National Health (Weighted average disclosed price – April 2026 reduction day) Determination 2025

This instrument, the National Health (Weighted average disclosed price - April 2026 reduction day) Determination 2025 (PB 161 of 2025), records determinations under the National Health Act 1953 that set specified weighted average disclosed prices, fix adjusted approved ex-manufacturer prices for a subset of brands and establishes a reduction day for those brands listed in Schedule 1. The instrument is made under subsection 99ADB(4) and paragraph 99ADH(1)(aa) of the Act (s 4). Mechanically it does the following.

• Repeal: It repeals the earlier Determination titled the National Health (Weighted average disclosed price - October 2025 reduction day) Determination 2025 (PB 71 of 2025) (s 3). That prior instrument is removed from the statute book by this instrument.
• Commencement: The whole instrument takes effect the day after it is registered; the instrument records that date of registration as 20 December 2025 in the published commencement table (s 2 and the commencement table). The instrument explicitly notes that information recorded in the "Date/Details" column of the table is not part of the instrument (s 2(2)).
• Weighted average disclosed prices: For brands listed in Schedule 1, the instrument determines the weighted average disclosed price for each brand to be the amount specified in column 3 of the Schedule 1 table (s 6(a)). That determination applies in respect of a data collection period for those brands that ends on 30 September 2025 (s 6(b)). For brands listed in Schedule 2 the instrument likewise determines the weighted average disclosed price to be the amount specified in column 3 of the Schedule 2 table, and that determination also applies in respect of the data collection period ending 30 September 2025 (s 9(a)-(b)).
• Adjusted approved ex-manufacturer price: For brands in Schedule 1 the instrument sets the adjusted approved ex-manufacturer price equal to the weighted average disclosed price determined under s 6 (s 7).
• Reduction day: For each brand listed in Schedule 1 the instrument gives a reduction day of 1 April 2026 (s 8). The instrument expressly records that it does not determine a reduction day for the brands in Schedule 2 (s 9, final note).

Procedurally the instrument is a statutory determination: it operates by giving the Minister’s determination under the National Health Act effect by specifying amounts and dates in its schedules and named clauses (s 6-9). The source text provided does not include the schedules themselves, but the operative clauses refer to column 2 (brand) and column 3 (amount) of tables in Schedule 1 and Schedule 2. Where the instrument invokes terms such as “weighted average disclosed price”, “adjusted approved ex-manufacturer price”, and “data collection period”, it notes that a number of these expressions are defined in s 99ADB of the Act (s 5).

The instrument contains no separate penalty, appeal or enforcement clause. It records its statutory basis and the numerical and calendar determinations that will engage whatever procedural and enforcement mechanisms exist under the Act. The immediate legal effects are therefore: (1) a statutory change (or setting) of weighted average disclosed prices for the listed brands for the stated data collection period; (2) an administrative setting of adjusted approved ex-manufacturer price equal to that weighted average for Schedule 1 brands; and (3) the setting of the reduction day for Schedule 1 brands as 1 April 2026.

The instrument uses a narrow set of statutory concepts and applies them to the brands listed in two Schedules. The principal legal constructs it operates through are: weighted average disclosed price, adjusted approved ex-manufacturer price, data collection period, and reduction day. The instrument also uses the mechanics of statutory determinations under the National Health Act 1953.

Weighted average disclosed price: The instrument determines, for each brand listed in Schedule 1 and Schedule 2, that the brand’s weighted average disclosed price is the amount specified in column 3 of the relevant schedule item (s 6(a); s 9(a)). The instrument states that these determinations are made “for subsection 99ADB(4) of the Act,” indicating that these are the Ministerial price determinations provided for in that statutory subsection (s 6 and s 9). The instrument also states that the determinations apply in respect of a data collection period that ends on 30 September 2025 (s 6(b); s 9(b)). The instrument itself does not define the arithmetic or data used to calculate a weighted average disclosed price; instead it relies on the definition and mechanism in s 99ADB of the Act, as noted in the Definitions clause (s 5).

Adjusted approved ex-manufacturer price: For brands in Schedule 1 the instrument makes the adjusted approved ex-manufacturer price equal to the weighted average disclosed price determined under s 6 (s 7). The instrument signals the statutory link between the Minister’s determination of weighted average disclosed price and the adjusted approved ex-manufacturer price by explicit formulaic equality. The instrument also includes a note that subsection 99ADB(7) of the Act provides that a determination under 99ADB(4) may include the adjusted approved ex-manufacturer price (s 7 Note).

