This FAQ explains the updated Schedule rules for periods of supply, dispensing, Special Authority expiry, and product‑specific clarifications.
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Periods of supply
The first dispensing must occur within 3 months of the date the prescription was written. If dispensing happens after 3 months, the item will not be subsidised.
Where no legal limit exists, up to 12 months’ total treatment may be subsidised, as long as dispensing follows Schedule rules (see Section 3.2).
Some items on the Schedule are not medicines (such as special foods) and are not regulated under the same legislation as medicines, so have no legal supply limit. This rule limits the subsidy period on these items to the same as for medicines.
Dispensing rules
Dispensing periods will now align with the legal maximums already set out in:
This replaces previously listed Schedule dispensing durations.
A single dispensing may include up to 3 months’ supply, unless otherwise specified in the Schedule.
Some items on the Schedule are not medicines (such as special foods) and are not regulated under the same legislation as medicines, so they do not have a legal supply limit.
Where there is no legal maximum dispensing period, only a quantity sufficient for up to three months of treatment in a single dispensing will be subsidised, unless otherwise specified.
The ‘two-thirds rule’ refers to rule 3.3.1 of the Schedule which clarifies when repeat dispensings are eligible for subsidy. Repeat dispensings will be funded:
if the previous supply has run out, or
two-thirds of the expected time between dispensings has passed, or
If the first dispensing was made before the Special Authority expired:
Remaining repeats may still be dispensed up to a total of 3 months’ funded supply, even after the SA expiry date.
For any further funded supply beyond that:
A new Special Authority is required.
For example:
If a person has received one month’s supply on a prescription and the Special Authority approval expires during the second month, they can still collect funded repeats for months two and three to complete a full three months of funded supply (even if the repeats are collected after the expiry date).
If a person has received five months’ supply on a prescription and the approval expires during the sixth month, no further repeats will be funded until the Special Authority is renewed, as they have already received more than three months of funded supply.
Product‑specific clarifications
Although they look like they conflict, they apply to different time definitions:
The Schedule defines 1 month = 30 days, so 3 months = 90 days → up to 9 devices.
The 40 devices per year limit uses a calendar year (365 days).
This means:
A person who has received 36 devices (4 × 9) within the calendar year can still receive up to the annual maximum of 40, as long as the prescription falls within that same calendar year.
Liraglutide injections (prefilled pen) are listed in the Schedule as 6 mg per ml (that is 18 mg per 3 ml injection). The maximum daily doses funded on prescription for diabetes is 1.8 mg per day, which equates to 0.1 injections per day.
The claiming system requires the product be entered as an injection fraction. The updated limit effectively entitles patients to 3 injections (pens) per month (as is the current limit). As long as pharmacies dispense and claim the correct number of injections, claims will not be rejected.
