Sending PBS medicines overseas
You are allowed to send PBS medicines overseas for your personal use, or the use of someone who will be travelling with you, when you are travelling through a country where the medicine is illegal, or when you would need to carry a large amount. PBS medicine can’t be sent overseas for the use of anybody other than the sender.
If you are planning to send PBS medicines overseas for your personal use while overseas, or for the personal use of someone travelling with you, you should:
- contact the embassy, high commission or consulate of the country you are visiting to ensure the medicine is legal there
- carry a letter from your doctor [rtf, 17kb] detailing what the medicine is, how much you will be taking and stating that the medicine is for your personal use
- leave the medicine in its original packaging
- attach a completed Customs declaration (available from any post office) to your parcel disclosing the package contains prescription medicine for your personal use.
There are also restrictions on the amount of PBS medicine you can send overseas. Check with your doctor before you travel.
Customs may detain any medicine suspected of being illegally exported. It is in your best interest to have a letter from your doctor explaining what the medicine is, how much you are sending, and that it is for your personal use.
If you can’t get a letter from your doctor, our Medicine Export Declaration may be enough to let Customs know the medicine is for your personal use. People found to be illegally exporting PBS medicine overseas may be prosecuted.