{"id":"F2020L00018","name":"National Health (Continued Dispensing – Emergency Measures) Determination 2020","slug":"national-health-continued-dispensing-emergency-measures-determination-2020","collection":"legislative_instrument","jurisdiction":"commonwealth","status":"repealed","isInForce":false,"actNumber":null,"makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":100557,"registerId":"commonwealth-F2020L00018-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-02","status":"Repealed","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"Part 1","sectionType":"part","heading":"Preliminary","content":"## Part 1—Preliminary","sortOrder":0},{"sectionNumber":"1.01","sectionType":"section","heading":"Name","content":"#### 1.01 Name\n\n  This instrument is the National Health (Continued Dispensing – Emergency Measures) Determination 2020.","sortOrder":1},{"sectionNumber":"1.03","sectionType":"section","heading":"Authority","content":"#### 1.03 Authority\n\n  This instrument is made under subsection 89A(3) of the National Health Act 1953.","sortOrder":2},{"sectionNumber":"1.04","sectionType":"section","heading":"Definitions","content":"#### 1.04 Definitions\n\n  (1) In this determination:\n\n> Act means the National Health Act 1953.\n\n> prescriber bag provisions has the meaning given by subsection 84(1) of the Act.\n\n> PSA Guidelines means the document titled Guidelines for the Continued Dispensing of eligible prescribed medicines by pharmacists, issued by the Pharmaceutical Society of Australia.\n\n> requested supply: see subsection 2.01(1).\n\n  (2) In this determination, the following terms have the same meaning as in Part VII of the Act:\n     approved pharmacist\n     listed brand\n     PBS prescriber\n     pharmaceutical benefit\n     pharmaceutical item.\n     Schedule equivalent","sortOrder":3},{"sectionNumber":"1.05","sectionType":"section","heading":"Purpose","content":"#### 1.05 Purpose\n\n  This determination specifies the pharmaceutical benefits that may be supplied, and the conditions that must be satisfied when those pharmaceutical benefits are supplied, by an approved pharmacist without a current prescription, but on the basis of a previous prescription from a PBS prescriber.","sortOrder":4},{"sectionNumber":"1.06","sectionType":"section","heading":"Operation of this instrument","content":"#### 1.06 Operation of this instrument\n\n  This instrument does not apply to the following:\n    (a) the supply of pharmaceutical benefits in accordance with special arrangements under section 100 of Act; and\n    (b) the supply of pharmaceutical benefits under the prescriber bag provisions under Part VII of the Act.","sortOrder":5},{"sectionNumber":"Part 2","sectionType":"part","heading":"Conditions","content":"## Part 2—Conditions","sortOrder":6},{"sectionNumber":"2.01","sectionType":"section","heading":"General","content":"#### 2.01 General\n\n  (1) For paragraph 89A(3)(b) of the Act, this Part sets out the conditions that must be satisfied when making a supply (the requested supply) of a pharmaceutical benefit to a person under subsection 89A(1) of the Act.\n  (2) An approved pharmacist must consider the PSA Guidelines when:\n    (a) satisfying the conditions set out in this Part; or\n    (b) deciding whether those conditions are satisfied.\n  (3) In this Part:\n    (a) a reference to the person is a reference to the person who requested the supply of a pharmaceutical benefit under subsection 89A(1) of the Act; and\n    (b) a reference to the PBS prescriber is a reference to the PBS prescriber who most recently prescribed the supply of the pharmaceutical benefit to the person.\n    (c) a reference to “the pharmaceutical benefit” in sections 2.03, 2.05, 2.06 and 2.07 includes a pharmaceutical benefit that is Schedule equivalent.","sortOrder":7},{"sectionNumber":"2.02","sectionType":"section","heading":"Not practicable to obtain prescription","content":"#### 2.02 Not practicable to obtain prescription\n\n  A condition is that the approved pharmacist is satisfied that it is not practicable for the person to obtain a prescription for the pharmaceutical benefit from a PBS prescriber before the person needs the supply of the pharmaceutical benefit.","sortOrder":8},{"sectionNumber":"2.03","sectionType":"section","heading":"Previous supply of pharmaceutical benefit","content":"#### 2.03 Previous supply of pharmaceutical benefit\n\n  A condition is that the approved pharmacist is satisfied that:\n    (a) the person has previously been supplied the pharmaceutical benefit on the basis of a prescription from a PBS prescriber; and\n    (b) the PBS prescriber prescribed the supply of the pharmaceutical benefit for the person in at least one of the circumstances determined for that pharmaceutical benefit under paragraph 85(7)(b) of the Act.\n\n> Note: The circumstances determined under paragraph 85(7)(b) of the Act relate to pharmaceutical benefits that are relevant pharmaceutical benefits under section 88A of the Act.","sortOrder":9},{"sectionNumber":"2.04","sectionType":"section","heading":"Stability of therapy","content":"#### 2.04 Stability of therapy\n\n  A condition is that the approved pharmacist is satisfied that the person’s therapy is stable.","sortOrder":10},{"sectionNumber":"2.05","sectionType":"section","heading":"Prior clinical review by PBS prescriber","content":"#### 2.05 Prior clinical review by PBS prescriber\n\n  A condition is that the approved pharmacist is satisfied that:\n    (a) the person has been taking the pharmaceutical benefit regularly for an uninterrupted period; and\n    (b) since the start of that period, the PBS prescriber has assessed the person’s condition and decided that there is a need for ongoing treatment with the pharmaceutical benefit.