News and Alerts

• 1 November 2025: PBS Changes - November 2025

• 24 October 2025: Fast and Easy eScript Ordering

  With MedView Patient Connect patients can simply order their eScripts directly from their email or SMS token—no app download required.

  • Patients can conveniently search for their preferred or nearest pharmacy

  • Orders flow straight into your pharmacy queue

  • Complete with all script and order details

  • Ready for dispensing by your pharmacy team

  It’s simple, secure, and designed to save time for both patients and pharmacists.

  This functionality requires a MedView Flow Pro or higher subscription. To confirm your subscription plan refer to MedView Flow Subscription Settings in MedView Online Help.

• 1 October 2025: PBS Changes - October 2025

• 22 September 2025: Is your NASH certificate expiring soon?

  The NASH certificate expires every two years and needs to be manually renewed on PRODA then uploaded into Fred Dispense Plus.

  The NASH certificate is required to ensure HI Services, MySL and MyHR continue to be operational.

  If your NASH certificate is about to expire, you will receive an email from Fred IT with instructions on how to renew and upload it.

  For more information on updating your NASH certificate, see NASH Certificate.

• 16 September 2025: Is your pharmacy missing out on eScript orders?

  There are now a number of medication management apps and services available for patients to conveniently send their script orders to pharmacies, many of which are free and readily accessible. The MedView Flow Pro subscription service receives scripts from all patient apps and script ordering services.

  The following services seamlessly deliver script orders directly to your MedView Flow queue.

  • MedView Patient Connect offers fast and easy token ordering. Patients can place prescription orders directly from their email or SMS token, eliminating the need for an app.

  • Scripty is one of many medication apps available. It is free to use, and patients can order scripts from their tokens or their Active Script List.

  To compare the MedView Flow subscription plans, see Subscription Settings in MedView Flow online help.

• 1 September 2025: September 2025 Late Addendum – Lentocillin S 1200 (Portugal)

  There is a critical shortage of Benzathine Benzylpenicillin currently in effect. Please refer to TGA page: About the shortage of Bicillin L-A (benzathine benzylpenicillin tetrahydrate) prefilled syringe for injection | Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) for information.

  To address this shortage, PBS have made a late amendment to allow for the addition of a brand “Lentocilin S 1200 (Portugal)” to the PBS Schedule for the drug benzathine benzylpenicillin commencing 1 September 2025 .

  Please refer to attached addendum for more information.

• 1 September 2025: September 2025 - Denpax and Fenpatch PBS Item Deletions

  The following item codes for Denpax and Fenpatch have been delisted from PBS as of 1st September 2025.

  General

  5265D FENTANYL, fentanyl 12 microgram/hour patch, 5 (Denpax)

  5437E FENTANYL, fentanyl 12 microgram/hour patch, 5 (Fenpatch 12)

  5277R FENTANYL, fentanyl 25 microgram/hour patch, 5 (Denpax)

  5438F FENTANYL, fentanyl 25 microgram/hour patch, 5 (Fenpatch 25)

  5278T FENTANYL, fentanyl 50 microgram/hour patch, 5 (Denpax)

  5279W FENTANYL, fentanyl 75 microgram/hour patch, 5 (Denpax)

  5439G FENTANYL, fentanyl 50 microgram/hour patch, 5 (Fenpatch 50)

  5280X FENTANYL, fentanyl 100 microgram/hour patch, 5 (Denpax)

  5440H FENTANYL, fentanyl 75 microgram/hour patch, 5 (Fenpatch 75)

  5441J FENTANYL, fentanyl 100 microgram/hour patch, 5 (Fenpatch 100)

  Palliative

  12491K FENTANYL, fentanyl 12 microgram/hour patch, 5 (Denpax)

  12530L FENTANYL, fentanyl 12 microgram/hour patch, 5 (Fenpatch 12)

  12516R FENTANYL, fentanyl 25 microgram/hour patch, 5 (Denpax)

  12521B FENTANYL, fentanyl 25 microgram/hour patch, 5 (Fenpatch 25)

  12546H FENTANYL, fentanyl 50 microgram/hour patch, 5 (Denpax)

