Posting PBS medicine overseas

Under legislation, Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) subsidised medicines can only be sent overseas when they’re intended for use by:

• yourself or someone you’re travelling with, or
• yourself as a Commonwealth, State or Territory officer, or the spouse or dependent child of the officer.

Before you post medicine, you should do all of these:

1. Make sure the medicine is legal in the country you’re sending it to.
2. If it’s legal in the country, get a letter from your doctor, or your travel companion’s doctor, to include with your parcel. If you can’t do this, print and fill in the Medicine Export Declaration form and include with the parcel. Leave the medicine in the original packaging.
3. Stick a customs declaration to your parcel. It must say it contains prescription medicine for your, or your travel companion’s, personal use. You can get this sticker from any post office.
4. Make sure you don’t send more than the legal amount. Check with your doctor.

If you need more information, call the PBS taking or sending medicine overseas line. We can help translate this information in another language. Let us know if you need an interpreter and we’ll arrange one for free.