PBS and Close the Gap (CTG)
How the Closing the Gap PBS co-payment subsidy works — waiving medicine co-payments for eligible Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander patients.
What is the Close the Gap measure?
The Close the Gap (CTG) PBS co-payment measure is part of the Australian Government's broader Closing the Gap strategy to improve health outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. Under this measure, eligible Indigenous patients pay $0 co-payment for all PBS medicines — regardless of whether they hold a concession card.
The measure aims to address the significant health disparities experienced by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians, who have substantially higher rates of chronic disease (including diabetes, cardiovascular disease, renal disease, and respiratory conditions) compared to the general population, but historically lower medicine adherence partly due to cost barriers.
How CTG registration works
Prescriber identifies an eligible patient
The prescriber (GP, specialist, nurse practitioner, or Aboriginal Health Practitioner in eligible settings) identifies a patient who is Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander, has or is at risk of a chronic condition, and may benefit from the co-payment waiver.
Complete and submit the registration
Complete PBS063 form ↗ (paper) or register electronically through compliant clinical software. The form records: patient consent, Medicare number, confirmation of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander status, and the presence/risk of chronic disease. Registration is sent to Services Australia.
Patient presents at a CTG-participating pharmacy
Once registered, the patient's Medicare record is flagged. When they present at a CTG-participating pharmacy ↗, the pharmacist identifies the CTG flag in the Medicare system and applies the $0 co-payment automatically. The patient does not need to carry a separate CTG card.
Pharmacy claims the benefit
The pharmacy claims the full PBS benefit (including the co-payment component that the patient did not pay) from Services Australia. The government reimburses the full PBS price minus nothing — there is no patient contribution to offset. The dispensing fee is also reimbursed as normal.
Clinical context: why this matters
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians experience significantly higher rates of chronic disease ↗ including:
3× higher prevalence than non-Indigenous Australians. Oral hypoglycaemics, insulin, and diabetes monitoring supplies all covered under PBS + CTG.
Statins, antihypertensives, anticoagulants, antiplatelet therapy — key PBS medicines for secondary prevention covered under CTG.
Linked to high diabetes and CVD rates. ACE inhibitors, ARBs, and newer agents (SGLT2 inhibitors) are increasingly listed on PBS. See renal dosing adjustments.
Asthma and COPD rates are substantially higher. Inhaled corticosteroids, LABA/LAMA combinations, and short-acting bronchodilators are unrestricted PBS items covered under CTG.