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ADHD rules by state

ADHD rules in Tasmania

In Tasmania, the diagnosis that matters for treatment is one made by a psychiatrist, paediatrician, sleep physician, neurologist, or a GP who has completed extra ADHD training - and before anyone can write a first prescription for a stimulant medicine, that prescriber must apply to the state Health Department for permission for that specific patient. The Department can approve the application, approve it with conditions, or refuse it, so permission is not automatic, and only one prescriber can hold it for a particular medicine at a time. A GP pathway to assess, diagnose and start treatment opened on 29 May 2026, but only 48 GPs had completed the training as at 12 August 2026 and there is no public list of them; a parliamentary inquiry reported in August 2026 that most Tasmanians are assessed privately, with long waits and significant cost.

Last checked 2026-08-21. These rules change, sometimes at short notice. We date every page and cite the source we used, so you can check it yourself. Nothing here is advice about your own treatment — your prescriber and your state health department are the authorities on that.

Who can diagnose you

Who is allowed to make the diagnosis here?

Tasmanian law does not regulate who may assess or diagnose ADHD. What is regulated is whose diagnosis can support state approval to prescribe a Schedule 8 stimulant medicine: the Department of Health requires that the condition be diagnosed by an appropriately qualified medical practitioner, and names psychiatrists, paediatricians, sleep physicians, neurologists, and general practitioners who have completed additional ADHD training. A pathway for trained GPs to assess, diagnose and initiate treatment for adults commenced on 29 May 2026; it is a small pathway and there is no public list of GPs who have completed the training.

The Department's fact sheet states: 'Medical conditions which may benefit from treatment with Schedule 8 psychostimulants should be diagnosed by an appropriately qualified medical practitioner. This includes psychiatrists, paediatricians, sleep physicians, neurologists and general practitioners who have completed additional training requirements to diagnose ADHD.' That sentence is a condition on prescribing approval, not a statement about who may diagnose ADHD generally, and it must not be published as the latter. No adult/child distinction is drawn on the face of the fact sheet; the Minister's 29 May 2026 release and the RACGP's advocacy page both state the GP pathway covers children aged six and over and adults. The GP training required is an online component (either the two RACGP gplearning ADHD modules, or the ACRRM 'ADHD Assessment and Management for Rural Generalists' module) AND a 6-hour Tasmanian GP training for ADHD workshop; access is arranged through gpandprimarycare@health.tas.gov.au. The Department also states: 'A GP who is trained in their practicing jurisdiction to diagnose ADHD is also considered appropriately trained to diagnose ADHD and initiate treatment with schedule 8 psychostimulants to Tasmanian patients.' Before this pathway, the Minister stated on 29 May 2026 that Tasmanian GPs 'have been able to support patients by continuing prescriptions for people who have already been diagnosed with ADHD by a paediatrician or psychiatrist, but they have not been able to assess, diagnose, or initiate medication themselves.' On availability: the first workshop was delivered on 29 May 2026 with nearly 50 GPs enrolled, and the Minister told Parliament that 48 GPs had completed the training as at 12 August 2026 (reported by ABC News). Training completed is not the same as capacity available, and the Department publishes no register of trained or authorised prescribers. The Department's listed categories are all medical; a report supporting a continuation application must come from 'a relevant medical practitioner'. An assessment by a non-medical practitioner is not among the categories the Department lists, and whether such an assessment can support an application is not addressed in the guidance (see unconfirmed).

Who can start treatment

Who can start you on medicine, and what approval do they need?

A Schedule 8 stimulant medicine cannot be prescribed in Tasmania until the prescriber holds an authority from the Secretary of the Department of Health under section 59E of the Poisons Act 1971 for that individual patient. The authority is applied for by the prescriber, it applies regardless of where the prescriber practises, and it may be approved, approved with conditions, or refused. Approval is not automatic and does not follow from diagnosis. ADHD medicines that are not Schedule 8 substances are not covered by this authority requirement.

