Search a medication to see what it costs at the pharmacy — and add it to your list to track monthly spend.
When you fill a PBS prescription, you pay a co-payment — capped at $25.00 for general patients and $7.70 for concession card holders (2026 rates). A lot of common medicines actually cost less than that cap: when the medicine's price plus the pharmacy dispensing fee is below the co-payment, you pay the lower amount. The tool marks these with a 💡 Below cap badge.
It's per family group — but only if you've registered. The PBS Safety Net combines spending across a registered family: yourself, your partner (married or de facto, including same-sex), dependent children under 16, and full-time students aged 16–25 who are dependent on you. You have to register the family group with Medicare for spending to combine — it doesn't happen automatically. Without registration, each person's count is separate.
To register: ask your pharmacist for a PBS Safety Net Family Registration form, or download it from Services Australia. Once you're close to the threshold, your pharmacy can print a Safety Net concession card and the cheaper rate applies from that script onward. The card lasts until 31 December (calendar year), then resets.
Each medicine's PBS price × how many times you fill it per month (monthly script = 1; 60-day script = 0.5; fortnightly = 2). What this can't account for: the PBS Safety Net — once your household hits the annual threshold, scripts drop to the concession rate or become free for the rest of the calendar year, which lowers your real monthly cost. Brand premiums (if you pick a premium brand) aren't included.
The PBS subsidises by active ingredient, form, and strength — not by brand. Multiple brands of the same medicine are often the same PBS price. Some brands charge a brand premium on top. Ask your pharmacist if a cheaper equivalent is available — it's usually the identical medicine.
Private (non-PBS) prescriptions, brand premiums, your personal Safety Net progress, pharmacy discounts, hospital/chemotherapy/highly specialised drug programs. This is the everyday community-pharmacy schedule only. Prototype — verify any figure at pbs.gov.au before relying on it. General information, not medical or financial advice.
Source: PBS Public Data (pbs.gov.au), General Schedule. Prices are updated monthly. Prices are the maximum PBS price at a community pharmacy — your pharmacy may charge less.
Benefit type (from the PBS, shown on each item): Unrestricted benefit — no restrictions on its therapeutic uses. Restricted benefit — can only be prescribed for specific therapeutic uses. Authority required — a restricted benefit that needs prior approval from Services Australia or DVA. Authority required (streamlined) — a restricted benefit that needs a streamlined authority code on the prescription, not prior approval. Click an item's PBS code to open its official PBS page, which gives the exact restriction wording. Source: PBS Explanatory Notes, section 1.2. See also PBS authority scripts explained. Information only — not medical advice.