Voice Your Support for New Menopause Medications on the PBS

The Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) is designed to make essential medications affordable for all Australians who need them. Before new medications are included on the PBS, they must first be considered by the Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee (PBAC).

You now have an important opportunity to influence fairer, more affordable access to medications for menopausal symptoms by making a public submission to the PBAC ahead of its November 2025 meeting.

Submissions close on 24 September 2025, and your contribution could make a significant difference. We’ve included some key points about the medications being considered to help in your consideration of why YOU think having these medications on the PBS is important.

Public consultation on items to be considered by the PBAC (Nov 2025)

Why This Matters

Because women’s bodies are not “one size fits all”, and when it comes to menopausal symptom control, one product won’t suit all either!

Many women have a very limited choice of medications for symptom relief, and if those options aren’t available on the PBS, they may be priced beyond reach.

What the Consultation Involves

The online PBAC submission is straightforward and takes about 10–15 minutes. Participants are asked to comment on:

• Their lived experiences with their symptom/s
• Current treatment options available
• Potential personal benefits of using testosterone
• Safety or clinical concerns
• Broader reflections on equity in access

What Menopause Medications Are Under Consideration For the PBS?

Androfeme 1 (Testosterone Cream): the world’s first licensed testosterone cream specifically designed for women. There are no other options: Androfeme is the only licensed drug to treat female HSDD.

Women experiencing Hypoactive Sexual Desire Disorder (HSDD) – persistently low libido that causes personal distress – currently face significant barriers:

• High Costs: Without PBS subsidy, Androfeme 1 is unaffordable for many. There are already enough barriers for women around sexual health, price should not be another barrier.
• Lack of TGA- approved Options: Nine subsidised testosterone products exist for men; none for women.
• Equity in Healthcare: This highlights a clear gender disparity that must be addressed.
• Safety: Androfeme 1 is specifically formulated for women (unlike male products sometimes prescribed off-label).
• Clinical need: Testosterone is a crucial female reproductive hormone, just like estrogen or progesterone, yet no PBS-subsidised options for treatment exist.

Bijuva (combined estradiol/ micronized progesterone capsule): a convenient, guideline-recommended oral MHT option for otherwise healthy women. It provides the lowest effective dose of body-identical estradiol combined with micronised progesterone.

• Cost: prohibitive for many without PBS subsidy
• Tolerability: Many women cannot tolerate synthetic progestins, or need the symptom benefits of micronized progesterone.
• Effectiveness: some women do not absorb estrogen well transdermally and are required to use an oral estrogen product.
• Ease of use: many women find it too difficult to use to separate products, often with different timings, for their combination estrogen and progesterone treatment.
• Safety: micronized progesterone is body-identical, and likely (based on evidence) to be lower risk for breast cancer than synthetic progestogens; Bijuva is the only combined oral MHT currently that contains progesterone.

Veoza (Fezolinetant- a unique new NON-HORMONAL drug that acts in the brain to reduce hot flushes).

• Women who cannot use MHT, or choose not to, should not be penalised financially for symptom control.
• The cheaper, most effective non-hormonal medication alternatives have debilitating or intolerable side effects for some women.
• Quality of life for women with hot flushes can be devastating, so providing a safe non-hormonal alternative can be life changing.
• Women who cannot use MHT (such as ex-breast cancer patients) often have higher medical costs due to complex medical conditions, so providing cost-effective relief of their symptoms is essential.
• Women who are thrown into menopause suddenly for medical reasons often are the ones with the earliest, worst and most prolonged symptoms, yet often can’t use hormonal treatments to manage them.

Take Action

The consultation closes on 24 September 2025. Every submission helps inform the PBAC’s decision-making. In just a few minutes, you can help secure safe, effective, and affordable treatments for Australian women.

Submit your input here:

Public consultation on items to be considered by the PBAC (Nov 2025)