The PBS Safety Net further reduces the cost of PBS prescription medicines for individuals and families who reach a threshold. You can help your patients by:
- keeping track of their PBS medicines in your dispensing software
- encouraging them to combine their family PBS amounts so they can reach the threshold sooner
- giving them a PBS Safety Net card for use at other pharmacies to get PBS medicines.
Your patients must be eligible for the PBS to get their medicines at the PBS Safety Net cheaper rate. Read more about patient eligibility for the PBS.
The PBS Safety Net thresholds are the spending amounts your patients need to reach before getting even cheaper PBS medicines. They’re updated on 1 January every year.
The table below shows the 2024 PBS Safety Net thresholds and how much your patients pay before and after they reach the threshold.
| Rates for 2024 | General customer | Commonwealth concessional entitlement card holder |
|---|---|---|
| Contribution before reaching the PBS Safety Net threshold | Up to $31.60 | Up to $7.70 |
| PBS Safety Net Threshold | $1,647.90 | $277.20 |
| PBS Safety Net prescription contribution | $7.70 | $0 |
Closing the Gap scripts for general patients, with a cost greater than the general co-payment amount, will count towards the PBS Safety Net threshold at the amount of $42.50.
If your patient chooses a more expensive brand of medicine, they may need to pay more. The extra amount won’t count towards their PBS Safety Net threshold.
Your patients can keep track of their PBS medicines.
You need to charge the first PBS medicine that puts your patient over the threshold at the reduced rate. An example of the PBS Safety Net rate:
Your patient gives you a prescription to fill. The medicine will cost $15.50. Their prescription record form is $10 under the general threshold amount. The cost of the medicine you supply puts them over the threshold. You issue them with a PBS Safety Net card and charge them the PBS Safety Net concession rate.