PBS Safety Net thresholds

Once you or your family spend a certain amount on PBS medicine you’ll reach the PBS Safety Net threshold.

We calculate the PBS Safety Net in a calendar year. It resets at the beginning of each year, 1 January.

The 2022 PBS Safety Net threshold is:

$326.40 for concession card holders
$1542.10 for general patients.
Before you meet the threshold, each medicine will cost up to:

$6.80 for concession card holders
$42.50 for general patients.
Once you reach the threshold, you’ll need to apply for a PBS Safety Net card to get cheaper medicines.

Your medicine will then either:

be free for concession card holders
cost up to $6.80 for general patients.
When there are 2 or more brands of the same medicine, they may have different prices. If you choose a more expensive brand it may cost you more.

How to reach the threshold sooner as a family
If you combine your family’s PBS amounts, you may reach the threshold sooner.

You can reach the threshold sooner by combining what everyone in your family spends on PBS medicines.

A family is any of the following:

a couple married and not separated
a couple in a de facto relationship with or without dependent children
a single person with dependent children.
A dependent child is someone who is all of the following:

they are younger than 16 or a full time student younger than 25
they attend school, college or university
they get substantial financial support.
To combine your family’s PBS amounts, complete the PBS/RPBS Safety Net prescription record form and application for a Safety Net card form. Each time you collect PBS medicine, hand both pages of the form to the pharmacist. The pharmacist will then record what you and your family spend on PBS medicine.