COAG agreement on GST raises concerns around PrEP access

The Victorian AIDS Council (VAC) is calling for medications to be exempted from any plans
to apply GST to overseas online purchases, amidst concerns this would mean an additional financial barrier
for people currently importing pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) online to prevent HIV.
This comes in response to reports out of this week’s Council of Australian Governments (COAG) meeting
of an in-principle agreement between Australia’s state/territory leaders and the Prime Minister to charge
GST on overseas online purchases under $1000.
“Australians at risk of HIV are still waiting for PrEP to be approved by the Therapeutic Goods Administration,
making it much harder to access this key HIV-prevention strategy,” said Johann Ruth, Acting CEO of VAC.
“While they wait, some people are taking responsibility for their sexual health and wellbeing by importing
lower-cost medications for use as PrEP, under Australia’s personal importation scheme for medicines.
News out of this week’s COAG meeting of an in-principle agreement to charge GST on overseas online
purchases under $1000 raises some concerns for us about any increased financial burden on people at risk
of HIV who are importing PrEP.”
“This decision could have unintended health consequences if applied to medications, especially PrEP, and
could contribute to an increase in HIV notifications in Australia. We want to ensure that whatever new
arrangement regarding GST on imported goods comes out of these discussions, it will not result in further
barriers for people accessing a vital tool for preventing HIV. People most at risk in our community should
not have to bear an additional financial burden while we wait for TGA licensing and PrEP’s inclusion in the
pharmaceutical benefits scheme.”