How to Track Your PBS Safety Net Spending in 2026

If you or your family fill multiple prescriptions each year, you may be entitled to significantly cheaper — or free — medicines once your spending crosses a certain threshold. It is called the PBS Safety Net, and most Australians who qualify do not track it.

The reason is simple: there is no app, no dashboard, no automatic notification. Tracking your PBS Safety Net spending in 2026 is still largely a manual process. But with the right approach, it takes minimal effort and the savings can be substantial — potentially hundreds of dollars per year.

Here are the 2026 thresholds, how to track your spending, and what has changed this year.

2026 PBS Safety Net Thresholds

Concessional patients include Pensioner Concession Card, Health Care Card, Commonwealth Seniors Health Card, and DVA Gold Card holders. Source: PBS.gov.au, effective 1 January 2026.

What Changed in 2026

Two significant changes affect how the Safety Net works this year:

The $25 co-payment cap

From 1 January 2026, the general patient co-payment dropped from $31.60 to $25.00 under the Cheaper Medicines policy. This is the lowest PBS co-payment since 2004 and saves up to $6.60 per script (source: health.gov.au).

Good news for every prescription. But there is a catch for Safety Net purposes.

The counterintuitive Safety Net effect

The general Safety Net threshold increased from $1,694.00 (2025) to $1,748.20 (2026) through CPI indexation. Combined with the lower co-payment:

• 2025: $1,694.00 threshold ÷ $31.60 co-payment = approximately 54 scripts to reach Safety Net
• 2026: $1,748.20 threshold ÷ $25.00 co-payment = approximately 70 scripts to reach Safety Net

That is roughly 30% more scripts needed to reach the Safety Net this year. If you previously relied on reaching the Safety Net to reduce your costs in the second half of the year, you may reach it later — or not at all.

The net effect is still positive for most patients: paying $25 instead of $31.60 per script saves money even if you never reach the threshold. But for patients on many concurrent medications who regularly hit the Safety Net by mid-year, the maths has shifted.

The concessional threshold ($277.20) and co-payment ($7.70) are both unchanged for 2026. The concessional co-payment is frozen until at least 2029 (source: health.gov.au).

How to Track Your Spending

There is no government app or automatic tracker for PBS Safety Net spending. Here are the three methods available:

Method 1: Prescription Record Form (recommended)

The most reliable method is the PBS Prescription Record Form (PB240). This is a paper form that your pharmacist stamps or labels each time you fill a PBS prescription.

How to set it up:

1. Download the form from Services Australia or ask your pharmacy for a copy
2. Bring it to the pharmacy every time you fill a prescription
3. The pharmacist records the date, medicine name, and co-payment amount
4. When your accumulated total reaches the threshold, your pharmacist can help you apply for the Safety Net card

Tip: If you use multiple pharmacies, carry the same form to each one. All eligible co-payments across all pharmacies count toward the same threshold.

Method 2: myGov / Medicare online

Your PBS dispensing history is available through your myGov account linked to Medicare. You can view your PBS claims and calculate your running total.

Limitations: There can be a delay of several weeks before dispensings appear in the system. It is useful for cross-checking but may not be up-to-date enough for real-time tracking.

Method 3: Ask your pharmacy

Any pharmacy can print a record of what you have spent on PBS medicines at that pharmacy. If you use a single pharmacy for all prescriptions, this is a simple way to check your running total.

Limitation: Only captures spending at that specific pharmacy. If you fill prescriptions at multiple locations, you will need to combine records.

Family Safety Net: Pooling Your Spending

Families can combine their PBS spending toward a single Safety Net threshold. This is particularly valuable for families where multiple members have regular prescriptions but no individual reaches the threshold alone.

Who can be included in a family group?

• You
• Your partner or de facto partner
• Dependent children under 16 in your care
• Full-time students under 25 who are financially dependent on you

How to register

1. Call Medicare on 132 011, or
2. Register through your myGov account linked to Medicare

Once registered, all eligible family members’ co-payments are combined on a single tracking form. The threshold amount does not change — it is the same $1,748.20 (general) or $277.20 (concessional) whether you are tracking individually or as a family.

