Compare Online Prescription Providers in Australia 2026

Australian telehealth providers offer convenient, fast and affordable online prescriptions via virtual consults. Online prescription services let you obtain an eScript without visiting a clinic. This guide compares vetted, high-quality providers, the speed of medication delivery, the cheapest e-script fees (both repeat and new scripts) and which services are bulk-billed.

Online Prescription Providers

Australian telehealth providers all use AHPRA-registered doctors (typically General Practitioners (GPs), Nurse Practitioners or specialists) and follow the same prescribing standards that apply to face-to-face consultations. After a brief, secure video or phone consult, the clinician can issue an electronic prescription (e-script) that is sent to the patient’s mobile phone as a QRcode or SMS link or sometimes emailed. The e-script can then be presented at any pharmacy or fulfilled through a partnerpharmacy delivery service. Some providers also offer sending the eScript directly to a pharmacy on the patient’s behalf.

Patients can use telehealth for a wide range of health needs ranging from acute needs to chronic conditions. The most common categories are:

Routine & Repeat Prescriptions

Online prescription refills are often the cheapest and easiest to get. Some providers have a more affordable price for repeat prescriptions online. These services may be ideal for chronic condition management, which often requires patients to obtain repeat prescriptions, with regular follow-ups. Using an online prescription service makes it easier to stay on top of chronic conditions and also ensure you comply with your treatment plan. This type of prescription is available for:

• Chronic disease management – hypertension, diabetes, asthma, thyroid disorders. Standard medicines such as ACE inhibitors, metformin, inhalers and levothyroxine are routinely issued as repeat scripts.
• Repeat prescriptions for stable conditions – statins, antihypertensives, antidepressants. Providers such as Aussie Scripts, Instant Scripts and Medmate specialise in low-cost repeat dispensing.
• Hormonal & reproductive health – combined oral contraceptives, progesterone, testosterone gel, menopausal hormone therapy. Abby Health, Healthy Life and Hola Health all handle these prescriptions.

Specialist & Lifestyle Prescriptions

Online prescriptions can also be an option for patients with specialised needs, like men’s or women’s health issues. While some telehealth providers specialise in these needs, more general or comprehensive providers can typically also assist with prescriptions for specialised and lifestyle needs. These include:

• Sexual health – treatment for chlamydia, gonorrhoea, syphilis, as well as erectile dysfunction medication (e.g., sildenafil). Abby Health, Hola Health and Instant Scripts issue these scripts.dysfunction medication (e.g., sildenafil).
• Hair loss – finasteride tablets, topical minoxidil. Hola Health and Healthy Life include hair loss as a dedicated service.
• Weight loss / metabolic – GLP1 agonists such as semaglutide (Wegovy) or liraglutide (Saxenda). Healthy Life, Medmate and Prime Medic provide specialist weight loss prescribing.

Acute Care & Antibiotics

Online prescriptions can help with acute care needs, where no physical assessment or treatment is needed, for example, with antibiotics in the case of UTIs or common bacterial infections. If you suspect you may need antivirals for COVID-19 or the flu, telehealth can give you faster access, allowing you to stay within the 48-hour period suggested to start treatment. These medications are not available over the counter in Australia, but a telehealth doctor can assess your symptoms and issue an eScript, if appropriate. They include eScripts for:

• Acute infections – uncomplicated urinary tract infections, sore throat, sinusitis. Hola Health, Aussie Scripts and Instant Scripts can issue antibiotics when clinically appropriate.tract infections, sore throat, sinusitis.
• Mental health medication – SSRIs, shortterm benzodiazepines (where permitted). Abby Health and 13SICK include mental health prescriptions in their services.
• Allergy & respiratory relief – antihistamines and inhaled corticosteroids. Medmate and Healthy Life cover these conditions.

It is important to note that all prescriptions are subject to clinical appropriateness checks; Schedule 8 (controlled) substances cannot be issued via telehealth under Australian law.