Reduction day: For each Schedule 1 brand the instrument fixes a reduction day of 1 April 2026 (s 8). The reduction day is a date identified by the instrument “for paragraph 99ADH(1)(aa) of the Act,” which implies that a statutory mechanism in paragraph 99ADH(1)(aa) is engaged once the reduction day is set (s 8). The instrument is explicit that it does not determine a reduction day for Schedule 2 brands (s 9, final note).

Data collection period: The instrument repeatedly ties its price determinations to a data collection period that ends on 30 September 2025 (s 6(b); s 9(b)). The instrument does not elaborate on the procedural features of the data collection period; it notes that “data collection period” and other expressions are defined in s 99ADB of the Act (s 5). Thus the instrument’s determinations are anchored to that period as defined and administered under the Act.

The instrument purports to affect discrete categories of actors, identified by the statutory concepts it enacts and the Schedules it references. The text itself identifies the immediate legal subjects as brands of pharmaceutical items specified in column 2 of items in Schedule 1 and Schedule 2 (s 6(a); s 7; s 8; s 9(a)). From the instrument’s mechanics the following parties are directly engaged.

• Brand owners and manufacturers: The brands named in Schedule 1 and Schedule 2 are the primary subjects. For Schedule 1 brands the instrument sets the adjusted approved ex-manufacturer price equal to the determined weighted average disclosed price (s 7), and fixes a reduction day of 1 April 2026 (s 8). That means manufacturers or sponsors of those listed brands will need to recognise that the statutory adjusted approved ex-manufacturer price has been altered by this determination, and a reduction day is set that is likely to trigger procedures and effects under the National Health Act. For Schedule 2 brands the instrument determines weighted average disclosed prices but does not fix a reduction day (s 9).
• The Minister and administrative agency: The instrument is an exercise of Ministerial power under s 99ADB(4) and paragraph 99ADH(1)(aa) of the Act (s 4). The department that administers the National Health Act will be the body that publishes the instrument, records commencement (s 2), and operates the statutory processes triggered by the determinations. The instrument’s content is a Ministerial determination; it therefore alters the administrative facts relied upon by the regulator.
• Entities affected by statutory price mechanisms under the National Health Act: Although the instrument does not itself state downstream payor or reimbursement mechanics, it operates through statutory price constructs (weighted average disclosed price; adjusted approved ex-manufacturer price; reduction day). Any party whose entitlements, reimbursements, or obligations under the National Health Act depend on those price constructs will be affected, because the instrument changes the numerical values and dates those mechanisms use. The instrument cross-references definitions in s 99ADB, signalling that the legal consequences for payors, wholesalers, pharmacists, and health program administrators will follow from those provisions of the Act (s 5).
• Suppliers with contractual pricing arrangements: Parties that have contractual mechanisms tied to adjusted approved ex-manufacturer prices or official PBS pricing may see those contract inputs reset on, or in advance of, the reduction day of 1 April 2026 where Schedule 1 brands are concerned (s 7-8). The instrument itself does not address contracts, but the deterministic change to statutory prices will interact with private contracts that reference those statutory constructs.

The instrument primarily operates by making determinations rather than by imposing express new duties or conferring procedural rights within its text. However, its determinations alter statutory facts that will, under the National Health Act, create or alter rights and duties elsewhere in the Act. The instrument itself, read on its face, creates the following direct entitlements and obligations.

• Determination as legal fact: For each listed brand, the instrument declares the weighted average disclosed price to be the numeric amount in Schedule 1 or Schedule 2 column 3 (s 6(a); s 9(a)). That is a statutory determination under subsection 99ADB(4) of the Act. Once made, that determination becomes the legal price figure used by the Act’s mechanisms for the stated data collection period (s 6(b); s 9(b)). This is not framed as a discretionary administrative guideline; it is an authoritative price setting.
• Adjusted approved ex-manufacturer price equality: For brands in Schedule 1 the instrument makes the adjusted approved ex-manufacturer price equal to the determined weighted average disclosed price (s 7). Legally, that converts the weighted average into the adjusted approved ex-manufacturer price for the brand. This is a substantive legal conversion of one statutory price label into another.
• Reduction day fixed: For Schedule 1 brands the instrument sets a reduction day of 1 April 2026 (s 8). The instrument links that date to paragraph 99ADH(1)(aa) of the Act; the legal effect of the reduction day will follow the Act’s provisions. The instrument does not itself describe the procedural steps that occur on a reduction day; those are matters for the Act.
• No reduction day for Schedule 2 brands: The instrument emphasises that it does not determine a reduction day for brands in Schedule 2 (s 9, final note). Functionally, this means the Schedule 2 price determinations do not carry the same date-triggered effect as Schedule 1 items, at least as far as this instrument records.

