60-Day Prescriptions in Australia: What Changed and What It Costs

The change was led by the Department of Health and Aged Care under the Cheaper Medicines program.

What a 60-day prescription is

A 60-day prescription is a single script that authorises one pharmacy fill of 60 days' worth of medicine, instead of the historic 30-day fill. The script itself is still legally one prescription with its usual repeats. The only thing that changes is the quantity dispensed at each fill.

If your GP prescribes a 60-day supply with five repeats, you get 60 days each time you fill it, for up to six fills total. Over a year that means roughly six pharmacy visits instead of twelve.

Your GP, nurse practitioner, or other authorised prescriber writes the prescription. The pharmacist dispenses against the quantity the prescriber wrote.

Which medicines are eligible

The 60-day rule applies only to medicines on the eligible list maintained by the PBS. The list is built around medicines used for stable, chronic conditions where doubling the dispensed quantity is considered safe.

Eligible categories include common medicines for:

• High blood pressure
• High cholesterol
• Type 2 diabetes (oral medicines, not insulin)
• Asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (some inhalers)
• Heart failure
• Reflux and stomach acid
• Thyroid replacement
• Common psychiatric medicines used long-term
• Combined oral contraceptive pill (for ongoing use)
• Glaucoma eye drops

Some medicines stayed at 30-day supply for safety reasons, including most opioids, some psychotropics, and medicines where the dose is being titrated. The decision sits with the PBS list, not the individual GP. Verify with PBS for the current eligible-substance list at pbs.gov.au.

How to ask your GP about a 60-day script

If you take a regular PBS medicine for a stable condition, raise the question at your next routine GP visit. You do not need a special appointment. The conversation usually takes one minute.

Your GP considers:

• Whether the medicine is on the eligible list
• Whether your condition is stable (no recent dose change, no recent hospitalisation, no new diagnosis)
• Whether you have repeat prescriptions and can manage them safely at home
• Whether you have a history of running out, hoarding, or sharing medicines (in which case 30 days may stay more appropriate)

If the answer is yes on all counts, the GP writes the script for 60 days. There is no extra paperwork.

The savings to you and to the system

For most patients, the 60-day rule does not change the per-fill price. The PBS co-payment of $25 (general) or $7.70 (concession) is the same whether the fill is 30 days or 60 days. The saving is fewer trips to the pharmacy and fewer co-payments across the year.

Worked example for a general patient on one eligible medicine:

• 30-day supply at $25 per fill, 12 fills a year: $300
• 60-day supply at $25 per fill, 6 fills a year: $150
• Annual saving: $150

For concession card holders the same arithmetic gives a saving of up to $46.20 a year on one medicine (12 fills at $7.70 = $92.40 under 30-day supply, versus 6 fills at $7.70 = $46.20 under 60-day supply). The Department of Health and Aged Care estimated when the policy launched that around six million Australians would benefit.

The system also saves. Fewer dispensing fees paid to pharmacies on each item means more headroom in the PBS budget for new medicines. The Pharmacy Guild raised concerns about the impact on pharmacy revenue when the change was announced; the federal government responded with a compensation package for community pharmacies through the Eighth Community Pharmacy Agreement.

When 60-day supply is not appropriate

Your GP should keep you on 30-day supply if:

• Your dose has changed in the last three months
• You have a new diagnosis or recent hospitalisation related to the medicine
• The medicine is for an acute course, not ongoing maintenance
• You are at risk of accidental overdose, deliberate harm, or sharing the medicine
• You have a history of running out of medicines early
• The medicine itself is excluded from the eligible list

For some medicines you may have started on 30-day fills and your GP may extend to 60 days once your dose is stable. This is normal practice.

Impact on your Safety Net

The PBS Safety Net tracks the total spend on PBS medicines for your family across the year. Each PBS co-payment counts once, no matter whether you paid for 30 days or 60.

What this means in practice:

• If you are on 30-day fills you reach the Safety Net threshold faster (more co-payments per year).
• If you are on 60-day fills you reach it slower (half as many co-payments per year).

For 2026 the Safety Net threshold is $1,748.20 for general patients and $277.20 for concession card holders. A family heavily reliant on 60-day medicines for chronic conditions may take longer to qualify but still pays the same dollar amount across the year on those items.

If the Safety Net was carrying you across a high-spend year, the slower accrual under 60-day fills may push your qualification date back. Talk to your pharmacist if you are close to the threshold.

For the full Safety Net detail, see our repeat prescriptions guide.

What happens at the pharmacy on the day

The dispensing transaction looks the same as a 30-day fill. You forward your eScript token or hand over the paper script, the pharmacy fills it, you pay the PBS co-payment, and you walk out with 60 days of medicine.

Three small differences worth knowing:

• Stock holdings vary. A smaller suburban pharmacy may have to order 60 days of supply if they do not regularly stock that quantity. Allow an extra day for first fill, then it is routine.
• Cold-chain medicines (insulin, biologics) at 60-day supply require a larger fridge bag if you are walking home. Ask the pharmacy for an insulated bag at no charge.
• Webster pack patients on 60-day eligible medicines still receive their pack on the usual weekly or fortnightly cycle. The 60-day rule changes how often the prescription is filled, not how often the dose-administration pack is assembled.

Your pharmacist will flag any practical issue at the counter. If a 60-day supply is genuinely impractical (storage, travel, dose changes in progress), ask whether a 30-day fill of the same script is possible. Most pharmacies can split if both you and the prescriber agree.