What ADHD Medication Costs Under the PBS
Once an ADHD medicine is listed on the PBS and you have a valid prescription, you pay a set co-payment rather than the full price. From 1 January 2026 that co-payment is $25.00 for general patients and $7.70 for concession card holders.
Once an ADHD medicine is listed on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme and you have a valid prescription, you pay a set co-payment amount rather than the full price of the medicine. From 1 January 2026, that co-payment is $25.00 for a general patient or $7.70 with a concession card, per PBS medicine.
How the co-payment works
The PBS subsidises the cost of a long list of medicines, ADHD medication included where it's listed. Instead of paying a pharmacy's full price, a patient pays up to the co-payment amount and the government covers the rest, for each PBS-listed medicine on a valid script. The general co-payment dropped to $25.00 from 1 January 2026, down from $31.60. The concessional co-payment, for people who hold a concession card, is $7.70, and that rate is frozen until 2029. This applies at every pharmacy the same way, since the PBS is a Commonwealth scheme rather than something that differs by state.
The safety net
The PBS also runs a safety net, which exists to cap how much a person or family pays across a full calendar year. For 2026, the threshold is $277.20 for concession card holders and $1,748.20 for general patients. Reaching the relevant threshold changes what you pay on further PBS medicines for the rest of that year.
What this means for ADHD medication specifically
The co-payment and safety net rules are the standard PBS structure, applying to any PBS-listed medicine, ADHD medication included. Whether the exact ADHD medication and dose you've been prescribed is PBS-listed, and what streamlined authority code applies, is something your pharmacist can tell you when you fill the script. The dollar figures above are the most you'd pay for that medicine under PBS rules, not a fixed price every ADHD prescription costs before any subsidy.
Not every medicine is automatically PBS-listed
The co-payment figures above apply once a medicine is on the PBS. Some ADHD medications are listed, others may only be available on a private prescription, in which case none of the co-payment or safety net rules apply and the pharmacy sets its own price. This is worth asking about early, since it changes the ongoing cost of medication by a wide margin.
None of these figures include the cost of the assessment itself, or the psychiatrist, paediatrician or GP consultations involved in getting and continuing a prescription. They cover only what you pay at the pharmacy once medication is part of your plan.
The co-payment figures and the safety net thresholds are set nationally and reviewed periodically, so the exact dollar amounts can move from one year to the next. The PBS page linked below is the authoritative source for the current figures, and it's worth a look again if a script suddenly costs more or less than you expected.
Common questions
How much does ADHD medication cost with a PBS prescription?
Up to $25.00 per PBS-listed medicine for a general patient, or $7.70 with a concession card, both current from 1 January 2026. That's the most you pay per script, not what every prescription costs before the PBS subsidy is applied.
What is the PBS safety net threshold in 2026?
$277.20 for concession card holders and $1,748.20 for general patients across a calendar year. Reaching the threshold changes what further PBS-listed medicines cost for the rest of that year.
Sources
Related reading
- The psychiatrist pathway: assessment and medication
- ADHD medication types used in Australia
- ADHD medication prescribing rules by state
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