What the instrument does not do in its own text: The instrument contains no express new reporting duties, notification requirements, appeal or objection mechanisms, nor does it specify penalties for non-compliance (see s 3-9). It relies on the National Health Act for any procedural and enforcement architecture. The instrument includes notes that reference the Act to explain that certain definitions and statutory consequences flow from sections of the Act (s 5; s 6 Note; s 7 Note). For example, the instrument reminds the reader that expressions are defined in section 99ADB of the Act (s 5 Note), and that paragraph 99ADH(1)(a) applies if the Minister determines the weighted average disclosed price under s 99ADB (s 6 Note).

The instrument contains no express penalty, sanction, or enforcement provisions. Its operative clauses are determinations of prices and dates (s 6-9) and a repeal of an earlier determination (s 3). Enforcement of compliance with any obligations that flow from these determinations is governed by the National Health Act 1953, under which the instrument is made, but the instrument does not reproduce or describe those enforcement mechanisms.

What the instrument does say about authority and legal effect: It is made under subsection 99ADB(4) and paragraph 99ADH(1)(aa) of the Act (s 4). That identifies the statutory provisions that authorise the Minister to make the determinations and to set reduction days. The instrument includes notes pointing readers back to the Act for the definitions and statutory consequences that accompany the price determinations (s 5; s 6 Note; s 7 Note). Accordingly, any compliance obligations, penalties, processes for rectifying non-compliance, or civil consequences that attach to manipulated or incorrect pricing will be found in the provisions of the Act, not in this instrument.

Practical enforcement implications to consider, on the basis of the instrument’s structure:

• Administrative reliance: Because this instrument creates determinative numeric values and calendar dates, enforcement in practice will rely on administrative processes that monitor adherence to statutory price settings. The instrument gives public administrative facts that agencies and regulated parties will rely on; ensuring those facts are applied correctly in reimbursements, record-keeping and compliance will be an administrative task.
• Silent on procedural remedies: The instrument is silent about procedural remedies, such as the means by which a brand owner might object to the Minister’s determination. That omission means that any such remedies must be sought under the Act or under general administrative law. The instrument’s notes direct readers to the Act for further procedural context (s 5 and s 7 Note).
• No criminal or civil penalty text: The instrument does not itself create criminal offences or civil penalty regimes. If statutory breach consequences exist for actions tied to adjusted approved ex-manufacturer price or reduction day, those consequences must be enforced under provisions of the Act which are not reproduced here.

Relevance of the repeal: The instrument repeals the October 2025 determination (PB 71 of 2025) (s 3). If PB 71 of 2025 contained transitional arrangements, compliance steps or previous price settings that were relied upon by regulated parties, the repeal may alter the set of facts that enforcement bodies consider. The instrument does not include transitional enforcement text, and does not state that former determinations survive for transition; the repeal is expressed as a straight repeal.

The instrument is an implementing instrument that operates within and by reference to the National Health Act 1953. Its clauses make explicit references to specific subsections and paragraphs of the Act (s 4, s 6 note, s 7 note, s 8). The instrument does not purport to create an independent legal regime; instead it exercises delegated authority granted by the Act.

Direct statutory interactions:

• National Health Act 1953: The instrument is made under subsection 99ADB(4) and paragraph 99ADH(1)(aa) of the Act (s 4). The instrument’s determinations are therefore an exercise of power under those provisions. The instrument also notes that several key expressions it uses are defined in section 99ADB of the Act (s 5). That means that precise legal meanings , for example the technical meaning of “weighted average disclosed price,” “data collection period” and “unadjusted price reduction” , are supplied by the Act and not by the instrument. The instrument includes notes reminding the reader of those linkages (s 5; s 6 Note; s 7 Note).
• Interaction through price constructs: The instrument operates by setting weighted average disclosed prices and, for Schedule 1, adjusted approved ex-manufacturer prices and a reduction day. Those constructs are part of the statutory machinery of the National Health Act; consequently the instrument’s determinations will feed into the Act’s downstream rules for price adjustment, any statutory reimbursement formulae, and any statutory timing or notification obligations. The instrument itself does not restate those downstream rules; it only supplies the price and date inputs.

