End the Tough Choices Tough Choices
Can’t afford medicine on top of all your other bills?
You’re not alone.
Millions of Australians are facing tough choices: food or medicine, rent or their health. With bills piling up and everyday expenses soaring, they’re forced to choose between essentials like rent, groceries or life-saving medications. This shouldn’t be the reality in a country as wealthy as ours.
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Have you had to make a tough choice?
About the issue
End the Tough Choices
Australians are being pushed to breaking point. Rising rents, soaring food prices and stagnant wages have created a cost-of-living crisis unlike any we’ve seen before. For many, the cost of medicine has become unaffordable, forcing tough choices: pay for medicine or keep a roof over their heads.
Skipping medication isn’t just a financial decision; it can lead to worsening health, hospitalisations and long-term impacts on quality of life.
These difficult decisions are playing out across the country every day. Parents skip their own medications to cover school expenses. Seniors stretch out prescriptions to afford food. People are sacrificing their health just to survive. This is the harsh reality for countless Australians. When medicine becomes a luxury purchase, the true cost isn’t just financial – it’s measured in lives and livelihoods.
Australia’s inflation rate for Q2 in 20241 was
3.8%both CPI (Consumer Price Index) and the cost of living continue to rise1
MORE THAN
30%of Australian adults went without their prescription medicine because of cost concerns.2
1 in 10
women delayed or didn’t get a script filled in the past 12 months.3
Take the poll
I’m a self-funded retiree. I will never get a discount. I will always pay full [PBS] price because I’m a self-funded retiree even though I’ve worked hard all my life and paid my taxes.
Maree, 68, New South WalesIf medications are unaffordable and if people are delaying getting them or can’t afford them, this will have flow-on effects. If we can avoid that it would be terrific.
Jane, 41, VictoriaThe cost of medicines is too high.
Sarah, 28, Queensland133 people have voted
Have you had to make tough choices between medicine and other essentials?
Take the survey
End the Tough Choices: Your experience with the cost of medicine.
Thank you for taking the time to share your experience. Your responses will help us understand the impact of the cost of living crisis on access to medicine. All responses will be kept confidential.
“Yeah because we’re busy spending taxpayer dollars painting and decorating new roadworks, bridges, barriers etc. The amount of money in this state being wasted instead of hospitals and housing makes me sick”
Jo - Australia
“Massively failed health system in Perth”
Peter - Australia
“My children a grown up except my 15 year old. I had a massive stroke a 19 months ago & I have aneurism on my brain & the laying in bed paralysis we in hospital I now walk but in a lot of pain it has caused my pelvic to be out of place . So I’m seeing specialist left right & centre & I’ll never work again I know you get some back from Medicare when you see a specialist but I don’t have the $600 to start with & ndis won’t cover chiropractor but chiropractor has been the only one to put my pelvis back in place but it keeps slipping out it’s going to take time for my body to Learn to keep pelvic in place in meantime. My last 15 year old baby has to live with my adult daughter & husband because I carnt afford he’s needs & I starve myself to afford my chiropractor & quite often council my specialist appointments cause I don’t have the money up front at all. And now I’ve got 10 weeks to move out of my granny flat cause landlord is bankrupt he has to sell house which comes with my granny flat. I have no where to go my adult daughter lives in Port Steven’s of course I can go there & be with my son too. But it took me 17 months to find the right chiropractor & the osteopath & property rentals are more than what I get on disability’s & if I moved in with my daughter I’d have to travel 6 hours twice a week for my appointments. And God forbid if my son got sick ,really sick as in hospital sick I wouldn’t know what to do it’s absolutely ridiculous the money landlords are asking for rent. It’s all about greed my last place before my stroke had black mould under tiles a lot of repairs needed doing . But nothing ever got fixed even tho I organised a plumber to give me a quote on bathrm for landlord. He said he would e. Mail to him the unit is unlivable due to the black mould the bathroom needs everything stripped out . He gave letter to landlord nothing was ever done doors never got fixed carpet that was from the late 70s was decomposing the late 70 S kitchen was falling apart . When I left they hit me up for all of the things that were wrong when I first moved into the place it’s no wonder I didn’t have another massive stroke. I couldn’t imagine my child being very ill & not being able to afford he’s medicine, that’s every parents worse nightmare !”
Gail - Australia
“It is more about the cost of rent than medicine right now!”
Michael - Australia
“My mum works full time as an AIN and took on 2 extra kids when my sister passed . One of which requires medications that cost over a thousand a month and she gets nothing off Centrelink because they claim she earns too much .”
