Cheaper medicines plan progresses
29 Jul 2025
Fulfilling a Federal Election promise, legislation will be introduced to cut the cost of PBS-listed medicines to $25 from next year.
A Federal Government election pledge to lower the cost of Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) medicines for patients is progressing, with legislation to be introduced into Parliament this week.
If passed, the change would see patients paying $25 for PBS-listed medicines from 1 January 2026, down from $31.06 currently.
RACGP President Dr Michael Wright welcomed the plan’s progression, saying affordable medicines and the PBS are an ‘essential component of health access’.
‘Healthcare is a fundamental right, and a key part of that is knowing that when we prescribe an essential medicine, our patients will be able to access it without cost being a burden,’ he said.
‘Our patients will welcome this change. Following the inflation we’ve all experienced, it’s rare for the cost of something essential to decrease.
‘The change to allow GPs and other prescribers to prescribe 60 days of medication for patients with stable conditions put patients first, and we back further savings for the three in five Australians who live with chronic disease.’
The plan comes as pharmacists report customers asking for advice on which script they should fill, or which one to go without, because they cannot afford multiple medications.
Last year, 8% of people delayed or did not get prescription medication when needed due to cost, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics’ Patient Experience Survey.
This jumped to 12.3% for those aged 15–24 years, and 10.9% for people living in areas of most socioeconomic disadvantage.
Health and Ageing Minister Mark Butler said cheaper medicines are ‘terrific for the hip pocket’, with the PBS change bringing prices back to where they were in 2004.
‘There aren’t many health services or health products today that you’ll buy for the same price you could get them in 2004,’ he said.
‘Without the measures we have delivered on cheaper medicines, the co-payment next year for general patients would be more than $50, twice what it will be because of our measures.
‘This again will save about five million Australian patients $200 million a year and will just add to the measures that we have put in place that have already saved Australian patients more than $1.5 billion a year.’
However, the changes come at a time when the PBS is in the international spotlight, with the Australian Government forced to defend the program against the threat of United States tariffs.
‘Our position about the PBS has been unshakable, we won’t be negotiating the elements of our PBS with any other country,’ Minister Butler said.
‘It’s one of the great cornerstones of Australia’s healthcare system. It ensures that Australian patients are able to get access to the world’s best medicines at affordable prices.
