These icons will help you locate the concessions available to you:
Companion Card
Services Australia Health Care Card
Services Australia Commonwealth Seniors Health Card
Concession available to anyone who meets the eligibility criteria
Services Australia Pensioner Concession Card
Seniors Card
Department of Veterans' Affairs Pensioner Concession Card
Department of Veterans’ Affairs Commonwealth Seniors Health Card
Subsidised emergency services, general services and dentures are available to adults who have a:
*DVA Gold or White Card holders should contact DVA on 133 254 to check their eligibility for dental services.
Oral Health Services Tasmania
Phone: 1300 011 013
Web: www.health.tas.gov.au
Free dental checks, preventive care and treatment are available to all children (0-17 years) under the Medicare Child Dental Benefits Schedule (where a bulk billing consent form is signed), otherwise a subsidised service is available to children under 18 years. Some exceptions apply.
Check under Health in the White Pages for your local children’s dental clinic.
Oral Health Services Tasmania
Phone: 1300 011 013
Web: www.health.tas.gov.au
TasEquip provides a set range of assistive technology (equipment) to eligible Tasmanians to safely engage in basic, everyday tasks and thereby support their ongoing independence or care within our community, and also to transition home from acute care or to access required education settings.
To be eligible, clients need to have a:
and be:
The equipment range includes items such as shower chairs, walking aids, adjustable height seats, hoists, wheelchairs, and electric wheelchairs. Access to TasEquip resources is by therapist prescribing only. This is to ensure that the most appropriate equipment to meet the client’s clinical need is supplied.
* Where DVA card holders are not eligible under another scheme. DVA Health Card holders should contact DVA to check their potential eligibility.
TasEquip phone:
(South): 6166 7393
(North): 6777 4336
(North-West): 6478 5599
Assistance through provision of equipment is available to people who have been clinically assessed as having a sleep-related breathing disorder requiring a positive airways pressure machine.
Please consult your medical specialist.
To be eligible, people must have a prescription from a sleep specialist and hold a:
Department of Health
Phone:
General enquiries: 1300 135 513
Royal Hobart Hospital Department of Respiratory Medicine: 6166 8438
Launceston General Hospital Respiratory Unit: 6777 6708
Email (South): rhh.respiratory@ths.tas.gov.au
Tube feeds and oral nutrition supplements are supplied at subsidised cost to people:
The subsidised costs are based on estimates from the Household Expenditure Survey for food. The costs are adjusted annually based on the
Consumer Price Index. The Program does not supply nutritional products that are listed on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme General Schedule.
Further reduction in the subsidised costs are available if you hold a:
Or
The subsidised supplements are NOT available to individuals who are:
Department of Health
Phone:
Royal Hobart Hospital: 6166 8145
Launceston General Hospital: 6777 6477
North-West Regional Hospital: 6493 6467
Financial assistance is available for Tasmanians required to:
and
Levels of assistance are determined by the distance, type of travel and accommodation required.
Patient contribution towards travel is reduced for holders of a:
* Where DVA card holders are not eligible under another scheme.
Department of Health
Patient Travel South
Phone: 6166 8225
Email: ptasrhh@ths.tas.gov.au
Patient Travel North
Phone: 6777 6429
Email: lgh.patient.travel@ths.tas.gov.au
Patient Travel North-West
Phone: 6477 7732
Email: nw.ptas@ths.tas.gov.au
Website: www.health.tas.gov.au/hospital/ptas
Oxygen supplies are available to patients assessed by a specialist doctor as needing oxygen therapy. Please consult your medical specialist.
The assessment needs to be approved by the Department of Respiratory Medicine at the Royal Hobart or Launceston General Hospitals.
Note: These arrangements do not apply to holders of a DVA Health Card – All Conditions ("Gold Card") or DVA Health Card – Specific Conditions ("White Card").
For more information, DVA card holders should contact DVA on 1800 838 372 (1800 VETERAN).
