Australians are waiting an average of 466 days for medicines to become affordable and accessible on the PBS.
“I guess it just feels like they're slow moving. So a stronger PBS, I think, would be a bit faster moving.”
Maria - 39 year old Brisbane mother, living with breast cancer
Faster PBS listings mean faster care. Let’s cut the wait.
It is thirty years since the PBS system was comprehensively reviewed. In that time, science and medicines have improved but our process for assessing medicines for inclusion on the PBS has not kept pace.
It now takes 466 days for a medicine to be made available to Australians on the PBS. This is from when a new medicine is deemed safe and effective by the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) to when it is made affordable for patients on the PBS.
Other countries have reviewed their systems so they keep pace with science and innovation. Based on international best practice, the Stronger PBS campaign is working to reduce the wait time to 60 days.
Our PBS has been helping Australians access medicines for more than 75 years. It is a cornerstone of our health system because Australians with a Medicare card can access over 5,200 essential medicines when they need them without paying full price for them.
To keep the PBS strong, we need to make it faster, fairer and fit for the future.
Learn more about how you can support the Stronger PBS campaign here.