Your patient must have a valid concessional entitlement to get the lower Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) concessional rate.
Help when you can’t charge the PBS concessional rate
There may be times when your patient can’t get the concessional rate. This may be because your patient’s concessional entitlement isn’t valid.
Check the patient’s entitlement status is valid before dispensing medicine.
Invalid cards
Your patient’s card may be invalid if:
- it’s expired
- they’ve changed their name
- their Centrelink payment stopped
- caring arrangements changed
- income has changed
- living arrangements or their partner’s living arrangements have changed
- they’ve returned from overseas and haven’t told Centrelink.
When a card is invalid, the patient will need to contact the card issuer.
| Card issuer | Type of card | Patient contact |
|---|---|---|
| Centrelink |
| Contact their usual Centrelink payment line |
| Department of Veterans’ Affairs (DVA) | Repatriation Health Cards:
| Department of Veterans’ Affairs on the DVA website |
A patient can claim a refund from us or DVA if they pay a higher price for prescription medicine but are entitled to pay a concession rate.
They’ll need to complete the Patient claim for refund Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) form (PB132). Follow the instructions on the form.