Department of Health
Phone:
General enquiries: 1300 135 513
Royal Hobart Hospital, Department of Respiratory Medicine: 6166 7353
Launceston General Hospital, Respiratory Unit: 6777 6708
Email (South): rhh.respiratory@ths.tas.gov.au
Concessions are available on pharmaceuticals dispensed to patients discharged from hospital, outpatients attending the emergency department or hospital outpatient clinics within public hospitals.
Medicare Card holders are entitled to receive pharmaceuticals at a maximum cost of $41.00* per prescription item. Holders of one of
the following cards will pay a maximum of $6.60* per prescription item:
Holders of a PBS Safety Net Entitlement Card will not be charged for their medication.
Under current arrangements, these amounts are adjusted in line with inflation by the Australian Government on 1 January each year
Department of Health
Phone:
Royal Hobart Hospital: 6166 6700
Launceston General Hospital: 6777 6728
North-West Regional Hospital: 6493 6280
Mersey Community Hospital: 6478 5229
Subsidies of 70 per cent are available on basic scheduled items such as basic lenses and basic frames. Low vision aids prostheses and intraocular implants are subsidised up to $379.95 per item. Eligible people include:
and who:
Other low-income earners may be eligible for the subsidy under hardship provisions.
The minimum Tasmanian residential requirement does not apply to refugees.
To receive the subsidy, an application form must be completed and forwarded with the prescription to the Statewide Spectacles Scheme.
The subsidy does not cover wards of state or school age children for whom assistance is available through Children and Family Services and the Department of Education.
Note: People that can claim from private health insurance, Workers’ Compensation or any other source are not eligible to apply.
Department of Health Spectacles Assistance Scheme
Phone: 1800 232 148
Web: www.health.tas.gov.au
Financial assistance is available to cancer and alopecia patients who are referred by a doctor and have a:
Note: Holders of a DVA Gold or White Card should contact DVA on 133 254 to check their eligibility for provision of a wig.
Department of Health
Phone:
Service Tasmania: 1300 135 513
Royal Hobart Hospital: 6166 8354
Launceston General Hospital: 6777 6140
Northern Cancer Service – Burnie: 6493 6058
Northern Cancer Service – Mersey: 6478 5317
Or contact your medical specialist.
Free needles and syringes are available to all people who have a prescription for injectable medication for either of the following:
and are:
* Holders of a DVA Pensioner Concession Card may be eligible for free needles and syringes and should consult the Department of Veterans’ Affairs in the first instance.
Diabetes Tasmania Helpline
Phone: 6215 9000
Email: mail@diabetestas.org.au
NDSS Enquiries: ndss@diabetesaustralia.com.au
Web: www.diabetestas.org.au
Financial assistance is available to people requiring compression garments to help manage lymphoedema and have a:
Note: For card holders of a DVA Pensioner Concession Card please consult the DVA.
Department of Health
Phone:
Royal Hobart Hospital, Physiotherapy: 6166 8634
Royal Hobart Hospital, Occupational Therapy: 6166 8314
Launceston General Hospital, Physiotherapy: 6777 6216
North-West Regional Hospital, Physiotherapy: 6493 6250
Email:
(South) rhh.physiotheraphy@ths.tas.gov.au
(North) lgh.ahs@ths.tas.gov.au
(North-West) burnie.physio@ths.tas.gov.au
A reduced contribution charge for orthotic and prosthetic services is provided to eligible people whose costs are not met by other organisations such as MAIB, Worker’s Compensation, the Department of Veterans’ Affairs or the National Disability Insurance Scheme.
To access the service, clients are required to have a current referral from either a GP, an allied health professional or a medical specialist.
Those eligible for a reduced contribution include holders of a:
* Where DVA card holders are not eligible under another scheme.
Department of Health
Phone:
Orthotic Prosthetic Services Tasmania (South): 6166 7377
Orthotic Prosthetic Services Tasmania (North): 6777 8562
Orthotic Prosthetic Services Tasmania (North-West): 6493 6272
Email: opst.tas@ths.tas.gov.au
Web: www.health.tas.gov.au