News and Alerts

For your convenience, this section includes a summary of this month's important PBS changes.

For the full Schedule of Pharmaceutical Benefits, go to the PBS website at http://www.pbs.gov.au/ where you can search the schedule by drug name.

For Highly Specialised Drugs (HSD) items (CAR and non-CAR), refer to the Schedule of Pharmaceutical Benefits as well as Services Australia to confirm whether the PBS item code for a HSD is eligible to be dispensed and claimed by your pharmacy type.

  • 26 May 2026: Osteoporosis Medication Health Literacy Program - Available now in Fred Dispense Plus

    The Osteoporosis Medication Health Literacy Program involves automated dissemination of resource packages at the time of dispensing targeted medicines, to improve medication health literacy and adherence among individuals with osteoporosis.

    The initiative is funded by the Australian Department of Health, Disability and Ageing under the Quality Use of Diagnostics, Therapeutics and Pathology Program.

    The Program is available FREE to Fred Dispense Plus pharmacies.

    Learn more

    Register for the program

  • 25 May 2026: 2026 National Customer Experience Survey Winner Announced

    Thank you to everyone who took part in our 2026 National Customer Experience Survey. We appreciate the time you took to share your feedback and insights. Your input helps shape the future of our products, services, and support.

    We are pleased to announce that the winner of the $500 Visa Gift Card is a Slade Pharmacy in Queensland. The winning pharmacy has been contacted directly by phone. Congratulations to the team!

    We received valuable responses from pharmacies across the country, and your feedback is already helping inform upcoming improvements. Thank you again for contributing and being part of the Fred community.

  • 22 May 2026: Is Your Pharmacy Hardware Due for an Upgrade?

    Are any of the PCs in your pharmacy:

    • Still operating on Windows 10?

    • Over three years old?

    • Out of warranty?

    If you answered yes to any of these, it may be time to upgrade. To further discuss your options please contact your local Fred representative or email sales@fred.com.au.

    Speak with your accountant about any potential tax incentives available. The small business instant asset write off threshold is currently $20,000 per asset. LEARN MORE

    Why upgrade to a modern Windows 11 device?

    • Stronger security and compliance to protect patient and business data

    • Improved performance and reliability

    • Reduced downtime and support risk

    • Compatibility with current and future pharmacy software

  • 22 May 2026: 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:

  • 6 May 2026: Want to eliminate manual ticketing in your pharmacy?

    Introducing our advanced Electronic Shelf Label (ESL) solution, MedView Smart Shelf , which integrates with Fred Office Plus and other POS providers for real-time synchronisation of product data to your shelves. It delivers pricing accuracy, time savings, and smoother promotions for your pharmacy. Plus, the unique features of SoluM’s world‑leading digital tags create a more interactive, engaging experience for your customers.

    Visit medview.com.au/smart-shelf or contact your Fred representative to learn more and request a quote to upgrade your pharmacy.

  • 1 May 2026: PBS Changes - May 2026
  • 24 April 2026: ONGOING SCAM ALERT: Phishing emails targeting pharmacies

    The phishing campaign targeting pharmacies remains ACTIVE. Please remind your team to stay alert to any suspicious emails.

    These emails are designed to pressure you into clicking a link or opening an attachment that can install malware or give attackers access to your pharmacy systems.

    Keep your guard up:

    • Urgency is a red flag.

    • Sender addresses can be close to real ones — check carefully.

    • Links can hide their true destination — hover first before clicking.

    • Unexpected attachments are high risk — don’t open unless verified.

    For further advice, visit these Australian Government sites: https://www.cyber.gov.au/ and https://www.scamwatch.gov.au/

  • 1 April 2026:

    PBS Changes - April 2026

  • 27 March 2026: SCAM ALERT: Phishing emails targeting pharmacies

    We are seeing an increase in phishing emails targeting pharmacies.

    The email attempts to trick you into downloading malware such as ransomware or a remote access tool. The aim is to either encrypt and/or steal your data, threaten to make it public and force you to pay a ransom.

    Please take care:

    • Pause before you click when there is a sense of urgency, requesting you must act now

    • Check the sender's email address carefully, look for misspellings and free email accounts pretending to be a business

    • Hover over any links and check the link matches where you expect to the link to take you

    • Be wary of unexpected attachments, malware is often in PDF and Word documents

    • When in doubt verify another way, contact the sender directly or seek assistance from your IT partner

    Staying alert helps protect your systems, your patients, and your business. Please share this message with your teams.

