SA Health Policy Update: HIV antiretroviral treatment medications

From 1 July 2026, people living with HIV will be able to access free HIV antiretroviral treatment (ART) medications via South Australian public hospital pharmacies with a public hospital issued prescription.

Arrangements are unchanged for:

• People living with HIV who are not eligible for Medicare, who can still access free HIV-related medical care, pathology testing and HIV ART medications through South Australian public hospitals.
• People living with HIV who are eligible for Medicare and accessing HIV care in community settings. This continues to be subsidised through Medicare and the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) and subject to relevant copayments.
• Other non-HIV related medications used by people living with HIV. This continues to be subsidised through Medicare and the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme and subject to relevant copayments.
• People accessing HIV PEP, which is available through Adelaide Sexual Health Centre and SHINE SA, and at most hospital emergency departments. There is no copayment for HIV PEP when accessed at SA Health sites.
• People accessing HIV PrEP, with prescriptions available through sexual health clinics, primary care providers or online providers and medications dispensed through community pharmacies or self-importation. People who are not eligible for Medicare can now access subsidised HIV PrEP through Adelaide Sexual Health Centre.

This new initiative will be reviewed during the first year of implementation to ensure that it is meeting the needs of community members and other key stakeholders.

It aligns South Australia with other similar jurisdictions and supports implementation of the National HIV Strategy 2024-2030 and the South Australian HIV Strategy 2025-2030, which set the ambitious but achievable vision of ending the Australian HIV epidemic by 2030, and supporting people living with HIV to lead long, healthy and productive lives.

These strategies identify addressing financial barriers to HIV ART as a key area for action.

Taking ART medication enables a person living with HIV to reduce their viral load to an undetectable level, preventing disease progression and eliminating the risk of sexual transmission. This is known as 'undetectable equals untransmittable' (U=U). 

The introduction of this new program in South Australia coincides with the 10-year anniversary of the global 'U=U' campaign.