Chronic Wound Consumables Scheme (CWCS) supports eligible patients with the cost of wound care products
According to Wounds Australia, around 20,000 Australians are struggling to afford the consumables necessary to manage their chronic wounds.
The Chronic Wound Consumables Scheme (CWCS) can help eligible patients with chronic wounds by covering the full cost of products (consumables) used to help wounds heal, like bandages, dressings and adhesives.
About the Chronic Wound Consumables Scheme (CWCS)
Health professionals can order various wound care consumables listed in an online portal.
Ordered wound care consumables are then delivered to a patient’s home or the health professional's office, at no cost to the patient.
To access the CWCS scheme and online ordering portal, health professionals are required to enrol and complete the training.
For enquiries about the training, including problems accessing the program, please email cwcs-training@monash.edu.
Services Australia's information page for health professionals contains more details on registering for and using the Scheme.
CWCS patient eligibility
Your patients may be eligible for the CWCS if they:
• are aged 65 years or older, or a First Nations Australian aged 50 or older
• live with diabetes and chronic wounds
• are paying for the cost of their own consumables.
Patients are ineligible if they are already receiving free consumables via a different source of government funding such as the NDIS, the Department of Veterans’ Affairs Repatriation Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (RPBS), or Home Care Packages.
More support for health professionals
View the Quality Improvement Toolkit for diabetes in the ‘specific conditions’ drop-down menu.
Learn more about the Management of type 2 diabetes: A handbook for general practice.
Learn more about free chronic disease prevention initiative, My health for life.