Most general telehealth providers in Australia offer online prescriptions as part of their services, subject to a doctor’s consult and review. Our vetted top 5 providers are chosen on fast access to eScripts, affordable pricing, and speed of medication delivery.

Hola Health

Hola Health offers 24/7 access to “instant scripts” via GP consults within 15 minutes. The eScript is sent to you via SMS a few minutes after your online doctor consult. The highly-rated service focuses on rapid access to scripts for routine, chronic and specialist needs. While the eScripts arrive “pharmacy-ready”, Hola Health also offers affordable 2-hour delivery from your local pharmacy via the Hola Meds app, which allows you to add over-the-counter items, such as painkillers to your order.

Abby Health

Abby Health delivers fully bulk-billed GP and NP consultations for online prescriptions seven days a week, often within 30 minutes. The AI-guided intake process allows you to request specific medication or describe symptoms; it also allows the consulting clinician to quickly ascertain your needs. Scripts are available for a range of conditions from men’s, women’s or sexual health to mental health, weight loss, and both chronic and urgent care.

Aussie Scripts

Aussie Scripts provides very fast eScript access 24/7: the consulting doctor issues your prescription within a few minutes, typically less than 15 minutes. The well-established telehealth provider is known for its low-cost repeat scripts, which are particularly suited to chronic and lifestyle conditions, but also offers new prescriptions for acute needs, such as sexual health and respiratory tract infections. New prescriptions or multiple repeats require a standard telehealth consult with an Aussie Scripts doctor.

Medmate

Medmate combines comprehensive extended-hours telehealth services with a health and wellness shop and fast medication delivery, typically reaching patients within two hours. The affordable platform offers online doctor’s consults, a wide range of specialistcare scripts, for example, for weight loss and mental health, as well as a searchable medication menu and shop with products such as head lice treatment, allergy medication and more.

Healthy Life

Healthy Life + Pharmacy combines fast access to 24/7 GP consults with a comprehensive online pharmacy and wellness shop and alternative lifestyle and weight loss consults, and free delivery. Its round-the-clock access 15-minute access to online prescriptions provides patients with a one-stop-shop for medications, supplementary products and delivery. It also specialises in medical weight loss, naturopathic assistance, smoking‑cessation support and COVID-19 care, representing one of the most well-rounded online prescription services. 

Convenience and accessibility

Getting an eScript via a telehealth provider is very convenient, as you can book and attend a video or phone consult from any device (depending on the provider), often 24/7. Some providers offer in-app consults, others can be booked and accessed via a phone call, making the service particularly suited for patients needing assistance.

Speed

Wait times for consultations tend to be very short, often ranging from a few minutes for your consult and prescription to an hour. Most providers issue an escript within minutes of the consult (average ≤ 15 min). For urgent conditions such as bacterial infections, this can shave days off the traditional GP pathway, allowing patients to start treatment within the clinically recommended 48-hour window.

Cost and Travel Saving

There’s typically no travel required, if you choose a provider that also offers medication delivery, or you can choose to use a separate online pharmacy or medication delivery provider to have your script fulfilled. This saves not just time but also money for fuel, parking and downtime to visit the doctor and the pharmacy.

Pricing Transparency

Private fees are displayed upfront on each provider’s pricing page, as providers are required to be transparent by law. Many bulkbilled services are also highlighted by providers, making it easier to lower outofpocket costs for eligible patients. Repeatscript discounts (e.g., AU$ 19 at Instant Scripts) are often similarly highlighted, allowing you to save where possible and making long-term medication management affordable.

Fast Medication Delivery

While many providers, like Hola Health and InstantScripts, partner with courier platforms to get the medication to your door within 2 hours in Metro areas or under 4 hours elsewhere, some offer Australia Post service only, for example, for less urgent lifestyle-related scripts for weight loss or hair loss medication. There is also a range of specialised online pharmacies like Priceline Pharmacy and Chemist Warehouse as well as specialised medication delivery services, like Hola Meds, that collect your medication and additional items from your local pharmacy and deliver within two hours.

