Applying for approval
Public hospital (participating in the Pharmaceutical Reform Arrangements)
Non-dispensing public hospital (participating in the Pharmaceutical Reform Arrangements)
Public hospital (not participating in the Pharmaceutical Reform Arrangements)
Private hospital
Prescribing-only hospital
Bank account details
Authority for authorised person(s) to sign forms
Submitting forms via the PBS Approved Suppliers Portal
Claiming for PBS medicines
Contact us
Form - Privacy Note
Applying for approval
A hospital authority, being the governing body of a public hospital or the proprietor of a private hospital, must apply to the Secretary of the Department of Health and Aged Care under section 94 of the National Health Act 1953 (Act) for approval to supply pharmaceutical benefits and/or highly specialised drugs to patients receiving treatment in or at a public or private hospital.
Prior to applying for approval, a facility must be declared a public or private hospital by the Minister for Health and Aged Care under subsection 121-5 of the Private Health Insurance Act 2007. The details provided in an application for approval under section 94 of the Act must be consistent with the details recorded on the Commonwealth declared hospitals list. Information about the hospital declaration process, including how to apply and how to view the current list of declared hospitals, is available on the Department of Health and Aged Care’s Hospital care website.
To apply for approval:
- submit an Application for a hospital authority to supply pharmaceutical benefits and/or highly specialised drugs form, signed by a member of the executive of the hospital authority, via the PBS Approved Suppliers Portal.
Public hospital (participating in the Pharmaceutical Reform Arrangements)
A hospital authority, in respect of a public hospital that is participating in the Pharmaceutical Reform Arrangements, can apply for approval to supply pharmaceutical benefits and highly specialised drugs to patients receiving treatment in or at the hospital.
Non-dispensing public hospital (participating in the Pharmaceutical Reform Arrangements)
A hospital authority, in respect of a public hospital that is participating in the Pharmaceutical Reform Arrangements and does not have a dispensary or pharmacy at the hospital, can apply for approval to claim for the supply of highly specialised drugs. The highly specialised drugs may be supplied to patients receiving treatment in or at the public hospital, where supply of those drugs is undertaken by a third party such as a community pharmacy, friendly society or agent.
Public hospital (not participating in the Pharmaceutical Reform Arrangements)
A hospital authority, in respect of a public hospital that is not participating in the Pharmaceutical Reform Arrangements, can apply for approval to supply highly specialised drugs and/or trastuzumab only under the Efficient Funding of Chemotherapy program to patients receiving treatment in or at the hospital.
Private hospital
A hospital authority in respect of a private hospital can apply for approval to supply pharmaceutical benefits and/or highly specialised drugs to patients receiving treatment in or at the hospital.
Prescribing-only public hospital
A public hospital that has been approved by a state or territory government department to prescribe pharmaceutical benefits and/or highly specialised drugs and/or trastuzumab in accordance with the applicable Pharmaceutical Reform Agreement must be registered with the Department of Health and Aged Care as a prescribing only hospital for the purposes of accessing PBS stationery.
To register the hospital:
- submit the Notification of a prescribing-only hospital form via the PBS Approved Suppliers Portal.
Bank account details
To notify of the bank account into which PBS payments are to be made, the hospital authority must complete the Notification of bank account details for a hospital authority form and submit it via the PBS Approved Suppliers Portal. The person submitting the form must be a signed in user of the Portal. Please allow up to 10 working days for the notification to take effect.
Authority for authorised person(s) to sign forms
To authorise a pharmacist to sign PBS claims on behalf of a hospital authority, the hospital authority must complete the Authority to authorise pharmacist(s) to sign claim forms on behalf of a hospital authority form and submit it via the PBS Approved Suppliers Portal. The person submitting the form must be a signed in user of the Portal.
Submitting forms via the PBS Approved Suppliers Portal
Each PBS Approved Suppliers form contains instructions on how it should be returned. For further information on how to submit forms via the PBS Approved Suppliers Portal, refer to the guide: How to upload PDF forms or additional requested information.
Claiming for PBS medicines
The Commonwealth will reimburse approved suppliers for PBS medicines supplied to Australian residents and eligible overseas visitors.
To set up online PBS claiming with Services Australia, the PRODA set-up and form below should be completed, including the Hospital approval number issued to the hospital authority, and the form emailed to Services Australia, at the address on the form. (Please do not email this form to the Department of Health and Aged Care.)
Services Australia cannot pay for PBS medicines supplied if you have not submitted this form.
Read more about registering for online claiming for the PBS, including PRODA set-up on the Services Australia website.
Contact us
For any queries, please email details of your enquiry to pbsapprovedsuppliers@health.gov.au.
Contact Services Australia (formerly the Department of Human Services)
Service Australia oversees patient eligibility and PBS claim payments, and sets up online claiming.
Read more about online claiming for the PBS on the Services Australia website or call 1800 700 199.
To check patient eligibility or script authority queries, please call 132 290.
Form – Privacy Note
The Australian Government Department of Health and Aged Care (department) is bound by the Privacy Act 1988 and the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs).
The department is collecting personal information that you provide in the relevant Form for the purposes of assessing the application or processing the notification (as the case may be). The collection of the personal information is authorised under the National Health Act 1953 (Cth) and delegated legislation under that Act.
For further information, please visit Privacy and your personal information.