PB 29 of 2024

National Health (Prescriber Bag Supplies) Determination 2024

I, Nikolai Tsyganov, as delegate of the Minister for Health and Aged Care, make the following determination.

Dated 27 March 2024

Nikolai Tsyganov

Assistant Secretary
Pricing and PBS Policy Branch
Technology Assessment and Access Division
Department of Health and Aged Care

Contents

Part 1—Preliminary

1 Name

2 Commencement

3 Authority

4 Definitions

5 References to a pharmaceutical benefit that has a drug in a relevant form

Part 2—Authorisation of practitioners and maximum quantity (number of units)

6 Authorisation of practitioners to supply pharmaceutical benefits

7 Maximum quantity (number of units)

Schedule 1—Pharmaceutical benefits that may be supplied by authorised suppliers

Part 1—Preliminary

1  Name

 (1) This instrument is the National Health (Prescriber Bag Supplies) Determination 2024.

 (2)  This instrument may also be cited as PB 29 of 2024.

2  Commencement

 (1) Each provision of this instrument specified in column 1 of the table commences, or is taken to have commenced, in accordance with column 2 of the table. Any other statement in column 2 has effect according to its terms.

Note: This table relates only to the provisions of this instrument as originally made. It will not be amended to deal with any later amendments of this instrument.

 (2) Any information in column 3 of the table is not part of this instrument. Information may be inserted in this column, or information in it may be edited, in any published version of this instrument.

3  Authority

  This instrument is made under sections 93 and 93AB of the National Health Act 1953.

4  Definitions

Note 1: Under subsection 4(1A) of the Act, a word or phrase defined for the purposes of the Health Insurance Act 1973 has the meaning that it would have if used in that Act. Expressions used in this instrument that are defined in that Act include ‘medical practitioner’.

In this instrument:

Act means the National Health Act 1953.

authorised nurse practitioner has the same meaning as in Part VII of the Act.

pharmaceutical benefit has the same meaning as in Part VII of the Act.

pharmaceutical benefit has a drug has the same meaning as in Part VII of the Act.

pharmaceutical benefit that has a drug in a relevant form: see section 5.

5  References to a pharmaceutical benefit that has a drug in a relevant form

A reference in this instrument to a pharmaceutical benefit that has a drug in a relevant form is a reference to a pharmaceutical benefit that has a drug mentioned in an item in Schedule 1 in the column headed “Listed Drug” in the form mentioned for that drug in the column in Schedule 1 headed “Form”.

Part 2—Authorisation of practitioners and maximum quantity (number of units)

6  Authorisation of practitioners to supply pharmaceutical benefits

 (1) For the purposes of subsection 93(1) of the Act, a medical practitioner is authorised to supply a pharmaceutical benefit that has a drug in a relevant form if the initials “MP” are mentioned for that drug in that form in the column in Schedule 1 headed “Prescriber Bag Supplier”.

 (2) For the purposes of subsection 93AB(1) of the Act, an authorised nurse practitioner is authorised to supply a pharmaceutical benefit that has a drug in a relevant form if the initials “NP” are mentioned for that drug in that form in the column in Schedule 1 headed “Prescriber Bag Supplier”.

7  Maximum quantity (number of units)

 (1) This section determines the maximum number of units of a pharmaceutical benefit that has a drug in a relevant form which may be obtained by a medical practitioner or an authorised nurse practitioner (a practitioner) in a calendar month for the purposes of subsection 93(2) and subsection 93AB(2) of the Act.

 (2) The maximum number of units is the number of units mentioned in the column in Schedule 1 headed “Maximum Quantity” for that drug in that form.

 (3) Despite subsection (2), if a practitioner has already obtained 1 or more units of a pharmaceutical benefit that has a drug in a relevant form in a group in the same calendar month, the maximum number of units of any other pharmaceutical benefit that has a drug in a relevant form in that group is zero for that calendar month.

 (4) For this section, a group is each pharmaceutical benefit that has a drug in a relevant form which has the same number mentioned for the drug and form in the column in Schedule 1 headed “Group Number”.

Schedule 1—Pharmaceutical benefits that may be supplied by authorised suppliers