Changes for PBS Authority Required Items

Real time assessment of authority requests for these medicines will be available through the Services Australia’s Online PBS Authorities (OPA) system, via Health Professional Online Services (HPOS). 

This means you will no longer need to submit authority applications, prescriptions, and test results for these medicines. Instead, you will be able to use the online system to apply for authority approval and provide evidence digitally. Although changes have been made to the wording of certain prescribing instructions and administrative notes, the PBS patient eligibility criteria for these medicines won’t change. 

These changes will make it easier for you to request authority approval from Services Australia. 

In addition to these changes, some of the continuing treatment phases have reduced to Authority Required (streamlined). This means for these items, prescribers no longer need to request prior approval from Services Australia and Services Australia will no longer assess the eligibility for these items. Instead, the prescriber must annotate the prescription by providing the four or five digit streamlined authority code for the item being prescribed. 

You can find the full list of PBS listings being updated from 1 November 2022 here.