Unwanted Food or Drink Products - Once supply conditions are broken, there are a number of factors outside of our control that can affect the quality of a product. Therefore perishable goods such as food and drink cannot be returned. For reasons of hygiene and safety, personal grooming products, cosmetics or items of intimate clothing cannot be returned. Prescriptions must be written on an Authority Prescription Form, and the approval number must be noted on the prescription. Pharmacists cannot dispense the item as a pharmaceutical benefit unless it has been approved by Medicare Australia (indicated by the presence of the approval number). Some PBS medications are restricted and require prior approval from Medicare before a doctor is able to prescribe them on the PBS. This prior approval to prescribe grants the doctor the Authority to prescribe the desired medicine and have it funded under the PBS.

Some drugs may have Authority Required (Streamlined) status which does not require an explicit approval from Medicare, instead the doctor can use the Authority code found in the published Schedule for a given drug/indication. Authority to prescribe an Authority medicine is granted for specific indications and/or for certain patient circumstances. Authority may be obtained by telephone to Medicare Australia (known as "phone approval") or in writing from an authorised delegate of the Minister for Health.

Disclaimer