What this instrument does
The Department of Health, Disability and Ageing has registered a notifiable instrument dated 31 August 2026 under the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS). The instrument is titled the National Health (Pharmaceutical Benefits) (Active Ingredient Prescribing - Excluded Pharmaceutical Benefits) Instrument September 2026.
The instrument sets out which pharmaceutical benefits are excluded from active ingredient prescribing rules. For those excluded medicines, prescribers can still use a brand name rather than the active ingredient name when writing a prescription.
Two categories of excluded medicines
The instrument covers two categories of excluded pharmaceutical benefits:
- Medicines prescribed using the free text function
- Particular ready-prepared pharmaceutical benefits
Geographic scope
This is a federal instrument that applies nationally.
Key actions
- View the full instrument text at https://www.legislation.gov.au/F2026N00646 to see which specific pharmaceutical benefits are listed as excluded from active ingredient prescribing requirements.
- Set up an alert on the Federal Register of Legislation for updates to this instrument by using the Set up an alert function on the page at https://www.legislation.gov.au/F2026N00646.
This is a plain-English summary for information only, not legal or compliance advice. Always check the official source or consult a qualified professional.