Summary
The Australian Government subsidises the cost of many prescription medications through the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) and Repatriation Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (RPBS). This means Australians can access many medicines without paying the full cost of that medicine. Usually, patients pay some amount towards their medications known as the patient ‘co-payment’ amount) while the remainder is covered by the Australian Government. In this report, RPBS data is aggregated with PBS data and reported in a combined statistic for simplicity.
This report outlines trends in the dispensing of PBS prescription medicines over time, including Australian Government spending on prescription medicines. This report focuses on 2 key measures (calculated monthly and annually):
- The average amount of Australian Government spending on PBS prescriptions per person in the population (based on Estimated Residential Population, ERP). This measure is referred to as the PBS expenditure rate or expenditure rate. (This spending does not include patient co-payments and other arrangements such as special patient contributions or optional fees).
- The average number of prescriptions dispensed per person in the population (based on ERP). This is referred to as the PBS prescription rate or prescription rate.
These measures are also used in the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme prescriptions: monthly data – dashboard, which is updated monthly.
Note: measures in this report are based on PBS prescription medicines that are dispensed to a patient by a suitable facility (for example, a community pharmacy). The PBS and RPBS data collection does not contain information on private prescriptions, over-the-counter medicines, off-label prescribing information or on medicines supplied to public hospital in-patients (with some exceptions).
Information on the actual patient prescriptions (such as instructions) written by general practitioners or other prescribers is not captured. Similarly, information on the actual use of PBS prescription medicines by patients is also not captured.
Australians have had a similar number of PBS medicines dispensed over the last 10 years
Between January 2013 and December 2023, there has generally been little change in the number of PBS prescriptions dispensed per person each year.
In the calendar year 2023, an annual average of 13 PBS funded prescriptions were dispensed per person. Medicines prescribed for the cardiovascular system (including antihypertensives, diuretics, beta blocking agents and lipid modifying agents) were the most common medicine class dispensed, with an annual average of 4.2 PBS subsidised prescriptions dispensed per person over the course of 2023.
Government spending on medicines has increased
Australian Government spending on all PBS medicines per person (the PBS expenditure rate) has increased over time. In the financial year 2022-23, this expenditure rate was an average of $641 per person, an increase of 13% (or $72 per person) compared to 2021-22 and an increase of 19% (or $102 per person) compared to 2020-21 (having adjusted for inflation).
This increase in expenditure (compared to changes in previous years) may be due to a variety of factors, including:
- effects of inflation (however, this trend remains having adjusted for inflation)
- the reduction of the general co-payment amount from $42.50 to $30.00 at the start of 2023 – see Changes to the PBS to make medicines more affordable
- a lowering of the Safety Net threshold from 1 July 2022 – see Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme Safety Net threshold reduction from 1 July 2022
- more expensive medicines becoming available on the PBS (including COVID‑19 antivirals).
Some classes of PBS medicines had a higher government expenditure per person during 2023, for example:
- Antineoplastic medicines (which are used to treat cancer) and immunomodulating agents (including immunostimulants and immunosuppressants) were an annual average of $259 per person
- Medicines for the nervous system (including anaesthetics, analgesics (painkillers, opioids), psycholeptics and psychoanaleptics) were an annual average of $56 per person.
In contrast, systemic hormonal preparations (excluding sex hormones and insulins) had some of the lowest expenditure rates, with an annual average of $6.20 per person during 2023.
Dispensing of PBS prescription medicines varies by where people live
A consistent pattern by remoteness has been observed between 2013 and 2023.
- People living in Inner regional areas generally had more PBS prescriptions and a higher level of government spending on dispensed PBS prescription medicines per person. In Inner regional areas, an average of 16 PBS prescriptions were dispensed per person during 2023, with government expenditure on dispensed prescription medicines averaging $796 per person.
- Conversely, people in Very remote areas were dispensed an average of 5.7 prescriptions per person during 2023, with an average government expenditure of $307 per person for dispensed prescription medicines.
People living in lower socioeconomic areas also generally had more PBS prescriptions dispensed and a higher level of government spending on dispensed PBS prescription medicines per person. This pattern has also been consistent since 2013.
- The lowest socioeconomic areas received an average of 15 prescriptions per person during 2023 with government expenditure on those dispensed prescription medicines of $714 per person.
- This is compared with an average of 11 prescriptions per person during 2023 and government expenditure of $606 per person in the highest socioeconomic areas.