Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme
How to get a Medicare Card
You must have a valid Medicare card to claim a Medicare benefit, visit a doctor who bulk bills, get treatment as a public patient in a public hospital or have a PBS prescription filled.
Enrol for Medicare using the Medicare Enrolment Application form. We will send you a Medicare card once you are enrolled.
Quick links
- Email pbs@humanservices.gov.au
- Phone the PBS general enquiry line on 132 290
- Visit the PBS website
If you are an Australian resident or a visitor from a country that has a Reciprocal Healthcare Agreement with Australia, you could get your medicines under the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) at a lower cost.
Eligible veterans, war widows/widowers and their dependants can get PBS medicines plus some other medicines at a lower cost under the Repatriation Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (RPBS).
If you have an Australian Government concession card, you will pay even less for your PBS medicines when you show your card.
If your doctor has written a non-PBS or private prescription, you will have to pay the full price for this medicine. These medicines don’t count towards the PBS Safety Net. Also, if you choose a higher-priced brand of medicine, or your doctor prescribes one, you may need to pay more.
You need to know
Make the most of the PBS
Find out more about the PBS—including how much you will pay, how to save money on medicine and how to use medicine safely.
PBS and compensation claims
You can get lower-cost medicine under the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) if you are making a compensation claim. You don’t need to declare the compensation claim when getting a prescription from your doctor or PBS medicine from your pharmacist.
Once your compensation claim has ended, any payment of the PBS patient contribution amount is done between you and your insurance company. You will need to call your insurance company to talk about this.
When you get a PBS medicine for a compensation-related injury, it can count towards a PBS Safety Net threshold for you and your family in the usual way. Read more about the PBS Safety Net.