A re-elected Albanese Government will further reduce the cost of PBS-listed medicines, ensuring that Australians pay no more than $25 a script.
Announced today, the $689 million cost-of-living measure, which will be part of Labor’s budget next week, would see four out of five PBS-listed medicines become cheaper, starting from January 2026.
Pensioners and concession cardholders can continue to take advantage of the freeze to the cost of their PBS medicines, with the $7.70 cost locked in until 2030.
“My Government will continue to deliver cost of living relief for all Australians,” Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said.
“Cheaper medicines is another way we are helping with the cost of living, while putting downward pressure on inflation – our number one focus.”
The last time PBS medicines cost no more than $25 was over 20 years ago, in 2004. This new measure builds on Labor’s most recent reduction, which lowered the maximum cost of a PBS script from $42.50 to $30 during this term. According to the government, it will save Australians over $200 million each year.
Speaking on ABC radio this morning, Federal Health Minister Mark Butler said as many as one million Australians were not filling a script that their doctor had given them due to the cost-of-living crisis.
“When you’ve got a million Australians, and it may be more, saying that
they are not sure they can fill a script that their doctor has said is important for their
health, I’m not sure we can afford not to do this,” Mr Butler said.
“This is just really critical for the country; the ability to work, the ability to participate meaningfully in society. Because if people aren’t going to the doctor, or they’re not filling their scripts, they end up having to be cared for somewhere else in the healthcare system, usually in a more expensive way because they end up sicker. This is a really important investment, not just in cost-of living relief, but in health policy.”
