This week, the secrecy surrounding an independent Australian report on patent law and pharmaceutical drugs has been lifted, and the work has been published to great acclaim. On the 20th March 2014, the Australian Government published the final version of an independent policy report, the Pharmaceutical Patents Review Report, after much public pressure.1 The report has significant implications in respect of patent law, pharmaceutical drugs, the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme, and trade policy – particularly in respect of the Trans-Pacific Partnership. The independent report has also highlighted the opportunity of great savings for the Australian health-care system through shortening patent term extensions. The economist Peter Martin has warned: ‘Australia's enthusiastic approach to extending the life of pharmaceutical patents has cost the economy “billions of dollars” an independent review has found.’2 This paper provides a short review of the Pharmaceutical Patents Review Report, and highlights key recommendations. In particular, it looks at the call by the review for a frugal, parsimonious approach to the granting of patent rights in respect of pharmaceutical drugs in Australia. The paper considers the recommendations of the Pharmaceutical Patents Review Report to shorten and reduce patent term extensions. It examines the proposed recommendations to address the problem of evergreening. This paper also considers the debate over data protection. Finally, the Pharmaceutical Patents Review Report is critical of Australia’s passive approach to the negotiation of intellectual property and international trade. The findings of the report emphasize the need for Australia to protect its public health interests in the negotiation of the Trans-Pacific Partnership.