COVID-19 and Vaccination
Community pharmacists around Australia who have been appropriately trained are now able to provide vaccinations to protect you against COVID-19.The inclusion of community pharmacy in t...
Rapid Antigen Tests
From 24 January, you can access free RATs if you hold an eligible Commonwealth concession card:
- Commonwealth Seniors Health Card
- Department of Veteran's Affairs Gold, White or Orange Card
- Health Care Card
- Low Income Health Card
- Pensioner Concession Card.
Eligible individuals can access up to 10 RATs over a 3 month period through community pharmacies. However, you can only access a maximum of 5 RATs over a 1 month period.
In order to collect your free RATs, you will need to attend a participating community pharmacy in person and present your Commonwealth concession card.
You will need to give consent to the pharmacy to record your concession card details to confirm they are valid, including whether RATs have already been provided to you and how many remain in your quota.
On your visit to your local community pharmacy, you will be given a minimum of 2 RATs for each eligible individual. You can ask for up to the monthly limit (5) of RATs per eligible individual at any one time, subject to availability.
RATs will be increasingly available from pharmacies and other retailers over time. Before planning a trip to your local community pharmacy we recommend you phone ahead of your visit to make sure new supplies have arrived.
Frequently Asked Questions
Rapid antigen tests detect the presence of specific proteins found in COVID-19. They are most accurate when used to test symptomatic individuals. They are not as good at detecting the virus as a nucleic acid test (PCR).
If you have COVID-19 symptoms do not attend a pharmacy to collect RATs. Go directly to a testing centre.
All tests are for single-use only which means you can only use each test ONCE and then it must be thrown away. Do not ever use a test more than once or attempt to use one test on different people.
Yes, you can collect RATs from different participating pharmacies. However, you will need to provide your concession card details each time you access your RATs so we can verify your eligibility and monitor how many RATs remain in your quota for the three month and one month periods respectively.
Advice
Diabetes Management
How your community pharmacy cares for patients with diabetes ...
Coughs & Colds
Many people will catch a cold at some stage during the year and rather than try to treat it yourself, you are advised to seek the advice of your community pharmacist who can recommend ...
The Benefits of Your Local Pharmacy
The community pharmacy system in Australia is recognised as world-best and the expertise and knowledge of your pharmacist means healthcare is available to you in a convenient, accessib...