  12526G FENTANYL, fentanyl 75 microgram/hour patch, 5 (Denpax)

  12513N FENTANYL, fentanyl 50 microgram/hour patch, 5 (Fenpatch 50)

  12533P FENTANYL, fentanyl 100 microgram/hour patch, 5 (Denpax)

  12517T FENTANYL, fentanyl 75 microgram/hour patch, 5 (Fenpatch 75)

  12480W FENTANYL, fentanyl 100 microgram/hour patch, 5 (Fenpatch 100)

  The Department of Health and Aging have advised that prescriptions for Denpax and Fenpatch written prior to 1st September will be valid for claiming against the remaining brands of these patches – APO and Sandoz. Patients will not be required to obtain new prescriptions from their prescriber.

• 1 September 2025: PBS Changes - September 2025

• 22 August 2025: Join us at Pharmacy Connect

  See new MedView Digital Baskets in action, new solutions, and the latest Fred Marketplace integrations plus more. Visit Fred and MedView on stands 67 & 68 from 3-5 September.

  Thu 4 Sep 2025 12.15pm-1.00pm | Grand Ballroom 2

  Digital Health: The next five years for pharmacy and the innovation making the eScript ecosystem easier for you and your customers

  The May 2023 federal budget revealed a $1.1 billion investment to update the digital health infrastructure and to transform My Health Record into a more data-rich platform. With pharmacists expanding their roles, this session will outline how this digital investment and many others can enhance health outcomes for Australians. The session will also highlight the key piece of innovation that will enable pharmacies to receive an eScript easily and allow customers timely access to their medicines. It will further explore the implications for pharmacists and provide tips to ensure your pharmacy can deliver the evolving digital advances in pharmacy, easily. The goal is to use technology in pharmacy to improve medication safety.

  Speaker: Regina Cowie – Partnerships Manager eHealth, Fred IT Group

• 1 August 2025: Late notice: 1 August 2025 Omalizumab substitution

  In the 1 August 2025 PBS data, new listings were added for omalizumab 75 mg/0.5 mL injection, 0.5 mL pen device, and were marked as substitutable with the equivalent existing listings for omalizumab 75 mg/0.5 mL injection, 0.5 mL syringe

  An error was included where two of the new item codes were assigned a substitution group that linked the existing Private Hospital program (HS) item code with the new Public Hospital program (HB) item code, and vice versa:

  10110D (HS) equivalence group with 14949T (HB)

  10118M (HB) equivalence group with 14904K (HS)

  The correct substitution group should be:

  10110D (HS) equivalence group with 14904K (HS)

  10118M (HB) equivalence group with 14949T (HB)

  The substitution groups have been set up correctly in Fred Dispense and Fred Dispense Plus for 1 August 2025. No further action is required.

  Fred does not anticipate any issues for Fred Dispense or Fred Dispense Plus users in August 2025, however, Services Australia have provided some advice below in the event of rejections:

  • From 1-31 August 2025, Approved Suppliers may get a rejection in PBS Online Claiming for claims where the date of prescribing is prior 1 August, for the existing omalizumab item and substituting to the new item code.

    • R738 - The item provided was not a PBS benefit as at the date of prescribing.

  • Services Australia will monitor and honour eligible PBS claims with this rejection with a separate payment. No further action is required.

  • PBS Claims for scripts written from 1 August 2025, Approved Suppliers to follow the usual reason code fix instructions

• 1 August 2025: PBS Changes - August 2025
• 1 August 2025: PBS Listing Update for Relaban (Rivaroxaban) Capsules – August 2025

  The Relaban brand of rivaroxaban has been incorrectly listed as tablets instead of capsules in the August 2025 PBS Schedule.

  An erratum has been issued to allow dispensing of Relaban rivaroxaban capsules (15 mg and 20 mg) under the existing tablet item codes:

  2691P, 13463N, 13462M, and 2268J

  The 1 August Fred Dispense/Dispense Plus Drug Update will include these listings for the capsules, enabling claims under the above item codes.

  Relaban will be correctly listed with new item codes and in capsule form in the 1 September 2025 PBS Schedule update.