Example: A couple where one person takes two regular medications ($25 × 12 = $300/year) and the other takes three ($25 × 12 × 3 = $900/year). Individually, neither reaches the $1,748.20 threshold. Combined, they accumulate $1,200/year — still short, but if either has additional prescriptions during the year (antibiotics, specialist medications), they could cross the threshold together.

What Counts Toward the Safety Net

Counts:

• All PBS prescriptions dispensed at community pharmacies
• RPBS items (Repatriation Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme, for veterans)
• PBS medicines from public hospital outpatient pharmacies
• Under-copayment items (PBS medicines priced below $25) — the actual price plus the recording fee counts
• The pharmacy recording fee (up to $1.45 per under-copayment item)

Does NOT count:

• Brand premiums (the extra you pay for choosing a branded medicine over the generic)
• Therapeutic group premiums
• Early supply prescriptions (supplied within 20 days of previous supply for 30-day scripts, or within 50 days for 60-day scripts)
• Non-PBS medicines (medicines not listed on the PBS)
• Over-the-counter medicines

60-Day Dispensing and the Safety Net

If your medicine is on the 60-day dispensing list, you pay one co-payment for a two-month supply instead of two separate co-payments. This halves your out-of-pocket cost per month — but it also means you accumulate Safety Net spending more slowly.

Practical impact: A general patient on one 60-day medicine pays approximately 6 co-payments per year ($150) instead of 12 ($300). For patients on multiple 60-day medicines, this significantly slows progress toward the $1,748.20 threshold.

The early supply rule: If you refill a 60-day prescription within 50 days of the previous supply of the same medicine, that early refill does not count toward your Safety Net. This prevents stockpiling from accelerating Safety Net eligibility (source: PBS.gov.au).

Claiming the Safety Net

Once your tracked spending reaches the threshold:

1. Complete the application section on your PB240 Prescription Record Form
2. Submit to Services Australia — your pharmacist can help with this, or you can submit it yourself
3. Receive your Safety Net card — a Safety Net Entitlement Card (general patients) or Safety Net Concession Card (concessional patients)
4. Present the card at the pharmacy for the rest of the calendar year

From that point:

• General patients pay the concessional rate of $7.70 per script (instead of $25.00)
• Concessional patients pay $0 per script (except brand or therapeutic group premiums)

The card is valid until 31 December. The Safety Net resets on 1 January each year.

Important: If a single pharmacy visit pushes you over the threshold, the pharmacist should apply the Safety Net rate to the remaining prescriptions in that batch immediately — you do not need to wait for the card.

Quick Estimates: Will You Reach the Safety Net?

General patients ($1,748.20 threshold, $25.00/script)

Estimates assume monthly 30-day scripts at full $25 co-payment. 60-day scripts halve the number of co-payments. Additional one-off prescriptions (antibiotics, etc.) contribute toward the threshold.

Concessional patients ($277.20 threshold, $7.70/script)

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I check my PBS Safety Net balance?

The most reliable method is your PBS Prescription Record Form (PB240), which your pharmacist stamps each time you fill a script. You can also check your PBS claims through myGov linked to Medicare, though there may be a processing delay of several weeks.

Can my family pool our PBS spending?

Yes. You can register a family group with Medicare (call 132 011 or through myGov) that includes your partner and dependent children. All eligible co-payments from family members count toward a single threshold.

Does 60-day dispensing affect my Safety Net?

Yes. A 60-day supply counts as one co-payment toward the threshold, so you accumulate spending more slowly — roughly half the rate of monthly dispensing. The total threshold does not change.

What happens on 1 January?

The Safety Net resets. Your tracked spending goes back to zero, and you need to meet the threshold again during the new calendar year. Any Safety Net card from the previous year is no longer valid.

Do I need to use the same pharmacy?

No. PBS Safety Net spending is tracked per person (or family group), not per pharmacy. However, you need to ensure all pharmacies record your dispensings on the same PB240 form, or combine records from multiple pharmacies when applying.

What if I change from general to concessional during the year?

Your previous co-payments can count toward the new threshold category. Contact Medicare (132 011) to have your records adjusted.

General information only, not personal health or financial advice. Threshold and co-payment figures sourced from PBS.gov.au and Services Australia, effective 1 January 2026. Individual circumstances may vary. Always consult your pharmacist or healthcare provider for advice specific to your situation.