Katrina - Australia
“The expensive part is getting the script written.Many doctors charge $90-95 , which means $50 out of pocket where”
Geoffrey - Australia
“Go and see your local member. Yes it’s tough for many. This government has to go. Our hospitals are bursting at the seams and energy bills are devastating families!!!👎👎👎👎👎👎”
Sarah - Australia
“It is getting that way, meds going up and before long they will be $10 per script, mine were just over $5, now almost $8, this is what they are aiming for the big bucks - then it is decision time on what meds you well purchase and which one you will give the big miss. A big thank you to Airbus for that.”
Elizabeth - Australia
“That should not be a choice u should have both❤️❤️❤️”
Karen - Australia
“Cost of living is shocking. Coles & Woollies are hiking prices up by $3-$4 a time. Surely that must be illegal.I almost always shop at FOODLAND or Aldi now.”
Steffie - Australia
“PBS medicines in Australia cost up to $31.60 each. The same medicine is free in New Zealand.”
Jono - Australia
“The PBS helps countless Australians. Unfortunately, continued price rises combined with the ever-increasing cost of living are making vital medicines unaffordable for a huge proportion of the population.”
Affordable - Australia
“Thought this was posted from overseas. We are supposed to be the lucky country. I work in a library and was asked by a patron what he should do. He couldn't afford both his medications and his wife's. I sympathised and said he should talk to his doctor or pharmacist. He was so distressed ”
Anonymous - VIC, Australia
“I’m 60 year old I need for bills and foods ”
Anonymous - SA, Australia
“Alot of tough choices I had to make when it came to getting my medication and having money left over for food. It shouldnt be like this. ”
Kylie - TAS, Australia
“Paying higher medicine bill than last your I'm only on a diabity pension ”
Anonymous - TAS, Australia
“I have no money for petrol I live on a shoestring Last $spent ”
Anonymous - NSW, Australia
“l don’t know what to say ”
Anonymous - WA, Australia
“Feel bad about it so I really don't know”
Anonymous - NSW, Australia
“The costing of living now days are very hard for us low incomes that we get the more little pay rise we get the more everything goes up in price we find it very hard this is why so many people are on the streets because it's to high for us to afford to live”
Anonymous - NSW, Australia
“What I can say”
Anonymous - WA, Australia
“Would be nice have exact cash for food and help my grandson and myself being on a pension it hard”
Anonymous - WA, Australia
“its been very hard on psying for medicine thrse days the prices have gone throught the roof and its bullshit ”
robert - NSW, Australia
“A 58 year old on a disability pension. On 15 medications per day. 3 of those medications are not on the pbs. Always having to make a decision between medication or food.”
Sally - NSW, Australia
“I have had to scrounge enough to pay for medicine and some days have had to go without until I could afford to pay for it”
Anonymous - VIC, Australia
“My kid has been diagnosed with a rare metabolic disorder. Treatment (under care of paediatrician/metabolic specialist) cost is $4000/yr. Ongoing requirement for her health. No subsidy or financial assistance whatsoever. How are we going to sustain this expense? ”
Anonymous - VIC, Australia
“I am on a disability pension. Medications are over 100 dollars per month. Some for my mental health are not covered by pbs. ”
April - SA, Australia
“Stay healthy ”
Anonymous - WA, Australia
“My wife and I stay home 7 days a week I have massive medical problem food and medication have been hard pention dis pention needs to be raised properly.”
Anonymous - SA, Australia
“I am a single mother. After surgery to remove “abnormal cells” my doctor prescribed medicine to keep them from coming back. I couldn’t afford to take the medicine daily and feed my children. I chose food and now the cells are back and I need invasive surgery that will keep me off work for months. No one should have to chose between getting cancer and feeding their children. ”
Anonymous - WA, Australia
“Rent first food for us 2 next and medicine third. A fact of life. Thanks to our selfcentered PM who does not care at all.”
Anonymous - NSW, Australia
“I am a single mother with a one year old not receiving child support. My medications cost me $84 per month, already going without my asthma preventer and not including Panadol or teething gel my son will need that month. I have stopped taking my reflux medication due to cost and regularly go without my anti seizure or blood pressure medications so I can afford rent and basic foods.”
Tammy - SA, Australia
“I have often had to get my medication on credit because I can’t always afford them, then pay back the credit on Pension day. It is a struggle. Many medications are not covered on PBS and my health depends on those. I no longer have a car, or luxuries. Bare survival is all that I can manage.”
Christine - QLD, Australia
“When my kids need prescription medicines we often go without nutritious food to afford what they need to get better. It’s a bloody joke.”
Holly - VIC, Australia