Are you or your loved ones one of the millions of Australians paying big money for medications that are not covered by the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme(PBS)? 

For years, I have been one of many patient advocates tirelessly fighting for access to essential medications. My own struggle is just a small example of the broader crisis – my migraine medications costs close to $1000 per month, but without them, I am completely debilitated. Just recently, the main one failed to make the PBS list for the fourth time in seven years of trying, leaving me, and countless others, devastated.

The PBS is supposed to ensure all Australians can access necessary medications at affordable prices. Unfortunately, an increasing number of people are being denied this basic right. Many, like me, are left with the agonising choice of rationing their medication, going without, or making significant sacrifices in other aspects of their lives just to afford the treatments they desperately need. Tragically, some are not surviving this broken system.

Australia prides itself on providing equitable healthcare for all its citizens. Yet, when life-saving or life-changing medications are consistently failing to meet the PBS's unreasonable demands - including that drug companies give away their drugs for free - there is a dire need to question the system's efficacy and transparency. 

Add to this the shocking delay of the current system, with only 1 in 4 new medications getting onto the PBS, and never in anything less than two years or more after being approved for use by the TGA, and even then only for a highly restricted group of patients. 

People are dying waiting for their medication to be listed on the PBS. 

People are dying because the medication they need is not listed on the PBS. 

This is not ok. 

Five years ago this August, a parliamentary inquiry was announced looking into why new drugs were not getting on to the PBS. Five years later, nothing has changed. Australians are still routinely not getting affordable access to new and better medications, and the number of people paying high prices for medications not listed on the PBS just gets bigger and bigger. 

We urgently demand a Royal Commission into the PBS to investigate why so many vital medications aren't making the list and to ensure an equitable and transparent system where people's lives are prioritised over bureaucracy.

A Royal Commission is the only form of inquiry that can really get in to how much this policy failure sits within the Department of Health, just like the Robodebt Royal Commission was necessary to get into the failures in Centrelink. 

Stand with us in demanding a health care system that works for patients, and affordable medication for everyone, not just some. We cannot afford to lose more lives because of a flawed system that was meant to protect us.

Sign and share this petition to push for a Royal Commission into the PBS and help create a fairer, healthier future for all Australians.