Dispensary

A guide to medicines in Australia, published by Dotto

A guide published by Dotto

Dispensary: a guide to medicines in Australia

Medicines in Australia, read like a label. This guide, written and published by Dotto, follows how medicines reach you: the schedules that decide where a medicine is sold, the label a pharmacist prints, what the PBS Safety Net does, how electronic prescriptions work, and where old medicines go.

General informationThis guide explains official rules in plain words. It is not medical advice. For anything about your own medicines, a pharmacist or doctor can advise, and the detail is on healthdirect, the TGA and the PBS.
(a) dispenserPharmacy name · street address · phone
(h) dispensed forName of the person
5(b) dateDate supplied
(b) (d) medicineApproved name · strength · form
(e) quantityTotal in pack
(c) 5(c) directionsDirections for use, as set out in the prescription
5(a) referencePrescription reference number
KEEP OUT OF REACH OF CHILDREN
A specimen label drawn for this guide. Each box carries its paragraph in the Poisons Standard, Appendix L, clause 1, the national list of what a dispensing label must show, applied through state and territory law. It belongs to no pharmacy and holds no one’s details.

Box by box

What a dispensing label has to say

The Poisons Standard sets out what goes on the label attached to a medicine when it is dispensed, and Queensland’s medicines regulation, for one, requires dispensed medicines to be labelled that way. The standard also asks for English, letters at least 1.5 mm high, and durable print. Each part of the label, explained.

  1. (a)
    The dispenserName, address and phone number of whoever supplied it.
  2. (b)
    The medicineIts approved name, its brand name, or both.
  3. (c)
    Directions for useAdequate directions, and for a prescription, the directions it sets out.
  4. (d)
    Strength and formHow strong the medicine is, and its form.
  5. (e)
    QuantityThe total amount in the container.
  6. (f)
    The children’s warning“Keep out of reach of children”, in red on a white background.
  7. (h)
    The personThe name of the person it was dispensed for.
  8. 5(a)
    Prescription referenceOn prescription medicines, with the date it was supplied.

The guide

Six pages, one question each

  1. No. 01 of 06

    What the medicine schedules mean

    Schedules 2, 3, 4 and 8, the signal words on the pack, and why the states have the last word.

  2. No. 02 of 06

    Reading a dispensing label

    Each box on the label a pharmacist prints, and the rule that puts it there.

  3. No. 03 of 06

    The PBS Safety Net

    The 2026 thresholds, what counts towards them, and a worked example.

  4. No. 04 of 06

    Electronic prescriptions

    Tokens, repeats and the Active Script List, step by step.

  5. No. 05 of 06

    Returning unwanted medicines

    Why old medicines go back to a pharmacy, not into the bin.

  6. No. 06 of 06

    Questions to ask at the pharmacy

    The eight questions healthdirect suggests, and what a pharmacist can do.

PBS figures for 2026

Four numbers on the PBS, as at October 2026

The PBS sets how much you can be charged for a PBS medicine, and how much you or your family spend in a calendar year before the Safety Net makes medicines cheaper. How the Safety Net works, with a worked example.

General patient pays up to
$25.00
per PBS medicine, before the Safety Net.
Concession card holder pays up to
$7.70
per PBS medicine, before the Safety Net.
Safety Net threshold, general
$1,748.20
With a Safety Net card, each PBS medicine then costs up to $7.70.
Safety Net threshold, concession
$277.20
With a Safety Net card, PBS medicines are then free.

A brand premium, or a delivery or after-hours fee, may be charged on top.
As at October 2026, thresholds set on 1 January 2026 · Services Australia · pbs.gov.au

KEEP OUT OF REACH OF CHILDREN

The words every dispensing label must carry, in red on a white background, under the Poisons Standard. If someone is unconscious or not breathing, the NSW centre’s advice is: “Call Triple Zero (000), ask for an ambulance, and start CPR immediately.” If you think someone has been poisoned, the NSW Poisons Information Centre says not to wait for symptoms and to call 13 11 26 for advice; the NSW and Victorian centres answer 24 hours a day.

Where to check

The official places behind every page