  For full details, please visit the PBS website:

  https://www.pbs.gov.au/info/news/2025/08/pbs-website-update-1-august-2025

• 25 July 2025: End of Remote Access Support for Old Mobility Devices1

  

  Due to increasing security risks, we have ended remote access support for the legacy Motorola and Datalogic Windows-based mobility guns. These devices officially reached end of service life in February 2021. Although we have continued to support them well beyond that date, they are no longer viable for secure remote troubleshooting.

  The old mobility devices can no longer be guaranteed to function reliably or securely in today’s environment. Moving forward, we can provide self-help documentation and phone support only.

  While we’ll continue to assist where possible, we strongly recommend upgrading to a newer mobility device.

  

  New Mobility Devices

  The new Fred Mobility devices run on an Android platform and have a modern touchscreen interface.

  Contact your local Fred representative or sales@fred.com.au if you’d like to discuss upgrading to a new device.

• 1 July 2025: Fee changes applicable from 1 July 2025
  Fees

  The following fees, patient contributions, and Safety Net thresholds apply from 1 July 2025 and are included, where applicable, in prices published in the Schedule.

  Fee Type		Fee
  Dispensing Fees	Ready-prepared	$8.88
  	Dangerous drug fee	$5.50
  	Extemporaneously-prepared	$10.92
  	Allowable additional patient charge*	$3.45
  Additional Fees (for safety net prices)	Ready-prepared	$1.48
  	Extemporaneously-prepared	$1.91
  Patient Co-payments	General	$31.60
  	Concessional	$7.70
  Safety Net Thresholds	General	$1694.00
  	Concessional	$277.20
  Safety Net Card Issue Fee		$12.38

  * The allowable additional patient charge is a discretionary charge to general patients if a pharmaceutical item has a dispensed price for maximum quantity less than the general patient co-payment. The pharmacist may charge general patients the allowable additional fee but the fee cannot take the cost of the prescription above the general patient co-payment for the medicine. This fee does not count towards the Safety Net threshold.

  Administration, Handling, and Infrastructure (AHI) fees

  Tier 1	For a maximum quantity of a listed brand with a price to pharmacists less than $100	$4.91 per dispense*
  Tier 2	For a maximum quantity of a listed brand with a price to pharmacists from $100 to $2,000	$4.91, plus 5% of the amount by which the price to pharmacists exceeds $100, per dispense*
  Tier 3	For a maximum quantity of a listed brand with a price to pharmacists more than $2,000	$99.91 per dispense*

  * There is no change to the basis of the payment of the total mark-up / AHI (i.e. – in the table above, per dispense means per listed PBS item maximum quantity (MQ) supplied. Fee is calculated from the per pack price with AHI applied for maximum quantity, proportionate to the number of packs required for maximum quantity, and will be adjusted if less or more than the maximum quantity is supplied).

  Chemotherapy fees

  Fee Type		Fee
  Section 90 Community Pharmacy (incl. section 92 approved practitioners)	Ready Prepared Dispensing Fee	$8.88
  	Preparation Fee	$91.23
  	Distribution Fee	$30.71
  	Diluent Fee	$6.08
  Section 94 Approved Private Hospital Authority	Ready Prepared Dispensing Fee	$8.88
  	Preparation Fee	$91.23
  	Distribution Fee	$30.71
  	Diluent Fee	$6.08

• 1 July 2025: PBS Changes - July 2025

• 23 June 2025: Catch up with the Fred Team this August in Sydney and Perth
• 3 June 2025: Say hello to AIFred...our new customer service chatbot

  Your new Fred virtual assistant is now live and ready to help you get quick answers, troubleshoot issues, and guide you to the right place.

  • Access support anytime, anywhere, even outside of regular business hours.

  • Get immediate answers to your queries without waiting in a queue.

  • Benefit from help tailored to your needs or routing to the correct support team.

  

  Visit the Fred Help Portal to chat with AIFred today!

• 1 June 2025: PBS Changes - June 2025
• 26 May 2025: Coming Soon...Your Fred Virtual Assistant

  We are thrilled to announce a significant enhancement to your customer service experience. Starting 3 June 2025, we will be replacing our live chat service with a new, advanced messaging chatbot.

