Pre-budget Submission - Radiopharmaceutical Benefits Scheme

Nuclear Medicines Australia made a pre-budget submission to Federal Treasurer Jim Chalmers MP for a  proposed Radiopharmaceuticals Benefits Scheme (RPBS)

The RPBS would sit alongside, but outside, the PBS and MBS as a purpose-built scheme to:

• Fund radiopharmaceutical products (including radiopharmaceutical therapies) at a nationally
negotiated price.

• Maintain MBS funding for professional services (imaging, preparation, administration,
follow-up), with re-based items that reflect true costs.

• Use a dedicated Radiopharmaceuticals Benefits Advisory Committee, drawing on PBAC and
MSAC expertise as well as nuclear and oncology experts, to assess clinical value and
cost-effectiveness under the HTA Review’s emerging-technology framework.

• Require TGA approval, ARTG registration and adherence to PIC/S GMP standard or USP-NF
GMP manufacture as the default standard for any publicly funded radiopharmaceuticals,
phasing out public funding of compounded copies once commercial products are available.

• Embed managed entry and value-based contracts (discounts, budget caps, outcome-linked
rebates) to manage uncertainty and budget impact for high-cost therapies.