\n\n> Note: See paragraph 2.01(3)(b) for references to the PBS prescriber.","sortOrder":11},{"sectionNumber":"2.06","sectionType":"section","heading":"Prescription for last supply of pharmaceutical benefit","content":"#### 2.06 Prescription for last supply of pharmaceutical benefit\n\n  A condition is that the approved pharmacist is satisfied that the person had a valid prescription under Part VII of the Act for the last supply of the pharmaceutical benefit to the person before the requested supply.","sortOrder":12},{"sectionNumber":"2.07","sectionType":"section","heading":"Continued dispensing in previous 12 months","content":"#### 2.07 Continued dispensing in previous 12 months\n\n  A condition is that the approved pharmacist is satisfied that the person was not supplied with the pharmaceutical benefit under subsection 89A(1) of the Act in the 12 months before the requested supply.","sortOrder":13},{"sectionNumber":"2.08","sectionType":"section","heading":"Declaration by person supplied with pharmaceutical benefit","content":"#### 2.08 Declaration by person supplied with pharmaceutical benefit\n\n  A condition is that the person, or an agent of the person (other than the approved pharmacist), signs a declaration acknowledging that the person is being supplied with the pharmaceutical benefit without the presentation of a valid prescription under Part VII of the Act.","sortOrder":14},{"sectionNumber":"2.09","sectionType":"section","heading":"Maximum quantity of supply","content":"#### 2.09 Maximum quantity of supply\n\n  A condition is that the approved pharmacist supplies the quantity or number of units of the pharmaceutical item in the pharmaceutical benefit determined under paragraph 85A(2)(a) of the Act that is the same quantity or number of units of the pharmaceutical item that was previously supplied under the prescription referred to in section 2.06.","sortOrder":15},{"sectionNumber":"2.10","sectionType":"section","heading":"Preparing and recording information","content":"#### 2.10 Preparing and recording information\n\n  (1) A condition is that, when the pharmaceutical benefit is supplied, the approved pharmacist:\n    (a) records the information that the pharmacist used to support his or her decision to supply the pharmaceutical benefit; and\n    (b) prepares information about the supply that the pharmacist will send to the PBS prescriber.\n\n> Note: See the PSA Guidelines for guidance about when the information should be sent to the PBS prescriber.\n\n  (2) The information that must be recorded and prepared includes the following:\n    (a) a statement that the pharmaceutical benefit supplied is a pharmaceutical benefit determined under paragraph 89A(3)(a) of the Act;\n    (b) a statement that the conditions mentioned in sections 2.02 to 2.05 are satisfied;\n    (c) a statement that the approved pharmacist is satisfied that the pharmaceutical benefit needs to be supplied to the person to facilitate continuity of treatment.","sortOrder":16},{"sectionNumber":"Part 3","sectionType":"part","heading":"Pharmaceutical benefits","content":"## Part 3—Pharmaceutical benefits","sortOrder":17},{"sectionNumber":"3.01","sectionType":"section","heading":"Pharmaceutical benefits","content":"#### 3.01 Pharmaceutical benefits\n\n  (1) For subsection 89A(3)(a) of the Act, an approved pharmacist may supply without a prescription a pharmaceutical benefit, being any listed brand of a pharmaceutical item mentioned in Schedule 1.\n  (2) For subsection (1), the pharmaceutical item is the listed drug mentioned in Schedule 1:\n    (a) in the form mentioned in Schedule 1 for the listed drug; and\n    (b) with the manner of administration mentioned in Schedule 1 for the form of the listed drug.","sortOrder":18}],"analysis":{"summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":2,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"This is a standalone determination made under subsection 89A(3) of the National Health Act 1953. It does not amend any other instrument; it establishes a temporary or emergency framework for continued dispensing."},"complexity_factors":["Incorporates external guidelines (PSA Guidelines) as a compliance consideration","Contains multiple, interlocking conditions that pharmacists must be satisfied about before supplying","References numerous sections of the National Health Act 1953 and related PBS concepts"],"plain_english_summary":"This determination lets approved pharmacists temporarily dispense certain PBS medicines without a current prescription, relying on a prior valid PBS prescription when it’s genuinely impracticable for a patient to obtain a new script. It’s an emergency continuity measure for patients on ongoing therapy and their community pharmacists (excluding s.100 or prescriber-bag supplies).\n\nPharmacists must be satisfied the medicine was previously prescribed, therapy is stable, the last supply was valid, supply matches the last quantity, the patient signs a declaration, records are kept, and the prescriber is notified; permitted medicines are listed in Schedule 1."}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/national-health-continued-dispensing-emergency-measures-determination-2020","history":"/api/acts/national-health-continued-dispensing-emergency-measures-determination-2020/history","analysis":"/api/acts/national-health-continued-dispensing-emergency-measures-determination-2020/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/national-health-continued-dispensing-emergency-measures-determination-2020/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/national-health-continued-dispensing-emergency-measures-determination-2020/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/national-health-continued-dispensing-emergency-measures-determination-2020/documents"}}