  Why the Change?

  Our new messaging chatbot is designed to provide you with faster, more efficient, and round-the-clock support. This upgrade will be:

  • Convenient: Access support anytime, anywhere, even outside of regular business hours.

  • Fast: Get immediate answers to your queries without waiting in a queue.

  • Personalised: Benefit from help tailored to your needs or routing to the correct support team.

  Visit the Fred Help Portal from 3 June to start using the chatbot.

• 26 May 2025: Update to Continued Dispensing Arrangements - Emergency Measures

  From 23 May 2025 to 30 June 2025, a temporary PBS Continued Dispensing Emergency Measure has been put in place to support people affected by the flooding disaster in New South Wales to continue to access their PBS subsidised medicines.

  This PBS Continued Dispensing Emergency Measure will support access to a wider range of PBS medicines than under ongoing Continued Dispensing arrangements, covering most medicines on the General Schedule of the PBS. For further information, please see the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme Continued Dispensing Arrangements webpage.

  The 1 June 2025 Fred Dispense Plus drug file has been updated with the expanded list. When dispensing eligible authority items, please remember to use 123 as the authority number and enter A2025CD in the steamlined code/phone approval number field.

  

  For continued dispensing related queries please refer to the link above. If you have any other questions, refer to Dispense a Continued Dispensing Supply or contact Fred Help.

• 22 May 2025: Upgrade to a modern Windows 11 device before EOFY

  With Windows 10 support ending later this year, now is the ideal time to transition to modern Windows 11 devices. If your pharmacy’s PCs are over three years old and out of warranty, upgrading will ensure optimal security and reliability.

  Fred has all the hardware solutions you need, ready for delivery before June 30. Please consult your accountant about any potential tax incentives available with the instant asset write-off .

  To further discuss the upgrade options for your pharmacy please contact your local Fred representative or email sales@fred.com.au.

• 22 May 2025: Changes in Cautionary Ancillary Labels

  The Pharmaceutical Society Australia has made some revisions to cautionary ancillary labels.

  CAL Label 18 and CAL I have been merged, and an updated CAL 18 has been introduced.

  Old CAL 18 and CAL I	Revised CAL 18

  CAL 13 has been reworded.

  Old CAL 13	New CAL 13

  These changes will be applied in Fred Dispense Plus warnings and sigs from the June 2025 update. For further information, please see the below:

  https://www.australianpharmacist.com.au/goodbye-cal-i-hello-expanded-cal-18/

  https://www.australianpharmacist.com.au/new-cal-medicine-storage-guidance/

• 22 May 2025: End of financial year and stocktaking help

  It's nearly time for End of Financial Year Reporting and Stocktaking. To assist you with these processes, refer to the following Fred Office Plus resources:

  • Stocktakes

  • Stocktake options at a glance

• 1 May 2025: PBS Changes - May 2025
• 9 April 2025: Competition - Win an iPad!

  Join the OPIOID SAFETY TOOLKIT PROJECT to enter the draw.

  Community pharmacies using Fred Dispense Plus can support safer and more effective use of opioid pain medicines via a unique integration with GoShare Healthcare.

  Over 9,000 patients have already received access to the Opioid Safety Toolkit, delivered automatically by SMS via the Fred Dispense Plus AppBar.

  To enter the draw for a Wifi 64gig iPAD your pharmacy must complete the following by 5 May 2025.

  1. Register your pharmacy on the PSA website .

  2. Receive your Healthily GoShare activation email.

  3. Add the GoShare Opioid Safety Toolkit app to your Fred Dispense Plus AppBar.

  Terms and Conditions

  1. Eligibility:

  • Entry is open to individuals employed at, and representing an Australian pharmacy.

  • Only one entry per pharmacy is permitted.

  • Pharmacies must use Fred Dispense Plus as their pharmacy dispensing system.

  2. Entry method:

  • Pharmacies will automatically be entered into the draw when:

    • The pharmacy has agreed to participate in the Opioid Safety Toolkit project by registering at PSA and/or participating in a Fred IT/Healthily demo of the GoShare Opioid Safety Toolkit app.

