Have your say: Support nurse practitioner prescribing of secukinumab

Community access to secukinumab (Cosentyx®) could soon be improved by allowing nurse practitioners to write PBS prescriptions for those with certain conditions. We need your help to make this happen.

by Rosemary Ainley, 22 August 2026

Secukinumab (Cosentyx®) is one of the most commonly prescribed biologic DMARDs for moderate to severe rheumatology and dermatology conditions in Australia. Yet, there are only around 500 rheumatologists and 660 dermatologists in the country, and most are in metropolitan areas.^1&2 As secukinumab can currently only be prescribed by these specialists, accessing this often life-changing treatment can be challenging.

Enter the nurse practitioners (NPs). There are around 3,000 qualified NPs in Australia, and around 30 per cent of these work in regional and remote areas. ^3&4

NPs are the most senior and experienced clinical nurses in the healthcare workforce. They have authority to practice independently and collaboratively in an expanded clinical role. They collaborate with other nurses and healthcare professionals, such as GPs, specialists and allied health professionals and work in a variety of locations, including hospital and community settings.

NPs are endorsed registered nurses with Master’s-level clinical training and professional endorsement to practice at an advanced level. They are senior clinicians with a distinct profession — not assistants to a doctor. NPs can diagnose and treat many common conditions, order pathology and imaging and refer to specialists.⁵

NPs can also prescribe medications within their scope of practice. Patients pay the same subsidised price for nurse‑prescribed medicines as they do for those prescribed by a doctor.

In Australia, the cost of an NP appointment varies depending on the appointment length, whether the NP bulk bills, and whether you are eligible for Medicare. Generally, NP fees are significantly lower than those of specialist doctors.

Their presence increases the flexibility of the health workforce and increases access to care for Australian communities, particularly those in underserved and marginalised populations. As advanced clinicians, NPs often spend longer on consultations, providing clinical assessment, diagnostic reasoning, and care evaluation, along with health promotion and education.

Wouldn’t it be great if nurse practitioners could prescribe secukinumab?

That could soon be a reality.

NPs can already prescribe apremilast and deucravacitinib for severe chronic plaque psoriasis and leflunomide for severe active rheumatoid arthritis and psoriatic arthritis.⁶

In their next meeting, the Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee (PBAC) will be considering a request to allow NPs to prescribe secukinumab for the following conditions, provided patients meet the strict Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) access criteria:

The request asks that NPs be authorised to write initial and continuous prescriptions for secukinumab. The current PBS listing of secukinumab already requires patients to have been diagnosed by a relevant specialist and to have tried specific first-line treatments before they are eligible for PBS-subsidised access to this biologic.

Allowing NPs to prescribe secukinumab would be particularly beneficial for those who often face delays or barriers in accessing specialists, such as people in rural and remote communities and those managing chronic conditions. It would also relieve pressure on general practice and specialised outpatient clinics by letting highly trained NPs manage stable maintenance therapy.

The PBAC may decide to allow NPs to write such prescriptions based on each NPs’ clinical judgement. They may require NPs to work with relevant medical practitioners as part of their eligibility to write secukinumab prescriptions. They could limit NPs to only writing continuous secukinumab prescriptions.

Of course, the PBAC could also deny the request.

What we’d like you to do

The PBAC welcomes submissions from patients, carers, health professionals, consumer groups or organisations and members of the public on medicines submitted for PBAC consideration.

GHLF Australia/CreakyJoints Australia would like to collate your comments into a single submission and send it to the PBAC on your behalf. If you are on secukinumab, tell us about your experiences accessing your specialist to get your prescriptions. You can also respond on behalf of someone you care for. Your comments can relate to any or all of the following questions:

Do you have any challenges accessing your specialist? For example, do you live in a rural or remote area? Is cost a factor? How do these challenges affect your care?
How would seeing an NP for your secukinumab prescription make a difference to your life?
What are your thoughts on allowing NPs to write initial secukinumab prescriptions? What about continuous prescriptions?
What (if any) do you see as the main disadvantages of allowing NPs to prescribe secukinumab?

How to submit your comments to us

Please send your responses to us by:

Typing your comments into a Word document and attaching it to your email OR
Typing your comments directly into your email.

Your comments can be as simple as a few bullet points or as long as two or three pages. Please specify if you are happy for us to use your first name and the initial of your last name, or if you prefer to remain anonymous.

Please email your comments to Rosemary Ainley at [email protected] no later than 5 pm on Friday, 4 September 2026. We will collate your replies into a single submission and send it to the PBAC on your behalf.

If you wish to make your own submission directly to the PBAC, you can do so at https://ohta-consultations.health.gov.au/ohta/pbac-november-2026. You are welcome to contact us for tips on writing your own effective submission.

Thank you.

Share this request with others

You are welcome to share this request with anyone you think might like to have their voice heard in this inquiry.

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