Access and legislation

Prescriber and pharmacist notes for medicinal cannabis in Australia. Commonwealth TGA pathways sit beside state and territory poisons law. Confirm the linked official page before you prescribe or supply.

Summarised from TGA, AHPRA, and health-department pages. Each jurisdiction below records when that summary was last checked. This is a reading aid, not legal advice and not a protocol. Tap or click a superscript to open the source for that sentence.

Australia runs a dual system. The Therapeutic Goods Administration decides how an unapproved medicinal cannabis product may be accessed (Special Access Scheme or Authorised Prescriber). State and territory poisons law then governs who may prescribe or supply a Schedule 4 or Schedule 8 product, and under what records, permits, and monitored-medicine checks.

Most medicinal cannabis products used in practice are unapproved therapeutic goods. They have not been evaluated by the TGA for safety, quality, and effectiveness in the way ARTG-registered medicines have. ARTG-registered products (for example nabiximols where listed) do not need SAS or AP.

This page summarises official public guidance as at September 2026. It is not legal advice and it is not a prescribing protocol. If a linked department page has moved, follow that page.

At a glance

A restatement of the notes below. It is not a new set of rules. Where a monitored-medicine system is not named in these notes, confirm it on the official page.

Jurisdiction	Extra state or territory approval	Monitored-medicine system	Official page
New South Wales	Schedule 4: no NSW approval. Unregistered Schedule 8: NSW approval in defined cases (a drug-dependent person, or extemporaneous compounding).	Not named in these notes.	NSW Health — access and approvals
Victoria	No Victorian Schedule 8 permit when Commonwealth SAS or Authorised Prescriber approval is held, or the product is ARTG-listed.	SafeScript	Victoria — Schedule 8 permits
Queensland	No additional Queensland approval for Schedule 4 CBD or Schedule 8 THC when TGA approval is held.	QScript	Queensland Health — prescribing medicinal cannabis
Western Australia	CEO authorisation when the Monitored Medicines Prescribing Code criteria are not all met.	ScriptCheckWA	WA — pharmacist guide to dispensing medicinal cannabis
South Australia	These notes state the Commonwealth pathway (TGA SAS, Authorised Prescriber, or a clinical trial). They do not name a separate South Australian approval.	Not named in these notes.	SA Health — patient access
Tasmania	Section 59E authorisation for each patient before a Schedule 8 prescription. Schedule 4 does not need that authorisation.	Not named in these notes.	Tasmania — information for prescribers
Australian Capital Territory	Not set out here. Confirm current Schedule 8 steps on the department page.	Not named in these notes.	ACT Health — pharmaceutical services
Northern Territory	Not set out here as a current rule. Confirm on the NT Health page before acting on any older summary of Chief Health Officer notification.	Not named in these notes.	NT Health — medicines and poisons

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Commonwealth (TGA)

Unapproved products need SAS Category B or Authorised Prescriber before supply. Compounding an unapproved product has required SAS or AP since 28 April 2022.

Special Access Scheme Category B

SAS Category B is a named-patient pathway. The application is made before supply. It is the usual route when a prescriber is treating one patient with an unapproved medicinal cannabis product.

Authorised Prescriber

Authorised Prescriber is for a class of patients with a particular indication. It is available to medical practitioners. Six-monthly reporting to the TGA applies.

Compounding

From 28 April 2022, a prescription for an unapproved medicinal cannabis product that will be compounded still requires SAS or AP. Pharmacists should not treat compounding as a way around Commonwealth access rules.

Last checked September 2026. For more detailed information see: TGA SAS and Authorised Prescriber and TGA medicinal cannabis access pathways.

Professional practice (AHPRA)

Treat THC-containing medicinal cannabis with the same diligence as other Schedule 8 medicines.

AHPRA’s medicinal cannabis prescribing resource states that most products are unapproved, that THC-containing products are typically Schedule 8, and that practitioners should apply the same standard of assessment, informed consent, monitoring, and record-keeping as for other Schedule 8 medicines, including real-time prescription monitoring and My Health Record where they apply.