    • The pharmacy is activated for Healthily GoShare confirmed via receipt of the Healthily GoShare activation email.

    • The pharmacy has added the GoShare Opioid Safety Toolkit app to their Fred Dispense Plus AppBar.

  3. Withdrawing from the competition:

  • Pharmacies are entered into the prize draw once they have met the above Eligibility and Entry method criteria.

  • Pharmacies who wish to withdraw from the competition can do so by notifying the competition administrator.

  4. Selecting the winning pharmacy:

  • All eligible pharmacies have an equal chance of winning. The winning pharmacy will be selected randomly from a pool of all eligible Pharmacies.

  5. Prize:

  • The prize for the competition is a new iPad (valued at $599)

  • The prize is non-transferable and cannot be exchanged for cash or other items.

  6. Winner Notification:

  • Winners will be notified via email within one month of the competition closing date.

  • The competition closes on 5 May 2025.

  7. Privacy:

  • The winner of the iPad prize may be publicly disclosed for promotional purposes.

  • Other Competition entrant details will not be publicly disclosed.

  8. Personal information collected will be used solely for the purpose of administering the competition and will be handled in accordance with our Privacy Policy.

  9. Disqualification:

  • Any entry that does not comply with these Terms and Conditions will be disqualified.

  • The organiser reserves the right to disqualify any entrant who is found to have tampered with the entry process or engaged in any unlawful or improper conduct.

  10. Liability:

  • The organiser is not responsible for any loss or damage suffered or incurred by any entrant in connection with the competition or prize.

  11, Publicity rights:

  • By participating in the competition, participants agree to allow the organiser to use details of the competition for promotion purposes without additional compensation, unless prohibited by law.

• 9 April 2025: Shingrix Clinical Prompts

  New in your upcoming Fred Dispense Plus release

  Shingrix Clinical Prompts will identify patients of your pharmacy who are eligible for the National Immunisation Program (NIP) funded Shingles vaccination.

  By identifying at risk patients your pharmacy has an opportunity to discuss, and administer where appropriate the Shingrix vaccine. The prompts aim to assist you to:

  • Improve health awareness of Shingles in the community

  • Increase vaccination rates

  • Reduce the possibility of at-risk groups contracting Shingles

  The first time you open Fred Dispense Plus Release 38 you will see a prompt for the Shingles Clinical Support Program. Selecting Yes will enable the feature, and allow you to adjust the program settings.

  To learn more about the workflow and settings, see Clinical Support Program

• 1 April 2025: PBS Changes - April 2025
• 3 March 2025: Yaz and Yasmin PBS Listed from 1 March 2025

  Yaz and Yasmin are listed on PBS from 1st March 2025. Patients will need to obtain a new prescription from their prescribers to access the PBS subsidised price.

  Please see PBS news https://www.pbs.gov.au/info/news/2025/03/pbs-item-supply-for-formerly-private_prescription-items

• 1 March 2025: PBS Changes - March 2025
• 20 February 2025 See you at APP!

  

  Come visit the Fred and MedView teams at APP next month to see what’s new in the world of pharmacy IT. Discover new partner integrations and offers. Get hands-on with MedView Digital Baskets. If you’re interested in improving your pharmacy’s efficiency, we’ve got the IT innovations to help.

  Find us on stands 124-127 inside the main exhibition hall.

  Thu 20 Mar	5.30pm - 8.30pm	Welcome Reception
  Fri 21 Mar	9.00am - 6.30pm	Trade Exhibition
  Fri 21 Mar	5.30pm - 6.30pm	Wind down at APP’s inaugural ‘Happy Hour' straight after the Conference Sessions conclude
  Sat 22 Mar	9.00am - 4.00pm	Trade Exhibition

  Digital Health: The next 5 years for pharmacy

  Thursday 20 March | 2.00-2.45pm | Arena 1A

  The May 2023 federal budget revealed a $1.1 billion investment to update the digital health infrastructure and to transform My Health Record into a more data-rich platform. With pharmacists expanding their roles, this session will outline how this digital investment can enhance health outcomes for Australians. It will explore the implications for pharmacists with an upgraded My Health Record, and how the evolving digital medication platforms seek to further improve medication safety.