Interaction with prior instruments and the legislative record:

• Repeal of earlier Determination: The instrument repeals the National Health (Weighted average disclosed price - October 2025 reduction day) Determination 2025 (PB 71 of 2025) (s 3). That repealing operation directly interacts with the prior legislative instrument framework by removing PB 71 of 2025. The practical consequence is a consolidated change in the set of determinative instruments that administrators and regulated parties must consult.

Limitations and boundaries:

• Schedules are operative parts: The instrument’s operative content relies on Schedule tables that contain column 2 (brands) and column 3 (amounts). The schedules therefore are part of the instrument and are the mechanism by which it interacts with actors regulated under other laws. Because the supplied text does not include the schedule tables, users must consult the published instrument to see those operative elements.

The instrument’s text includes a limited amendment history and immediate statutory housekeeping. From the supplied text the following points on amendment and legislative history can be recorded.

• Repeal of PB 71 of 2025: The instrument expressly repeals the National Health (Weighted average disclosed price - October 2025 reduction day) Determination 2025, known as PB 71 of 2025 (s 3). This is the sole express repeal or amendment action recorded in the instrument’s text. The repeal removes that earlier Determination from the corpus of active subordinate legislation.
• New determinations superseding prior settings: By repealing the earlier Determination and making new price and date determinations for the listed brands, the instrument updates the statutory body of price determinations that operate under the National Health Act. The instrument itself does not include transitional clauses or savings provisions that preserve the legal effect of the earlier Determination beyond the repeal; it states only that PB 71 of 2025 is repealed.
• Commencement: The commencement table (s 2) records that the whole instrument commences the day after registration, with the “Date/Details” cell showing 20 December 2025. The instrument also makes a technical point that information in the Date/Details column is not part of the instrument (s 2(2)). That is an explicit drafting choice that separates administrative metadata recorded in the publication table from operative legislative text.
• No internal amending provisions: The instrument does not itself purport to amend the National Health Act or other primary legislation. Its effect is confined to determinations under the Act and to the repeal of a prior subordinate instrument.
• Schedules are the operative material: The substantive legal changes effected by the instrument are recorded in Schedule 1 and Schedule 2, where brands and numerical amounts are listed. The supplied text does not include the schedules themselves. Therefore the practitioner must consult the officially published instrument to see the precise list of items and amounts that constitute the substantive amendment of price figures.
• No staged or future amendments provided: The instrument does not contain provisions that provide for staged or phased amendments of the listed prices or scheduled reduction days beyond the single reduction day of 1 April 2026 for Schedule 1 brands (s 8). It also records that Schedule 2 prices have no reduction day determined by this instrument (s 9, final note).

Because the supplied instrument is a self-contained subordinate instrument, its history of amendment in the supplied text consists of the active repeal of a prior instrument and the institution of new determinations. Any further amendment history beyond the single repeal would be visible in subsequent instruments or in the primary Act; those materials are not included in the supplied text.

The instrument itself contains no record of litigation. The supplied text names no court proceedings, decisions, or challenges, and does not cite case law. There are no provisions that record past judicial consideration of its contents.

What the instrument does provide by way of litigation-relevant pointers:

• Statutory source for review: The instrument is made under subsection 99ADB(4) and paragraph 99ADH(1)(aa) of the National Health Act 1953 (s 4). Any legal challenge to the validity of the instrument or to the exercise of power under these provisions would typically be brought by statutory review or administrative law processes that challenge the Minister’s exercise of authority under those specific sections of the Act. The instrument itself does not provide a remedy clause or an internal review mechanism.
• No cases named: The instrument contains no references to court decisions, no annotations describing prior litigation about these provisions, and no citations to precedents. The absence of litigation history in the instrument should not be taken to mean none exists in practice; it simply means the instrument does not record any litigation.
• Repeal may invite future disputes: Practitioners should note that repeal of a prior Determination (s 3) followed by new numeric settings and a fixed reduction day (s 6-8) can give rise to disputes about retrospective effects, transitional arrangements, or the application of the instrument to particular supplies or accounting periods. Those disputes, however, would be litigated under the general administrative law and statutory framework associated with the National Health Act rather than within a clause of the instrument itself.

Because the instrument does not document litigation, practitioners who need to know whether legal challenges have been mounted in relation to the Ministerial exercise of these powers should search relevant court and tribunal databases, or consult administrative law resources, to determine whether any judicial review, declaratory relief or other proceedings have been brought concerning subsection 99ADB(4), paragraph 99ADH(1)(aa), PB 71 of 2025, or related determinations. That search is not part of this instrument’s text.

