ADHD Medication Prescribing Rules by State: 2026 Update
Who can prescribe ADHD stimulant medication in Australia depends on which state or territory you live in, and several states changed their rules through 2025 and into 2026. Here is a state-by-state summary of the current prescribing settings.
Which prescriber can start or continue ADHD stimulant medication depends on the state or territory you live in, and the rules changed in more than one state through 2025 and into 2026. Below is a state-by-state summary of who holds prescribing authority right now. Because these settings keep shifting, the state government links in the sources list are the fastest way to see updates as they land.
New South Wales
Psychiatrists, paediatricians and neurologists can prescribe stimulant medication under a class authority, up to set maximum daily doses, without needing individual approval for each patient. From 1 September 2025, accredited GPs gained a continuation prescriber role, letting them resupply and keep treating patients who are already stable on medication. A smaller endorsed prescriber track lets specially trained GPs diagnose and start medication themselves. Any other GP needs individual approval from NSW Health and a documented arrangement to share care with a specialist.
Victoria
Victoria keeps prescribing authority narrower. Paediatricians can prescribe for patients under 18, and psychiatrists can prescribe at any age, both without a state permit, as long as the patient isn't drug-dependent. Every other prescriber, including a GP, needs a permit, and one is generally only issued where a specialist has made the diagnosis and reviewed the patient recently.
Queensland
Queensland made the largest change of any state. From 1 December 2025, any Queensland GP, without needing extra training or accreditation, can initiate, modify and continue stimulant medication for adults aged 18 and over who have ADHD. A GP still has to reach a formal diagnosis first; the change is about who can prescribe once that diagnosis exists, not about skipping the assessment itself.
Western Australia
Approved specialists, meaning psychiatrists and paediatricians or paediatric neurologists, can prescribe S8 stimulant medicines without sign-off from the WA Chief Executive Officer. Other prescribers, including GPs and nurse practitioners, can continue an existing prescription under shared care once a specialist has written the first one. S8 stimulants aren't permitted under age two, and WA allows only one S8 prescriber per patient at a time, checked through the ScriptCheckWA system.
South Australia
In South Australia, the authority to start stimulant medication sits mainly with psychiatrists and paediatricians. A GP can be granted prescribing authority, but only with explicit written support from a specialist.
Australian Capital Territory
GPs who have completed extra training can now continue and adjust ADHD medication doses for patients aged 6 and over who already have a diagnosis and are stable on their medication, without sending them back to a specialist. GPs without that training keep the existing shared-care model, working alongside a specialist. Later in 2026, a further group of specially trained GPs is expected to gain authority to newly diagnose ADHD and start medication themselves. Every ACT prescriber, regardless of training level, has to use Canberra Script, the territory's real-time prescription-monitoring system.
One thing holds across every state: a formal diagnosis has to exist before any of these prescribing pathways open up. What changes state to state is only who can act on that diagnosis, and how much specialist involvement stays required along the way.
Common questions
Can a GP prescribe ADHD medication in every Australian state?
No. Queensland is currently the only state where any GP can initiate ADHD medication for adults without extra training, from 1 December 2025. Elsewhere, a specialist such as a psychiatrist or paediatrician usually has to make the diagnosis and start treatment, and GPs can only continue it under a permit or a shared-care arrangement.
Do these prescribing rules change often?
Yes. New South Wales, Queensland and the ACT all changed their rules within about a year of each other, from September 2025 through into 2026, and further changes are already flagged for later in 2026. The state health department pages linked in the sources list carry the latest position.
Sources
- AADPA: ADHD stimulant prescribing regulations in Australia and New Zealand
- NSW Health: Prescribe a psychostimulant medicine
- Victorian Department of Health: permit requirements
- RACGP newsGP: Queensland GPs to diagnose and treat ADHD
- WA Health: Stimulant medicines
- ACT Government: ADHD care in the ACT
Related reading
- The psychiatrist pathway: assessment and medication
- What ADHD medication costs under the PBS
- ADHD medication types used in Australia
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