  Moderator: Paul Naismith - Founder and CEO, Fred IT Group

  Panellists:

  • Daniel McCabe - First Assistant Secretary Medicare Benefits and Digital Health, Australian Government Department of Health

  • Paul Creech - Chief Program Officer, Australian Digital Health Agency

  • Regina Cowie - Partnerships Manager eHealth, Fred IT Group.

   
• 6 February 2025: Update to Continued Dispensing Arrangements – Emergency Measures

  From 4 February 2025 to 31 March 2025, a temporary PBS Continued Dispensing Emergency Measure has been put in place to support people affected by the flooding disaster in Far North Queensland to continue to access their PBS subsidised medicines.

  This PBS Continued Dispensing Emergency Measure will support access to a wider range of PBS medicines than under ongoing Continued Dispensing arrangements, covering most medicines on the General Schedule of the PBS. For further information, please see the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme Continued Dispensing Arrangements webpage.

  The February Fred Dispense Plus drug file has been updated with the expanded list. When dispensing eligible authority items, please remember to use 123 as the authority number and enter ‘A2022CD’ in the phone approval number section.

  

  For continued dispensing related queries please refer to the link above. If you have any other questions, refer to Dispense a Continued Dispensing Supply or contact Fred Help.

• 1 February 2025: PBS Changes - February 2025
• 17 January 2025: Disabling or re-enabling electronic prescriptions

  In the event of potential clinical risks with dispensing and supplying an ePrescription, you are reminded that you can disable an ePrescription in Fred Dispense Plus.

  This is particularly important if the patient is a doctor shopper or you suspect the prescription may be fraudulent.

  For step-by-step instructions, see Disable or re-enable an ePrescription.

• 6 January 2025: PBS Changes - January 2025
• 6 January 2025: Fee Changes From 1 January 2025

  Fees are mostly remaining the same except for the General Safety Net Threshold.

  As part of the 8CPA agreement, there will be a 1- year freeze on PBS copayments for General Patients, and up to a 5-year freeze for concession patients.

  Category	Fees	2024	From 1 January 2025
  Dispensing fees	Allowable additional patient charge	$3.45	$3.45
  Patient co-payment	General Concessional	$31.60 $7.70	$31.60 $7.70
  Safety Net threshold	General Concessional	$1647.90 $277.20	$1694.00 $277.20

  Copayment discounting will also be phased out with the following discounting rules to take effect from 1 January 2025.

  	Category	2024	From 1 January 2025
  Allowable discount	General	$1.00	$0.10
  	Concessional	$1.00	$0.80

• 6 January 2025: Freeze on PBS patient co-payments and removal of allowable discount

  What is happening?

  Currently both general and concessional PBS co-payments are indexed on 1 January each year, in line with the Consumer Price Index.

  In 2024, the co-payments were $31.60 for general patients and $7.70 for concessional patients.

  From 1 January 2025, the government will introduce:

  • a 1-year freeze on indexation for PBS co-payments for general patients

  • a 5-year freeze on indexation for PBS co-payments for concessional patients.

  Currently, if the total cost of a PBS medicine is above a patient’s co-payment, pharmacists can reduce the co-payment for that patient by applying an allowable discount, up to an amount of $1, for each supply.

  From 1 January 2025, the allowable discount (aka ‘$1 discount’) will be phased out (over 1 or 5 years) while annual increases to the general and concessional PBS co-payments are frozen.

  The discount will decrease by the amount of indexation that would have otherwise applied to the general or concessional patient PBS co-payment, as relevant, until it reaches zero.

  What will this look like for patients?

  • For general patients, the general PBS co-payment for the 2025 calendar year will remain at the level applying in 2024 – that is, a maximum of $31.60 for PBS medicines will be payable.

    From 1 January 2026 onwards, the PBS co-payment will again be annually indexed in line with the Consumer Price Index (CPI).

  • For concessional patients, from 1 January 2025 the concessional PBS co-payment will remain at the level applicable for 2024 for the next five calendar years – that is, a maximum of $7.70 for PBS medicines will be payable.