Following the relaxation of China's strict pandemic lockdown rules, citizens are struggling to find certain drugs to treat their symptoms at home.
Family reserves of fever-reducing, cough-relieving, anti-viral and antibiotic medicines are also low leading many to seek the medications from countries abroad, including Australia.
A pharmacy employee in Melbourne, who did not want to be named, told SBS Chinese: "Our paracetamol has been out of stock for the past few days."
"Our pharmacy already has a rule that each customer can only buy one box, because it is a pharmacy brand but lately, we have been close to two or three days out of stock at a time."
Chinese community members say they have been concerned about the medical supply shortage amid a relaxation of restrictions and rise in Covid cases.
Meanwhile, pharmacy franchise Chemist Warehouse has posted notices in some areas reminding the public that they cannot buy more than 100 tablets at a time.
On Chinese social media platform, Little Red Book, some users have posted pharmacy "maps" directing people to where they can buy large quantities of paracetamol in Australian cities.
Such posts have also attracted criticism online with users labelling the bulk-buying behaviour as "disgraceful" and purchasing agents as "crazy for wanting to get rich".
Many Chinese vented their anger at personal shoppers known as ‘daigou’.
Personal shopper, Amanda, told SBS Chinese that she was currently buying Panadol for mainland China customers but that due to direct mail delays of more than two weeks, demand was waning as people were "... unwilling to wait that long".
And purchases went in both directions, she said.
"When Australia (the epidemic) was severe before, I also bought traditional Chinese medicine such as Lianhua Qingwen for people here," she said. Lianhua Qingwen is a herbal drug that has been used by the Chinese government to treat COVID-19.
But in addition to daigous, there are also many Chinese in Australia who are buying paracetamol and other medicines at the request of their family members in China.
Brynn, who is in New South Wales, says she received a call from her parents asking her to send some cold medicine back to China.
She said: "There are also medicines at home, such as Lianhua Qingwen, paracetamol, and others, but my mother thinks that foreign ones are better."
She says she noticed a shortage of Panadol during a trip to her local shopping centre, Macquarie Centre.
She says she believes the sudden scarcity is due to bulk-buying by daigous who sell the medicine at a high premium to panicked people in China.
“I think it is a bit immoral, " she said.
SBS Chinese sought comment from both Australia Post and the Australian Therapeutic Goods Administration on this story but had not received any responses by the time of publication.
