Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme restriction requirement exemptions for some medicines during the COVID 19 pandemic
The Australian Government implemented a temporary measure from 1 May 2020 to 30 June 2022 to allow some flexibility around PBS restrictions for eligible PBS medicines to ensure continued treatment for patients during the COVID-19 crisis.
Where a treating medical professional considered that a patient taking an eligible PBS medicine should be exempt from any specific Authority Required PBS restriction requirement, as it may put the patient at increased risk of contracting COVID-19, or cannot be completed due to social distancing or isolation requirements, a request for exemption for that PBS restriction requirement was able to be lodged with Services Australia (Medicare) from 1 May 2020 to 30 June 2022. The request for exemption needed to be included with the authority request through the normal process.
A list of PBS medicines that were eligible is available below.
This measure only applied to continuation prescriptions for patients who had previously received a script for the eligible PBS medicine, and all other PBS restriction criteria that were not affected by the COVID-19 pandemic still applied.
It was a legal requirement that the prescriber note the reasons for the proposed waiver and how it relates to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Some examples of situations that may have resulted in the prescriber seeking the exemption include a patient not being able to attend an outpatient clinic to perform a test, because the patient is required to quarantine, or where a prescriber considers it would not be appropriate for an immunocompromised patient to attend a clinic for a consultation and the information cannot be obtained in a telehealth consultation.
This measure was implemented based on the advice of the expert Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. The measure was repealed on 30 June 2022, following advice provided by the Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee.
Pharmaceutical items eligible for waiver from certain PBS restriction requirements during the COVID‑19 pandemic
| Listed drug | Form |
|---|---|
| Abatacept | Injection 125 mg in 1 mL single dose autoinjector, |
| Abatacept | Injection 125 mg in 1 mL single dose pre‑filled syringe |
| Abatacept | Powder for I.V. infusion 250 mg |
| Adalimumab | Injection 20 mg in 0.2 mL pre‑filled syringe |
| Adalimumab | Injection 20 mg in 0.4 mL pre‑filled syringe |
| Adalimumab | Injection 40 mg in 0.4 mL pre‑filled pen |
| Adalimumab | Injection 40 mg in 0.4 mL pre‑filled syringe |
| Adalimumab | Injection 40 mg in 0.8 mL pre‑filled syringe |
| Adalimumab | Injection 80 mg in 0.8 mL pre‑filled pen |
| Adalimumab | Injection 80 mg in 0.8 mL pre‑filled syringe |
| Adalimumab | Injection 40 mg in 0.8 mL pre‑filled pen |
| Ambrisentan | Tablet 5 mg |
| Ambrisentan | Tablet 10 mg |
| Baricitinib | Tablet 2 mg |
| Baricitinib | Tablet 4 mg |
| Benralizumab | Injection 30 mg in 1 mL single dose pre‑filled syringe |
| Benralizumab | Injection 30 mg in 1 mL single dose pre‑filled pen |
| Bosentan | Tablet 62.5 mg (as monohydrate) |
| Bosentan | Tablet 125 mg (as monohydrate) |
| Certolizumab pegol | Injection 200 mg in 1 mL single use pre‑filled syringe |
| Certolizumab pegol | Solution for injection 200 mg in 1 mL pre‑filled pen |
| Dornase alfa | Solution for inhalation 2.5 mg (2,500 units) in 2.5 mL |
| Epoprostenol | Powder for I.V. infusion 500 micrograms (as sodium) |
| Epoprostenol | Powder for I.V. infusion 500 micrograms (as sodium) with 2 vials diluent 50 mL |
| Epoprostenol | Powder for I.V. infusion 1.5 mg (as sodium) |
| Epoprostenol | Powder for I.V. infusion 1.5 mg (as sodium) with 2 vials diluent 50 mL |
| Etanercept | Injection set containing 4 vials powder for injection 25 mg and 4 pre‑filled syringes solvent 1 mL |
| Etanercept | Injection 50 mg in 1 mL single use auto‑injector, 4 |
| Etanercept | Injections 50 mg in 1 mL single use pre‑filled syringes, 4 |
| Golimumab | Injection 50 mg in 0.5 mL single use pre‑filled pen |
| Golimumab | Injection 50 mg in 0.5 mL single use pre‑filled syringe |
| Golimumab | Injection 100 mg in 1 mL single use pre‑filled pen |
| Guselkumab | Injection 100 mg in 1 mL single use pre-filled pen |
| Guselkumab | Injection 100 mg in 1 mL single use pre‑filled syringe |
| Iloprost | Solution for inhalation 20 micrograms (as trometamol) in 2 mL |
| Infliximab | Powder for I.V. infusion 100 mg |
| Ivacaftor | Sachet containing granules 50 mg |
| Ivacaftor | Sachet containing granules 75 mg |
| Ivacaftor | Tablet 150 mg |
| Ixekizumab | Injection 80 mg in 1 mL single dose pre‑filled pen |
| Lenalidomide | Capsule 5 mg |
| Lenalidomide | Capsule 10 mg |
