Anthony Albanese has promised to slash the maximum cost of prescription medicine under the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) to $25 if re-elected.

The cost of medicines on the PBS is currently at a maximum of $31.60 for non-concession card holders, and Mr Albanese has vowed to cut that by January 2026 if he secures another term.

The change, which will cost taxpayers $689million and will be included in the coming Budget, is part of Labor’s plan to make healthcare a central issue in the election campaign. 

A full list of the medicines covered by the PBS is available on the Department of Health and Aged Care website.  

Pensioners and concession cardholders already have a $7.70 cap on PBS medicines,  so they will be unaffected by the change, however the government promised to extend that until 2030 as part of the new policy.

If brought into effect, the change would make prescriptions in Australia the cheapest they have been in decades.

‘The last time Australians paid no more than $25 for a PBS medicine was over 20 years ago,’ Health Minister Mark Butler said.

‘Cheaper medicines are good for the hip pocket and good for your health.’  

The announcement has signalled that Labor wants to fight the election on healthcare grounds, after it pledged last month to make GP visits free for most Aussies if re-elected. 

The government attacked Peter Dutton’s record as Health Minister on Wednesday night, as it had during the GP visits announcement. 

‘When Peter Dutton was Health Minister, he tried to make medicines cost more, not less,’ Mr Butler said.

‘Peter Dutton tried to jack up the cost of medicines by up to $5 a script and put free medicines for sick pensioners even further out of reach.

‘In opposition, Peter Dutton and the Liberals voted to block cheaper medicines six times.’

However the Coalition negated lower prescription prices as an election issue by saying it would match the policy, and also cut the maximum payment to $25 if it wins office. 

‘Labor’s cost of living crisis is forcing Australians to make difficult decisions about their health – decisions that no Australian should have to make,’ Opposition health spokeswoman Anne Ruston said.

‘More families are being forced to delay or avoid refilling their scripts or seeking health advice because they just cannot afford it under Labor.

‘Only a Dutton Coalition Government will get the PBS back on track with strong economic management. 

‘We will lower the PBS co-payment to $25 and continue our longstanding policy of listing all approved and recommended medicines on the PBS – and in a timely manner.’ 

The announcement comes as ‘big pharma’ in the US calls on Donald Trump to impose further tariffs on Australia because it subsidises medicines. 

The drug companies lodged a formal complaint with Trump’s trade chief earlier this month, calling for an end to the ‘damaging pricing policies’ in Australia. 

It’s possible the US will try to use punitive tariffs to force Australia to abandon its medicine subsidies, and allow those companies exporting medicines to Australia to charge much more.  

But both Labor and the Coalition have vowed to keep the PBS off the table in any trade talks with the Trump administration.