Expired prescription refill: how to get a new script in Australia

Check whether the prescription can still be used

A refill here means a new supply of a prescription medicine. In Australia that is a repeat still left on a valid prescription, or a new script when the old one has expired or every repeat has been used.

The date on the box is the medicine, not the prescription. Ask a pharmacist before you use a pack past that date.

Count the validity period from the date the prescription was written, not from the day you last collected it.

• Electronic prescriptions last as long as paper ones, usually 12 months from the date of prescribing.
• Some medicines are shorter, and state or territory law can set a shorter period too.
• A PBS supply is rejected when the date of supply is more than 12 months after the date of prescribing.
• In South Australia, a prescription is valid for 12 months from the date of prescribing, and 6 months for a Schedule 8 (controlled) medicine.
• Repeats you have not used do not extend that date.

1. Read the pharmacy label for the prescribing date and how many repeats are left.
2. Search your SMS and email for the newest eScript token, because an earlier token cannot be scanned again.
3. If you cannot tell which message is current, ask the pharmacy that last supplied the medicine.

If the pack is empty today and the prescription is still valid, start with what to do when you have run out of medicine.

If doses were missed while you waited, read the leaflet before you take extra. See what to do if you miss a dose.

If someone is very unwell, not breathing, or will not wake, call 000 and ask for an ambulance.

Call healthdirect on 1800 022 222 if you are not sure how urgent this is. A registered nurse answers any time, and the line is also called 1800MEDICARE nationally and NURSE-ON-CALL in Victoria.

Book a new script

You need a new prescription when the old one has expired, or when the last repeat has been used. A same-day supply from a pharmacist, where the rules allow it, does not replace that script.

1. Contact your usual GP, or another prescriber if that GP cannot see you in time.
2. Ask for a telehealth appointment if you cannot attend in person.
3. Ask for an electronic prescription, sent by SMS or email, or added to your Active Script List.
4. Check the phone number and email on your record, and confirm the token has arrived before the appointment ends.
5. Take the token to a pharmacy, forward it to the pharmacy, or forward it to someone you trust who can collect the medicine.

You receive a separate token for each medicine. An electronic prescription can be issued in person or during telehealth.

Most pharmacies can dispense an eScript. Once a pharmacy scans the token, the prescription is locked so another pharmacy cannot dispense it at the same time.

After the medicine is supplied, that token cannot be used again.

Use a repeat that is still valid

A repeat left on a current prescription does not need a new GP visit. Use the newest token, not the message from the original supply.

1. After each supply that still has repeats, the pharmacy sends a new token by SMS or email.
2. Show that token next time, or forward it to the pharmacy or to the person collecting for you.
3. Ask the pharmacist to print the repeat if you would rather keep paper.
4. If you delete the original token, ask the prescriber to send it again.
5. If you delete a repeat token, ask the pharmacy that issued that repeat.

A paper prescription uses the same validity period. Take the paper to the pharmacy, including when that prescription also appears on an Active Script List.

Keep tokens on an Active Script List

An Active Script List stores electronic prescriptions in one place. It is useful when you take more than two medicines and the tokens are easy to lose.

1. Register in person at a pharmacy or with your prescriber, who may ask for 100 points of identification.
2. A new electronic prescription is added to the list unless you ask for that one to stay off it.
3. You can still ask to receive a token as well.
4. At the pharmacy, confirm your identity and consent to that pharmacy viewing the list, instead of showing each token.
5. Repeats are added after a supply, while a barcoded paper prescription still has to be taken to the pharmacy.

The 1800MEDICARE app is separate from the nurse phone line. It can show your electronic prescriptions and your Active Script List once a myGov account is linked to My Health Record.

The list does not create a new prescription. When the script has expired, or every repeat has been used, you still need a prescriber.

If you need the medicine before the appointment

Ask a pharmacist the same day if waiting would leave you without a medicine you have to continue. Continued Dispensing and emergency supply are different, and both have limits.

Continued Dispensing covers eligible medicines, mostly for ongoing conditions such as asthma and other lung conditions, diabetes, high cholesterol and heart disease. Oral contraceptives and medicines for HIV may also be supplied.

Ask the pharmacist if your medicine is eligible. The supply also has to meet the professional guidelines for pharmacists.

You do not need a follow-up prescription for that one Continued Dispensing supply. You need a prescription before any further supply of that medicine within 12 months.

In NSW, Schedule 8 medicines and Schedule 4 Appendix D medicines sit outside the 7-day emergency supply. Ask the pharmacist which group yours is in.

Other states and territories set their own emergency amount. For the Victorian limit, and for the steps when the pack is already empty, see what to do when you have run out of medicine.

Take the empty pack, or the name and strength written down, and your usual prescriber's name.

Book the next script before this one ends

1. When the new script arrives, note the prescribing date and how many repeats were written.
2. After each supply, keep the new repeat token, or check that the repeat is on your Active Script List.
3. Count what is left when a strip or bottle starts to look short.
4. Book the next appointment before the last repeat is due, or before the prescription date runs out, whichever comes first.
5. If several people help, agree who books the next script.

One list of every medicine makes that booking easier. See how to manage multiple medicines.

Record how many are left, and turn notifications on. Pillbo can flag a medicine that is running low, or one that is due to expire, so you can book while a repeat is still valid.

You still need a prescriber for the new script. Pillbo tracks supply and reminders, and it does not issue a prescription.

Common questions

Related guides

• Ran out of medication? What to do in Australia
• What to do if you miss a dose of medicine
• How to manage multiple medicines on one schedule