Commonwealth Seniors Health Card (CSHC) 065-06000000

Bulk billing of general practitioner appointments is available for holders of the CSHC.

Note: this is at the discretion of the doctor concerned.

To receive a concession on prescription medicines, customers must show their Commonwealth Senior Health Card (CSHC) and their Medicare card to the pharmacist each time they have a prescription filled.

In some circumstances, customers may have to pay more than the concessional amount if the medicine is not listed on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) or is only partially covered. Customers will need to talk to their doctor or pharmacist about cheaper alternatives. For the concession amount payable, see Extra concession information.

For enquiries about the cost of prescription medicines, call the PBS Information Line.

A safety net exists to assist people who need a lot of medication. If a customer has accrued the safety net amount on PBS prescription medicines in a calendar year, they are entitled to free PBS medicines for the rest of the calendar year. Customers will need to keep their own record of the amount spent on prescriptions. To find out the current safety net amount, see Extra concession information.

The Energy Supplement for Commonwealth Seniors Health Card holders is paid each quarter on or soon after the test days of 20 March, 20 June, 20 September and 20 December.

From 20 March 2017, new recipients of CSHC will not be paid Energy Supplement.

Customers who first received Energy Supplement:

• before 20 September 2016 with their income support payment, family payment or CSHC
• will continue to receive the energy supplement with their payment or concession card from 20 March 2017 onwards as long as they continue to meet the eligibility requirements

Dependants or partners of CSHC cardholders are not eligible for concessions through the holder's card. They may test their eligibility for a Low Income Health Care Card (LIC) or CSHC in their own right.

The CSHC is issued by the Commonwealth Government. Some States and Territories may offer further concessions to holders of both CSHCs and State Seniors Cards. Note: these are two different cards and are often confused. Provision of these concessions is entirely at the discretion of the concession providers.

For more details, advise customers to contact the relevant Department in their State or Territory. See the State and territory contact details in Extra concession information.

Re-issue of or replacement of the CSHC is done via the Concession Card Issue Summary (CCIS) screen. For full details on how to issue this card, see How to reissue concession cards.

If customer needs an interim/replacement card urgently, see Confirming concession card entitlement and issuing interim vouchers.

Customers can request a replacement card using Centrelink self service.

More details on concession cards can be found in:

• Information you need to know about your concession and health care cards form (CI010), and
• Concession card brochure (CO153)