Australian Border Force delays release of hundreds of PrEP pills
Image: Two shipments of PrEP were held by Australian Border Force for more than a week.
TWO large shipments of PrEP to Australia from an online pharmacy in Swaziland were delayed for release by the Australian Border Force, despite having the correct paperwork attached to the order.
The two shipments contained a three-month supply for 24 people of the HIV preventative drug Truvada,聽which is not yet available in Australia. They聽were not cleared by a Border Force senior compliance order that聽claimed the shipments were subject to a goods and services tax (GST) as聽their combined total value was over $1000.
[showads聽ad=MREC] The shipments 鈥斅爓hich arrived on January 7 and 11 respectively 鈥斅爓ere organised by PrepAccessNow (PAN), a Victorian-based association that collectively orders PrEP online to help to subsidise the medicine for people who can’t afford to pay for it themselves.
PAN co-founder Phillip Joffe said the shipments contained 24 separate orders and each had the associated prescription and payment invoice for each person’s order, proving the shipments were not a bulk order but multiple individual orders.
“The Customs ruling is if a person imports medication under the value of $1000, there is no GST payable on medication,” he said.
“Customs request documentation with the shipment, they request the copy of each individual script and each individual’s payment.
“They are fully aware there are 24 people who are each paying $165 to import medication.”
Joffe said over the past few months, 10 shipments of PrEP ordered through PAN had already arrived in Australia and cleared by the Australian Border Force (ABF) without any issues including as recently as January 4.
“The shipment on the 4th of January cleared within two hours,” he said.
“This is absurdly ridiculous.”
According to Joffe, the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) and the office聽of Immigration聽Minister Peter Dutton cleared the ongoing shipments of PrEP by PAN and indicated they would not be subject to GST.
When asked for comment on the issue, a spokesperson for the Department of Immigration and Border Protection said: “While the TGA’s Personal Importation Scheme allows for the personal importation of聽Truvada, it also requires that the medication is imported by an individual for their personal use, or use by a member of their immediate family. The medication is not to be supplied to any other person.”
“The consignments in question were addressed to Mr Joffe, who it appears is neither the end user or prescription holder for this medication,” he said.
However, when pressed as to why previous shipments organised by PAN had not been subject to GST the spokesperson said “it is聽likely we may need to go back and look at previous shipments to ensure appropriate charges are being applied looking forward on future shipments”.
“The ABF encourages Mr Joffe to seek advice from the ATO on exemptions and refunds of GST that may apply to importations he arranges on behalf of other parties.”
The shipments have since been cleared after Joffe personally paid the GST on the two shipments, a figure which amounts to almost $1000, but he will need to seek reimbursement from the pool of funds held to subsidise聽the free PrEP.
“The priority is to get people鈥檚 pills to them,” he said.
“Let鈥檚 not lose sight of the fact that if the TGA聽approved PrEP, none of this would be happening.”
My Order Effective Immediately
Therapeutic Goods Administration of Australia Approval Order 2016
Add: – “PrEP”.
Introduced 20.1.2016
Effective 20.1.2016
As one half of a serodiscordant couple (one of us is positive and the other is negative), I am appalled by not only the delay of proper access to Truvada – but also by the true lack of transparency on the matter.
This is something that can really help and save people’s lives. Truvada might not be the right choice for everyone, but it should be that – a choice. I personally support and encourage the idea that gay men need to be proactive and educated on sexual health in general – But denying access to a “miracle drug” that is proven to be successful in other parts of the world for whatever political/”ethical”/bogus reason is shameful.
Since this has happened, I am now calling for a Royal commission into HIV discrimination and sexual orientation marriage discrimination in 2016!
Also I want the NSW parliament to call for a state Royal commission into the NSW gay bashings of the 80s and 90s!
This discrimination has to stop right now in 2016!
This Liberal government run by corrupt Tony Abbott 2.0 (sorry Malcolm turd-face Turnbull) is a total joke. At the next federal election coming up sometime this year, please I urgently beg you all to vote 1 Greens!
Australia is not what it was back in the day when I was a young gay activist pup – we actually had real gay bars, real Mardi Gras floats, sleaze ball, no Twitter, no Facebook, no YouTube, no internet, no grinder apps, no lockout laws, no metadata laws and at the time when the gay community actually looked out for one another. I really miss those days. Now we have corrupt governments on both the labor and liberal side, who are both as homophobic as one another – who trash the reputation of Australia and our legal standing in the whole wide world. Funny that, I have always called them “Operation Secret Borders!”
So much for Malcolm turdface Turnbull 21st century government! More like a government of 1996 from the John Howard years! Malcolm Turnbull is full of shit like the rest of them!
Well said. LGB dumb clucks that vote for these tory turds have a victim like mentality death wish. To hell with these treasonous traitors to our cause.
2016, the year of bigotry on HIV and discrimination for prep users! Do not blame me, I voted for the greens! Bring on the federal election, I have had and seen enough with all the shenanigans and scandals of the Liberal party in the past 3 years. I hope labor or the greens win the federal election, and to fix this mess. Malcolm Turnbull and his Liberal party is just as guilty of secrecy and corruption as the rest of the other parties. I for one can not understand why Australia is so far behind the rest of the world when it comes to prep and marriage equality. I am embarrassed to be Australian.
Australia has become North Korea, this is what happens when you have a Liberal party government at a federal level!
Malcolm turn-table Turnbull is really Tony Abbott 2.0 in secret as a decoy! He flip-flops on marriage equality! Then he supported marriage equality! Now I oppose marriage equality! Will the real Malcolm Turnbull please stand up!
Stupid auto-correct and frozen internet pages on these phones!
Omit: – “I oppose”;
Replace with: – “he opposes”.
I for one do not swear, because there is no point in it!
There is NO REAL M Turbull. He is a Sydney lawer, a whore, you pay them enough and they moan and groan in just the right way. None of it is real.
In 2016, Malcolm Turnbull is the new Stalin! I am embarrassed to be Australian!
Stalin was not that bad – Adolf Hitler more like it!
So now we have a situation in 2016, that life-saving HIV medications are being delayed in Australia by “operation sovereign borders”. Malcolm Turnbulls government is currupt like the Mafia, he has totally lost his way with way too much money and power and I personally hope Malcolm Turnbull get AIDS and die the stupid rich cunt! Malcolm Turnbull you are worse than Adolf Hitler! Your money will not save you! For shame!
So the federal government is playing deadly procrastination games with people who need HIV medication and delaying both prep and gay marriage. Malcolm turdface Turnbull should be ashamed of himself, the stupid spilt rich cunt!
I for one so glad thank god did not vote for these pair of bigoted liberal party clowns running, wrecking and ruining Australia! I voted for the sex party, do not blame me!
Well I know who to vote for again is the Sex party – and these parties are for bigoted people who hate LGBTI people namely the Shooters and fishing party, Labor, Liberal, National, Christian Democrats, Family First, etc parties!
Playing with other peoples lives is this lots specialty . Gays, Iraqies, Aboriginals Smokers, Refugges Muslims, global charaties, the UN IGPCC, the Human rights commission, unions , and on and on it goes. If you want to keep the lynch mob barking like fucking rabid mongrels, you do have to chuck them a fresh victim on a DAILY basis. Gays voting LNP? Are just mongrel fools with a death wish. Why suffer? Just Vote Green and then you can have your souls back. Otherwise… Burn in hell for all eternity.