    For further advice, visit these Australian Government sites:

  • 23 March 2026: 2026 National Customer Experience survey

    We'd love your feedback on your experience using Fred—including any recent interactions with our team. The confidential survey will take approximately 5 minutes to complete and is designed to capture what is most important to you and your business when working with our products and services.

    Start the 2026 National Customer Experience Survey

    The survey along with a chance to Win a $500 Visa Gift Card is open to all members of your pharmacy team.

  • 1 March 2026: PBS Changes - March 2026
  • 23 February 2026: See what's new at APP2026

    Visit the Fred & MedView teams on stands 124-127

    See live demos of our new integrated solutions to elevate your pharmacy workflow and customer experience.

    • Fred HQ Plus - the cloud-based solution to simplify multi-store pharmacy management.

    • MedView Smart Shelf - our advanced Electronic Shelf Label (ESL) solution for Fred Office Plus to deliver accurate, always-on pricing and faster changeovers.

    • Worx - Integrating directly into Fred Dispense Plus via the AppBar, Worx will keep your dispensary team on track with real-time triaging, prioritisation, and visibility of workload, wait times, and script status.

    Attend our session

    Thursday 12 March | 2.00-2.45pm | Arena 1A

    Enhancing medicines safety and pharmacist scope through AI and comprehensive patient histories

    Paul Naismith - Founder and CEO, Fred IT Group

    Jason Bratuskins - Product Manager, eRx Script Exchange & National Prescription Delivery Service, Fred IT Group

    With prescribing rights expanding and scope of practice evolving, pharmacy technology is becoming critical to safer, more accessible care. This session explores how integrated, cloud-based systems, real-time Patient Medicine History platforms, and AI are transforming community pharmacy—streamlining workflows, reducing manual tasks, and enabling pharmacists to focus on clinical decision-making and improved patient outcomes.

  • 1 February 2026: Risperdal Item Deletions

    The following item code for Risperdal 500mcg (20 pack) have been delisted from PBS as of 1 February 2026:

    • 11872W RISPERIDONE, risperidone 500 microgram tablet, 20 (Risperdal) – PBS Max Qty 60

    • 11873X RISPERIDONE, risperidone 500 microgram tablet, 20 (Risperdal) – PBS Max Qty 60

    • 1842Y RISPERIDONE, risperidone 500 microgram tablet, 20 (Risperdal) – PBS Max Qty 60

    • 1846E RISPERIDONE, risperidone 500 microgram tablet, 20 (Risperdal) – PBS Max Qty 60

    The Department of Health and Aging have advised that prescriptions for these item codes written prior to 1st of February will be valid for claiming against the 60 pack item codes:

    • 11869Q RISPERIDONE, risperidone 500 microgram tablet, 60 - PBS Max Qty 60

    • 11881H RISPERIDONE, risperidone 500 microgram tablet, 60 - PBS Max Qty 60

    • 8787L RISPERIDONE, risperidone 500 microgram tablet, 60 - PBS Max Qty 60

    • 8869T RISPERIDONE, risperidone 500 microgram table, 60 - PBS Max Qty 60

    Patients will not be required to obtain new prescriptions from the prescriber.

    Please see below for the inter-substitutable item codes:

    20 pack

    60 pack

    11872W

    11869Q

    11873X

    11881H

    1842Y

    8787L

    1846E

    8869T
  • 1 February 2026: PBS Changes - February 2026
  • 12 January 2026: PBS Changes - January 2026
  • 12 January 2026: Fee Changes from 1 January 2026
    CategoryFees2025From1 January 2026
    Dispensing feesAllowable additional patient charge$3.45$2.79
    Patient co-payment

    General

    Concessional

    $31.60

    $7.70

    $25.00

    $7.70

    Safety Net threshold

    General

    Concessional

    $1694.00

    $277.20

    $1748.20

    $277.20

    The following discounting rules will take effect from 1 Jan 2026.

     Category2025From 1 January 2026
    Allowable discountGeneral$0.10$0.00
     Concessional$0.80$0.60
    For more information on the changes to the allowable discount, see Freeze on PBS patient co-payments and removal of allowable discount - 2026 update in the Fred Help Portal.