Amended PBS listing of oncology and haematology medicines for Nurse Practitioner prescribing
Following our recent update that the PBAC has reviewed approximately 70 PBS medicines identified as not having nurse practitioners (NPs) as authorised prescribers, and recommended that several listings be amended to include NPs as authorised prescribers. At its July 2025 meeting, the PBAC reviewed the final tranche of medicines, including a list of oncology and haematology medicines listed on the General Schedule, and listed on the Section 100 Highly Specialised Drugs (S100 HSD) program that stakeholders have identified as being suitable for prescribing by NPs. You can read more about the recommendations and review process here.
1 February 2026 saw the implementation of these recommendations to amend the listing of the identified General Schedule oncology and haematology medicines to allow NPs to continue existing therapy where patient care is being shared with a medical practitioner. The full list of amended medicines can be found on the PBS website here
What's important to note:
The PBAC also recommended that several medicines on the S100 HSD program are suitable for prescribing by nurse practitioners for continuing treatment, where there is agreement from the treating medical specialist. However, this will require amendments to the S100 HSD program legislative instrument before this can be implemented.
What this means:
- Where authorised within their individual scope of practice, NPs will be able to continue treatment and prescribe ongoing scripts for a wide range of oncology and haematology medicines on the General Schedule, once the initial prescription has been authorised by a medical specialist.
- This represents a step forward in enabling NPs to work to a higher scope of practice and provides greater continuity and timely access for patients.
- A small number of medicines were excluded from this recommendation, where PBAC determined prescriber eligibility should remain unchanged.