In short, the instrument contains no litigation history. Any litigation risks or past cases must be identified by reference to the external record of court decisions and administrative law challenges to the Act or to Ministerial determinations.

The instrument’s concise drafting contains several practical and legal details that can be easy to overlook. These are the specific points a practitioner should verify and beware of when relying on the instrument.

1. Schedules are the operative substance, but they are not included here: The instrument makes operative determinations only by reference to column 2 and column 3 entries in Schedule 1 and Schedule 2 (s 6(a); s 9(a); s 7; s 8). The supplied text does not include the schedules themselves. Failure to consult the published instrument and read the Schedules will mean missing the exact brands and numeric amounts that the determinations apply to. Do not infer brands or figures from the clauses alone.

2. Distinction between Schedule 1 and Schedule 2: Schedule 1 brands receive three linked effects: (a) a weighted average disclosed price (s 6); (b) conversion of that figure into the adjusted approved ex-manufacturer price (s 7); and (c) a reduction day fixed at 1 April 2026 (s 8). Schedule 2 brands, by contrast, have only the weighted average disclosed price determined and explicitly have no reduction day determined by this instrument (s 9, final note). That differential treatment may have significant procedural or commercial consequences, but the instrument does not itself explain why the split exists.

3. Dates and data collection period matter: All price determinations are anchored to a data collection period ending on 30 September 2025 (s 6(b); s 9(b)). The determinations will be taken to apply for that period as defined in the Act. If a party’s records or transactions use other data periods, they must reconcile which data collection period applies under s 99ADB.

4. Commencement nuance: The instrument commences the day after registration, with the register date recorded as 20 December 2025 in the publication table (s 2). The table includes a column described as not being part of the instrument (s 2(2)). Some readers may assume the explicit date in the commencement table is part of the operative text; the instrument disclaims that. Practically, however, the date and the day after registration wording provide a clear effective date for domestic purposes.

5. Repeal of PB 71 of 2025: The instrument removes the October 2025 Determination (s 3). Parties who relied upon PB 71 should check whether transitional effects or obligations arising under that earlier Determination are preserved by the Act or have been displaced. The instrument does not include transitional provisions itself.

The instrument primarily imposes determinations that will be inputs to statutory compliance obligations found in the National Health Act 1953. It does not itself spell out compliance steps, but the deterministic nature of the instrument makes compliance actions predictable. The following are practical, source-grounded steps that regulated parties should take to align with the instrument’s legal effects. These steps assume that you will consult the instrument as published, including its Schedules, and the provisions of the National Health Act identified in the instrument.

1. Obtain and read the published instrument with Schedules: The schedules list the brands (column 2) and the specific weighted average disclosed prices (column 3) that are determinative (s 6(a); s 9(a)). Compliance cannot begin until you know whether and how your brands appear in Schedule 1 or Schedule 2 and what numeric amounts are specified.

2. Confirm the effective dates: The instrument commences the day after registration (s 2). The commencement table in the instrument records the registration date as 20 December 2025 in its Date/Details column; note that the instrument disclaims that column as not part of the instrument (s 2(2)). For operational purposes treat the instrument as effective the day after registration and cross-check the published register for the exact registered date.

3. For Schedule 1 brands, update adjusted approved ex-manufacturer pricing: The instrument sets the adjusted approved ex-manufacturer price equal to the weighted average disclosed price determined under s 6 (s 7). Practically, organisations that report, invoice, or calculate reimbursements using the adjusted approved ex-manufacturer price should update their internal reference prices to match the column 3 amounts in Schedule 1.

4. Observe the reduction day: The instrument fixes the reduction day for Schedule 1 brands as 1 April 2026 (s 8). On or in advance of that date, parties should ensure that systems, invoicing, reporting systems and contractual terms that reference the reduction day or that are triggered by it are prepared to operate with the adjusted price. The instrument does not itself set out the procedural steps that occur on the reduction day, so consult the National Health Act for the statutory processes and any notification requirements that follow from paragraph 99ADH(1)(aa).

5. Reconcile accounting, contract and supply processes: Because statutory prices can be inputs to private commercial arrangements, update pricing schedules, invoices, supply agreements and any accruals or provisioning models that depend on the adjusted approved ex-manufacturer price or on the occurrence of a reduction day. Treat the instrument’s price determinations as definitive legal inputs for statutory price constructs.