Last checked September 2026. For more detailed information see: AHPRA medicinal cannabis prescribing.

New South Wales

Schedule 4 cannabis medicines do not need a NSW approval. Unregistered Schedule 8 products do, in defined cases, on top of TGA approval.

Prescribers

A medical practitioner can prescribe unregistered Schedule 8 cannabis medicines under TGA Authorised Prescriber or SAS. A nurse practitioner can prescribe unregistered Schedule 8 cannabis medicines under TGA SAS only. NSW approval is required when prescribing or supplying a Schedule 8 cannabis medicine to a drug-dependent person, and for unregistered Schedule 8 products that are extemporaneously compounded. Only medical practitioners may prescribe compounded Schedule 8 medicines after NSW approval. No NSW approval is needed to prescribe a Schedule 4 cannabis medicine.

Pharmacists

A pharmacist can dispense an unregistered cannabis medicine if the prescriber holds TGA AP or SAS approval. If the product is Schedule 8 and will be compounded, the NSW approval number must be on the prescription. Unregistered medicines cannot be held in stock unless approved for supply to a particular patient. Prescriptions must state name, strength (not a range), dosage, and quantity. Substitution of products is not allowed.

Last checked September 2026. For more detailed information see: NSW Health — access and approvals, NSW Health — cannabis medicine FAQs, and NSW Health — prescriptions and dispensing.

Victoria

A Victorian Schedule 8 treatment permit is not required for S8 cannabis when Commonwealth SAS or Authorised Prescriber approval is held, or when the product is ARTG-listed. SafeScript still applies.

Prescribers

A practitioner is not required to obtain a Victorian permit to prescribe Schedule 8 cannabis or Schedule 8 tetrahydrocannabinol for human therapeutic use if they hold Commonwealth SAS or Authorised Prescriber approval for that patient, or if they are prescribing an ARTG-listed Schedule 8 cannabis product.

Pharmacists

Schedule 8 medicinal cannabis is a SafeScript medicine. Extemporaneously compounded or unregistered cannabis products are recorded in SafeScript using the keyword identification the department publishes (currently “cannabis tetrahydrocannabiol” in the product name field). Pharmacies must transmit supply records through a prescription exchange service where software can do so.

Last checked September 2026. For more detailed information see: Victoria — Schedule 8 permits and Victoria — SafeScript.

Queensland

Any Queensland medical practitioner or nurse practitioner may prescribe S4 CBD and S8 THC medicinal cannabis without a separate Queensland approval if the relevant TGA approval is in place.

Prescribers

Queensland Health states that any medical practitioner or nurse practitioner can prescribe medicinal cannabis if it is clinically appropriate. There is no additional Queensland approval for Schedule 4 CBD or Schedule 8 THC products when TGA approval is held for an unapproved product. Sativex, where ARTG-listed, does not need TGA SAS/AP or extra Queensland approval.

Pharmacists

Schedule 8 medicinal cannabis is a monitored medicine in QScript. Dispensing, storage, and recording follow ordinary Schedule 8 rules.

Last checked September 2026. For more detailed information see: Queensland Health — prescribing medicinal cannabis.

Western Australia

Medical practitioners and nurse practitioners may prescribe if registration is not subject to Schedule 8 or cannabis conditions. CEO authorisation is still needed in high-risk cases set out in the Monitored Medicines Prescribing Code.

Prescribers

AHPRA-registered medical practitioners and nurse practitioners in Western Australia may prescribe medicinal cannabis if their registration does not carry conditions or undertakings about Schedule 8 or cannabis-based medicines. Once TGA approval is held (and WA Health authorisation if the Code requires it), they may write the prescription. Medical practitioners may prescribe Schedule 8 medicinal cannabis without CEO authorisation when the Code’s prescriber, patient, and product criteria are all met. CEO authorisation is required if those criteria are not met — including a patient under 18, recorded as drug-dependent, or oversupplied. Nurse practitioners must also hold TGA SAS Category B approval.

