-payment.
Some medicines in the same therapeutic groups may not be interchangeable because of adverse reactions, drug interactions, likely poor compliance with drug use or other reasons. When your doctor believes that there is no clinically proven alternative, the Government will pay the special patient contribution on your behalf.
Veterans and the Repatriation Pharmaceuticals Benefits Scheme
The Department of Veterans’ Affairs administers the Repatriation Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (RPBS) for eligible Australians.