Budget - removing prescription fee welcomed

Removing the $5 prescription fee (as announced in today's budget)  is a positive move - especially for young people accessing contraceptives, Family Planning chief executive Jackie Edmond says.

"For young people in particular, a prescription fee can mean the difference between picking up medication, or not. When it comes to critical medication like contraception, we want to remove every barrier we can and we believe that removing this fee will make a difference," Ms Edmond says.

Earlier this year, Family Planning signed a petition in support of removing the prescription fee which we believed imposed significant hardship on low-income households and young people on limited budget.

The change announced today will mean that for a young person under the age of 22, not only will their visit to Family Planning be free but they will not need to pay any prescription fees either. Previously, the fee applied to medications like the majority of contraceptive pills, some emergency contraception, some treatment for sexually transmissible infections, thrush treatment, and Mirena and Jaydess IUDS, pre-natal vitamins, hormone therapy and treatment for heavy bleeding, and prescriptions for condoms.

"Lots of what we do is on this list!" Ms Edmond says.