Commonwealth legislation

National Health (Pharmaceutical Benefits) Regulations 2017

In ForceCTH

Jurisdiction

Commonwealth

Collection

legislative instrument

Plain English Summary

9/10 complexity

This legislation sets out the detailed rules for how the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) operates in Australia. It covers:

Who it affects:

Patients who receive subsidised medicines through the PBS
Pharmacists, doctors, nurses, midwives and optometrists who prescribe and supply pharmaceutical benefits
Hospitals and aged care homes that provide PBS medicines
Pharmaceutical companies that supply medicines to the scheme

What it does:

1. Prescription requirements

Sets out exactly how prescriptions must be written — whether on paper (in duplicate with specific markings) or electronically
Requires specific patient details, drug identification, quantities, and prescriber information
Special rules for "medication chart prescriptions" used in hospitals and residential aged care

2. Electronic prescriptions

Establishes a framework for electronic prescriptions, including approved IT systems and communication methods
Requires healthcare identifiers and conformance identifiers in electronic prescriptions

3. Supply and dispensing rules

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Direct links to the current provisions in National Health (Pharmaceutical Benefits) Regulations 2017.

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Sourced from the Federal Register of Legislation (legislation.gov.au), CC BY 4.0.