Changes to the Closing the Gap (CTG) PBS Co-payment

Changes to the Closing the Gap PBS co-payment came into effect Thursday 1 July 2021. Registration of eligible Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people will now be via the Health Professional Online Services (HPOS) however, there is a “grace period” in which clinics will have time to ensure these processes are in place and clients can be registered via HPOS before 31 January 2022.

There is a new centralised patient registration database for the program, managed by Services Australia.
 
Any PBS prescriber or AHPRA registered Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Practitioner registered with Medicare as a provider can register eligible Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people for the program.
 
Eligible Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people can be registered for the program no matter where they live, and regardless of their chronic disease status.
 
This registration will cover Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people even if they move to a different health clinic.
 
PBS prescribers will no longer be legally required to write or electronically print ‘CTG’ on eligible PBS prescriptions for registered Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. However, annotation of a PBS script will help community and Section 94 Approved Private Hospital pharmacists, when dispensing the medicine
 
For more information visit Services Australia, read the FAQs or contact your Practice Support Officer.