Pharmacists

A patient may present the prescription to any WA pharmacy. As with other Schedule 8 prescriptions, the pharmacist must confirm authenticity, the person presenting, and the prescriber. The prescription must name the exact product — brand, formulation, and strength of each cannabinoid — with precise directions and a maximum daily dose; brand substitution is not permitted. Pharmacists are not required to actively check whether the prescriber holds a WA CEO authorisation, though ScriptCheckWA may show it.

Last checked September 2026. For more detailed information see: WA — pharmacist guide to dispensing medicinal cannabis, WA Health — medicines and poisons regulation changes, and WA Health — prescription requirements.

South Australia

Unregistered products require TGA SAS, Authorised Prescriber, or a clinical trial. Supply is on prescription and dispensed by a pharmacist under the Controlled Substances Act.

Prescribers

SA Health states that medical practitioners must notify or apply to the TGA to prescribe an unregistered medicinal cannabis product, and that prescribing of unapproved goods is generally for exceptional clinical circumstances. Apply through the TGA SAS online system. The Drugs of Dependence Unit remains the state contact for Controlled Substances questions.

Pharmacists

Products that meet TGA standards can be supplied on prescription when the prescriber holds the required Commonwealth approval or notification. SA Pharmacy Medicines Information Service is listed by SA Health as a clinical contact.

Last checked September 2026. For more detailed information see: SA Health — patient access and SA Health — medicinal cannabis FAQs.

Tasmania

Tasmania still requires a separate state authorisation (Poisons Act s59E) for each patient before a Schedule 8 medicinal cannabis prescription is issued. Schedule 4 products do not need that authorisation.

Prescribers

A registered medical practitioner or nurse practitioner may prescribe an unregistered medicinal cannabis product if it is clinically appropriate and all Commonwealth approvals and state authorisations are held. Section 59E authorisation is required for each individual patient before issuing a Schedule 8 prescription. No Poisons Act authorisation is required for Schedule 4 medicinal cannabis. TGA and Tasmanian Schedule 8 applications can be lodged together through the national streamlined form.

Pharmacists

Prescriptions that meet the Poisons Act 1971 and Poisons Regulations 2018 may be dispensed at any Tasmanian pharmacy. For unregistered products the pharmacy must provide the supplier with a copy of the SAS or AP approval before the product can be released. Prescribers are expected to give the patient a copy of that approval with the prescription.

Last checked September 2026. For more detailed information see: Tasmania — information for prescribers and Tasmania — information for pharmacists.

Australian Capital Territory — confirm on the department page

Controlled medicines in the ACT sit under ACT Health pharmaceutical services and the Medicines, Poisons and Therapeutic Goods legislation. Confirm current S8 cannabis steps on that page.

Commonwealth SAS or Authorised Prescriber still applies to unapproved products. Territory controlled-medicine rules, records, and monitored-medicine checks sit on top. Use the ACT Health pharmaceutical services page for the current prescriber and pharmacist requirements rather than assuming NSW or Victorian shortcuts apply.

Last checked September 2026. For more detailed information see: ACT Health — pharmaceutical services and TGA medicinal cannabis access pathways.

Northern Territory — confirm on the department page

Schedule 8 treatment is overseen by NT Medicines and Poisons Control. Longer S8 cannabis courses have historically required Chief Health Officer notification — confirm the current rule before you prescribe.

Commonwealth TGA access rules apply to unapproved products. NT Medicines and Poisons Control administers Schedule 8 requirements. RACGP’s regulatory summary has noted that Schedule 8 cannabis treatment intended to last more than two months required Chief Health Officer notification. That is a secondary summary: confirm on the NT Health page before acting on it.

Last checked September 2026. For more detailed information see: NT Health — medicines and poisons and TGA medicinal cannabis access pathways.

Sources on this page19

Medicinal cannabis briefing ORT access and legislation How the tools fit

Educational information only. It is not a diagnosis, prescription, or a substitute for advice from a registered health practitioner.