| Lenalidomide | Capsule 15 mg |
| Lenalidomide | Capsule 25 mg |
| Lumacaftor with ivacaftor | Sachet containing granules, lumacaftor 100 mg and ivacaftor 125 mg |
| Lumacaftor with ivacaftor | Sachet containing granules, lumacaftor 150 mg and ivacaftor 188 mg |
| Lumacaftor with ivacaftor | Tablet containing lumacaftor 100 mg with ivacaftor 125 mg |
| Lumacaftor with ivacaftor | Tablet containing lumacaftor 200 mg with ivacaftor 125 mg |
| Macitentan | Tablet 10 mg |
| Mannitol | Pack containing 280 capsules containing powder for inhalation 40 mg and 2 inhalers |
| Mepolizumab | Powder for injection 100 mg |
| Montelukast | Tablet, chewable, 4 mg (as sodium) |
| Montelukast | Tablet, chewable, 5 mg (as sodium) |
| Nintedanib | Capsule 100 mg |
| Nintedanib | Capsule 150 mg |
| Omalizumab | Injection 75 mg in 0.5 mL single dose pre‑filled syringe |
| Omalizumab | Injection 150 mg in 1 mL single dose pre‑filled syringe |
| Pirfenidone | Capsule 267 mg |
| Pirfenidone | Tablet 267 mg |
| Pirfenidone | Tablet 801mg |
| Pomalidomide | Capsule 3 mg |
| Pomalidomide | Capsule 4 mg |
| Riociguat | Tablet 500 micrograms |
| Riociguat | Tablet 1 mg |
| Riociguat | Tablet 1.5 mg |
| Riociguat | Tablet 2 mg |
| Riociguat | Tablet 2.5 mg |
| Risankizumab | Injection 75 mg in 0.83 mL pre‑filled syringe |
| Rituximab | Solution for I.V. infusion 500 mg in 50 mL |
| Secukinumab | Injection 150 mg in 1 mL pre‑filled pen |
| Sildenafil | Tablet 20 mg (as citrate) |
| Somatropin | Injection 0.4 mg (1.2 i.u.) with diluent in single use syringe (without preservative) |
| Somatropin | Injection 0.6 mg (1.8 i.u.) with diluent in single use syringe (without preservative) |
| Somatropin | Injection 0.8 mg (2.4 i.u.) with diluent in single use syringe (without preservative) |
| Somatropin | Injection 1 mg (3 i.u.) with diluent in single use syringe (without preservative) |
| Somatropin | Injection 1.2 mg (3.6 i.u.) with diluent in single use syringe (without preservative) |
| Somatropin | Injection 1.4 mg (4.2 i.u.) with diluent in single use syringe (without preservative) |
| Somatropin | Injection 1.6 mg (4.8 i.u.) with diluent in single use syringe (without preservative) |
| Somatropin | Injection 1.8 mg (5.4 i.u.) with diluent in single use syringe (without preservative) |
| Somatropin | Injection 2 mg (6 i.u.) with diluent in single use syringe (without preservative) |
| Somatropin | Injection 4 mg (12 i.u.) vial with diluent (with preservative) |
| Somatropin | Injection 18 i.u. (6 mg) cartridge with 3.15 mL diluent (with preservative) |
| Somatropin | Injection 72 i.u. (24 mg) cartridge with 3.15 mL diluent (with preservative) |
| Somatropin | Powder for injection 5 mg (15 i.u.) with diluent in pre‑filled pen (with preservative) |
| Somatropin | Powder for injection 12 mg (36 i.u.) with diluent in pre‑filled pen (with preservative) |
| Somatropin | Injection 36 i.u. (12 mg) cartridge with 3.15 mL diluent (with preservative) |
| Somatropin | Solution for injection 5 mg (15 i.u.) in 1.5 mL cartridge (with preservative) in pre‑filled pen |
| Somatropin | Solution for injection 5 mg (15 i.u.) in 1.5 mL cartridge (with preservative) |
| Somatropin | Solution for injection 6 mg (18 i.u.) in 1.03 mL cartridge (with preservative) |
| Somatropin | Solution for injection 10 mg (30 i.u.) in 1.5 mL cartridge (with preservative) |
| Somatropin | Solution for injection 10 mg (30 i.u.) in 1.5 mL cartridge (with preservative) in pre‑filled pen |
| Somatropin | Solution for injection 10 mg (30 i.u.) in 2 mL cartridge (with preservative) |
| Somatropin | Solution for injection 12 mg (36 i.u.) in 1.5 mL cartridge (with preservative) |
| Somatropin | Solution for injection 15 mg (45 i.u.) in 1.5 mL cartridge (with preservative) |
| Somatropin | Solution for injection 15 mg (45 i.u.) in 1.5 mL cartridge (with preservative) in pre‑filled pen |
| Somatropin | Solution for injection 20 mg (60 i.u.) in 2.5 mL cartridge (with preservative) |
| Tadalafil | Tablet 20 mg |
| Tezacaftor with ivacaftor and ivacaftor | Pack containing 28 tablets tezacaftor 100 mg with ivacaftor 150 mg and 28 tablets ivacaftor 150 mg |
| Tildrakizumab | Injection 100 mg in 1 mL single dose pre‑filled syringe |
| Tocilizumab | Concentrate for injection 80 mg in 4 mL |
| Tocilizumab | Concentrate for injection 200 mg in 10 mL |
| Tocilizumab | Concentrate for injection 400 mg in 20 mL |
| Tocilizumab | Injection 162 mg in 0.9 mL single use pre‑filled pen |
| Tocilizumab | Injection 162 mg in 0.9 mL single use pre‑filled syringe |
| Tofacitinib | Tablet 5 mg |
| Upadacitinib | Tablet 15 mg |
| Ustekinumab | Injection 45 mg in 0.5 mL |
| Ustekinumab | Solution for I.V. infusion 130 mg in 26 mL |
| Vedolizumab | Injection 108 mg in 0.68 mL single use pre-filled pen |
| Vedolizumab | Powder for injection 300 mg |