Important changes introduced on 1 September 2026 are making hepatitis B treatment more accessible for people living with chronic hepatitis B.
Medical practitioners and authorised nurse practitioners can now prescribe the first-line hepatitis B antiviral medicines, entecavir and tenofovir, without the previous accreditation requirements. These medicines remain available through the PBS Section 100 Highly Specialised Drugs Program for eligible patients.
The changes are expected to improve access to treatment by enabling initiation and ongoing management through a patient’s primary healthcare provider, including ACCHOs. This can reduce delays in treatment, support continuity of care and help more people living with chronic hepatitis B receive ongoing clinical management within their local community.
You can read the full announcement from ASHM here.
For clinicians who are new to hepatitis B prescribing, ASHM provides a range of resources and educational opportunities to support knowledge and confidence in managing chronic hepatitis B.
- ASHM’s clinical decision-making resource: Decision Making in Hepatitis B,
- ASHM’s education opportunities Hepatitis B Advanced Management and Prescribing Course.
For additional clinical support or to link patients with confidential, free and localised viral hepatitis information and support services you can contact HepLink online or phone them on 1800 437 222.
Prevention, Vaccination and Testing Remain Important
Hepatitis B infection is vaccine-preventable. Member services are encouraged to review patients’ hepatitis B vaccination history and offer vaccination where clinically indicated.
Hepatitis B serological testing should be considered for people whose vaccination status is unknown and who are at increased risk of Hepatitis B infection. This includes Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and people living in communities with a higher prevalence of Hepatitis B. Testing can identify people requiring clinical management as well as those who are susceptible to infection and may benefit from vaccination.
The AH&MRC Hepatitis B Resource was adapted from the ASHM Hepatitis B Decision Making Tool and is a useful, summarised checklist and guide to assist clinicians with initial screening, result interpretation and management of Hepatitis B results.
Refer to the Australian Immunisation Handbook for current vaccination and serological testing recommendations.
For any questions or to request additional resources, please contact the AH&MRC Public Health Team at publichealth@ahmrc.org.au
