PBS election sweetener pays off for voters

More than one million Australian women have accessed PBS listed medicines under the Federal Government’s Women's Health Package, saving patients more than $150 million in out-of-pocket costs. 

The new figures released by the Department of Health to kick off Women’s Health Week, show since March 2025, more than one million women have filled over four million prescriptions for oral contraceptives, menopausal hormone therapies, and endometriosis treatments listed on the PBS. The nearly $800 million Package was announced in February 2025 just months out from the election.

“This is what our Women’s Health Package is about, making women’s health care more affordable and accessible, while helping ease cost-of-living pressures for women and families,” Women’s Minister, Katy Gallagher, said.