Bulk Billing Availability

Some telehealth providers such as Abby Health and New Doc offer fully bulk-billed services for eligible patients, while others, such as Healthy Life, Hola Health and Prime Medic offer after-hours bulk-billing for consultations for prescriptions.

Personalised Treatment Plans

Many telehealth services provide specialised care for specific conditions, including weight loss or chronic condition management. Their clinicians typically tailor treatment plans and prescriptions to match your needs. They record their recommendations in My Health Record [1], allowing for continuity of care both with your regular GP and any future telehealth doctor appointments.

Ongoing Support

Most telehealth providers allow you to book follow-up appointments for repeat scripts, but they also sometimes include the cost some ongoing support via in-app inbox, for example, in the cost of your consultation. For example, Abby Health, 13SICK, Prime Medic, allow a free followup within 7 days for the same condition, ensuring the prescription remains clinically appropriate without extra cost. This is particularly relevant, if you are considering weight loss, hair loss or other ongoing lifestyle solutions via telehealth. Some providers, such as New Doc and Abby Health, also allow you to choose which specific doctor you would like your consult with, which can be helpful both to establish a rapport and greater continuity of care.

Privacy & Security

Guidelines developed by the Australian Digital Health Agency and the AHPRA mean Australian telehealth providers are subject to strict requirements, including the use of encrypted consultations and e-scripts to protect personal health information. All platforms store health data in Australianbased data centres, are ISO 27001certified and operate under the Australian Privacy Principles. escripts are digitally signed, tamperproof and can be verified by any pharmacy via the national eprescription network. Also, all procedures and staff need to be compliant with the Australian Privacy Act, so patients can be confident that their data is in good hands and not shared or stored overseas, for example.

Broad Clinical Coverage

From routine repeat scripts to specialised lifestyle prescriptions (e.g., GLP1 weightloss agents, hormonal therapy, hair loss treatment), the listed providers collectively cover most common outpatient medication categories. While there are a few conditions that telehealth can not treat, such as wound care or mental health crises, many prescription-based needs can be successfully handled online.

Government Backing

All Australian telehealth providers must adhere to the Australian Digital Health Agency’s eprescription framework and, where applicable, Medicare bulkbilling rules. This guarantees that the prescription is recognised nationwide and that the patient’s Medicare rebate is processed automatically for eligible consultations. It also allows for a greater level of oversight.

Online prescription telehealth services have become a mainstream, government-backed aspect of the Australian healthcare system and patients’ everyday care. This is reflected in the broad range of services and competitive pricing available. The current trend is to more providers offering partial bulk billing, leveraging Medicare to offer free after-hours prescription access.

This means you can get a consult and eScript for safe, clinically appropriate medication within minutes – and even have it delivered to your home or office, often the same day.

The telehealth providers compared in this patient guide differ mainly in their pricing models, for example, bulk billing vs. subscriptions or privately paid, and in their delivery speed. If you qualify for bulk billing, Abby Health, 13SICK, Prime Medic, Hola Health and Healthy Life offer the lowest out-of-pocket costs (although only the first provider has all-day bulk billing). If you are after the fastest overall service from booking to delivery, Hola Health is your best bet, while Healthy Life and Medmate are strong contenders when you take their health and wellness shops into account (and free shipping at Healthy Life). If you are expecting to need the doctor for multiple prescriptions (or other needs) each month, Updoc’s monthly subscription model with unlimited consults is perhaps your best choice. Regardless of which provider you end up choosing, you can be confident that your online prescription will be electronically signed, securely transmitted, and compatible with any Australian pharmacy.

You can use the comparison table and FAQs to match your needs. Overall, you can expect consistently high quality from MediCompare’s top-rated providers. For more information on individual providers, you can read our in-depth reviews, then book a consult directly through the provider’s website.

[1] https://www.digitalhealth.gov.au/initiatives-and-programs/my-health-record
[2] https://www.ahpra.gov.au/Resources/Information-for-practitioners-who-provide-virtual-care.aspx

[3] https://www.digitalhealth.gov.au/initiatives-and-programs/electronic-prescriptions