Posted by Michael Wonder on 11 Jan 2026
Health Minister ‘committed’ to listing weight loss drugs on PBS
9 January 2026 - ‘It’s an equity issue as well as a health issue from my perspective.’
Australian doctors are pushing to add weight-loss drugs to the PBS in a move that could cost taxpayers billions of dollars each year but would provide relief to millions of Australians struggling with obesity.
Health Minister Mark Butler told Sunrise on Friday he’d received recommendations from PBS experts just before Christmas to list Wegovy - a weight-loss drug which is developed by the same company as Ozempic - on the scheme for people with a BMI of 35 and established cardiovascular disease.
