UTI treatment without a GP in Australia: what each state allows and charges
A trained pharmacist can assess and treat an uncomplicated urinary tract infection in women aged 18 to 65 in every state whose rules we could read. What it costs depends on where you live. In Victoria the consultation is free by rule. In the other states we could read, the pharmacy sets its own fee, and none publishes the amount. The treatment is paid for separately in every state.
Last updated 28 September 2026
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Can a pharmacist treat a UTI where you live?
Each state and territory runs its own service, and they started years apart. Queensland was first, with a pilot in June 2020. The table sets out what each government page says.
| State | Service | Status | Who it covers | Consultation fee |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Victoria | Community Pharmacist Program (Chemist Care Now) | Pilot from October 2023, now ongoing | Women 18 to 65 | Free: pharmacies may not charge a consultation fee |
| New South Wales | Pharmacy UTI service | Permanent from 1 June 2024 | Women 18 to 65 | Set by the pharmacy, not published |
| Queensland | UTI pharmacy service (began as UTIPP-Q) | Pilot from June 2020, announced permanent 7 July 2022 | Women 18 to 65 | Not published |
| South Australia | SA Community Pharmacy UTI Services | From 1 March 2024 | Women 18 to 65, not pregnant | The pharmacy may charge, amount not published |
| Western Australia | Pharmacist Initiated Treatment of UTI | From 4 August 2023 | Women 18 to 65 | Fees apply, amount not published |
| ACT | Pharmacy UTI service | Regular practice from 27 February 2025 | Women and people with a uterus, 18 to 65 | Set by the pharmacy, not published |
| Tasmania | Tasmanian Community Pharmacy Program | Running; program page updated 4 June 2025 | Not read directly: ask the pharmacy | Not published |
| Northern Territory | Pharmacist UTI service | Announced by NT Health; service page not readable | Not read directly: ask the pharmacy | Not published |
Read on 28 September 2026 from Better Health Victoria and the Victorian Department of Health, NSW Health (release of 14 May 2024), the Queensland ministerial statement of 7 July 2022, SA Health, the WA Government statement of 4 August 2023, the ACT Government release of 27 February 2025, and Tasmania's Department of Health. The NT page did not load.
What treating a UTI costs without a GP
At a Victorian pharmacy, the consultation costs nothing. The Victorian Government pays participating pharmacies $20 for each consultation, and they are not permitted to charge you on top. The treatment is priced as it would be under the PBS, including for people without a Medicare card, though it does not count towards the PBS Safety Net.
At a pharmacy in New South Wales, South Australia, Western Australia or the ACT, the pharmacy sets its own consultation fee, and Queensland and Tasmania publish no fee either. None of the state pages we read gives an amount, and South Australia notes that the treatment supplied through its service is not PBS-funded. Ask what the consultation and the treatment will cost before you start: South Australia and the ACT both say the pharmacist should tell you first.
Through a telehealth doctor, the four national services whose UTI consult prices we could read charged between $29.99 and $59.90 on 28 September 2026, as private fees with no Medicare rebate stated, and with the treatment extra.
Through a GP, the consultation may be free. Since 1 November 2025 the Medicare bulk billing incentive applies to every Medicare-eligible patient rather than only children and concession card holders, and the national GP bulk-billing rate for November 2025 to January 2026 was 81.4%. Whether a practice bulk-bills is still its choice, so ask when you book.
When a pharmacist will send you to a GP
Every service is limited to uncomplicated infections. NSW Health describes it as for women who “have not had other recent UTIs or have a high risk of complications”. Western Australia's published criteria are the most specific we found: they exclude anyone treated for one or more UTIs in the previous six months or more than two in the previous twelve, pregnancy or the four to six weeks after giving birth, diabetes, an IUD in place, and any antimicrobial treatment in the previous three months (Pharmacy Guild WA summary, current as at 26 October 2023).
If you get UTIs often, expect to be referred on. That is the service working as designed: recurrent infections are a question for a GP who can look for a cause.
Finding a pharmacy that offers it
Not every pharmacy takes part, and a trained pharmacist is not always on shift. In Victoria, the Chemist Care Now finder on Better Health lists participating chemists. Elsewhere, the Pharmacy Guild's Find a Pharmacy site and the healthdirect service finder list them, and healthdirect answers on 1800 022 222. Tasmania publishes its own list of participating pharmacies. Calling ahead saves a wasted trip.
Where to go from here
This page explains how UTI treatment is accessed and priced in Australia.
We have not added a provider to this section yet, so there is no link here and nothing on this page earns us anything.
Common questions
- Can a pharmacist treat a UTI in Australia?
- Yes, for an uncomplicated urinary tract infection in women, in every state whose rules we could read directly: Victoria, New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Western Australia and the ACT, each for ages 18 to 65. Tasmania runs a pharmacy service too. A trained pharmacist assesses you and supplies prescription-only treatment only if it is appropriate, and refers you to a GP if it is not.
- How much does it cost to get a UTI treated at a pharmacy?
- In Victoria the consultation is free: pharmacies are not permitted to charge for it, and the state pays them instead. New South Wales, South Australia, Western Australia and the ACT let the pharmacy charge its own fee, and none of them publishes an amount; Queensland and Tasmania publish no fee either. Ask before the consult. The treatment itself is paid for separately everywhere.
- Is a pharmacy UTI consultation covered by Medicare?
- No state's pharmacist UTI consultation attracts a Medicare rebate. In Victoria the medicine is priced as it would be under the PBS, even for people without a Medicare card, but it does not count towards the PBS Safety Net. In South Australia the medicine supplied through the service is not PBS-funded.
- When should I see a GP instead of a pharmacist for a UTI?
- When the pharmacy service does not cover you. Each state limits it to uncomplicated infections in women aged 18 to 65, and Western Australia's published criteria exclude anyone treated for a UTI in the previous six months, pregnancy, diabetes and an IUD in place, among others. A pharmacist who finds you outside the criteria will refer you on. Since 1 November 2025 the GP bulk billing incentive applies to every Medicare-eligible patient, so a GP visit may cost you nothing.
Keep reading
General information for an Australian audience, not medical advice and not a diagnosis. Circumstances differ from person to person, and anything prescription-only is supplied in Australia only after an individual assessment by a registered practitioner who decides whether it is appropriate. Prices change; each figure states when we checked it.
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