Regulation 24 of the Poisons Regulations 2018 provides that a medical practitioner or nurse practitioner 'must not, without the authority of the Secretary, issue a prescription for, or supply to a patient' the listed narcotic substances (penalty: fine not exceeding 10 penalty units). Section 3 of the Poisons Act 1971 defines a narcotic substance as 'a substance that is, for the time being, specified in Schedule 8 to the Poisons List', and regulation 24's list is closed: ADHD medicines outside Schedule 8 do not appear on it, so no section 59E authority attaches to them (this scoping point rests on the instruments themselves, not on a departmental statement - see unconfirmed). Applications for the Schedule 8 category are accepted only from the medical practitioner categories listed under diagnosis. Mechanics: apply through the TasScript Health Practitioner Portal or by form emailed to the Pharmaceutical Services Branch (pharmserv@health.tas.gov.au, telephone 03 6166 0400); a delegate of the Secretary assesses it and may seek specialist advice or request further information, which 'could include the results of a urine drug screen, sleep study results, or, occasionally, a second opinion from a relevant specialist medical practitioner'; complex applications may go to a Consultant Medical Officer or a panel. The Department's patient-facing page sets the outcomes out plainly - 'The authority may include conditions', 'The application for authority may be refused' - and gives 'weekly pickups' as an example condition. Authorities are 'generally issued for a maximum of 36 months' and are therefore renewed, not granted once. Before applying, prescribers are expected to undertake 'a comprehensive clinical and psychosocial assessment', including a history of past or present substance use, and to set out a risk-benefit assessment. A prescriber, patient or carer may seek review of a refusal or of conditions, and the review is done by a different delegate. Two qualifications on the 'always patient-specific, always written' framing: section 59E(5)-(6) allows an authority to be given orally in an emergency and confirmed in writing as soon as practicable, and the fact sheet correspondingly allows a practitioner to telephone the Pharmaceutical Services Branch for verbal short-term authorisation in urgent or exceptional circumstances; and regulation 25 allows the Secretary to issue a general (non-patient-specific) authorisation. Separately, all prescribers must take all reasonable steps to check TasScript, Tasmania's mandatory real-time prescription monitoring system, before prescribing a monitored medicine; all Schedule 8 medicines are monitored.

Who can continue it

Once you are stable, who can keep prescribing?

A general practitioner without the additional ADHD training, and a nurse practitioner, may apply for their own section 59E authority to continue treatment where the assessment and diagnosis were done by a relevant medical practitioner trained in the condition being treated. The application must be accompanied by a comprehensive clinical report from that practitioner covering diagnosis, management plan and recommended treatment regimen. Only one prescriber can hold the authority in relation to a particular medicine for a particular patient at any one time.

The Department's wording is: 'General practitioners (without additional training in ADHD diagnosis) and nurse practitioners may apply to be authorised to prescribe Schedule 8 psychostimulants where an assessment and diagnosis of the patient has been conducted by a relevant medical practitioner trained in the condition being treated. Such applications should be accompanied by a comprehensive clinical report from a relevant medical practitioner including diagnosis, management plan, and recommended treatment regimen.' A report from a practitioner outside that description does not satisfy the requirement. Renewals are lighter: 'Applications from a general practitioner or nurse practitioner to renew an expired authorisation for continuation of care do not routinely require supporting specialist documentation unless there are complex clinical matters for consideration', so an established patient does not normally have to return to a specialist merely to renew. The treating prescriber remains clinically responsible for initiating specialist referral and review where indicated. The one-holder rule appears in the Department's interstate prescribing FAQ: 'As only one prescriber can hold the authority in relation to a particular medicine for a particular patient at any time, prescribers working in partnership with an interstate specialist should discuss with each other and/or the patient to decide which practitioner is best placed to hold the relevant authority and prescribe on an ongoing basis.' Two continuity provisions sit alongside it: the fact sheet states that an authority 'covers the named medical practitioner or nurse practitioner and any colleague that works within the same medical practice' (the statutory provision, section 59E(7), extends cover to a medical practitioner or dentist in the same practice - the extension to nurse practitioners is the Department's gloss, not the statutory words), and in urgent or exceptional circumstances - the Department gives 'transfer in treating prescriber' and 'unable to secure necessary medical appointment' as examples - a practitioner may telephone the Pharmaceutical Services Branch for verbal short-term authorisation.

Telehealth

Can this happen by video, and does the practitioner have to be here?

Tasmania's medicines legislation and the Department's guidance impose no in-person or face-to-face requirement for ADHD assessment or for prescribing. The binding Tasmanian requirements are the section 59E authority for that patient, a TasScript check before prescribing, and compliance with Tasmanian prescription requirements. Separate national rules still apply: the Medical Board of Australia expects a real-time consultation before prescribing, and Medicare rebate eligibility for GP telehealth has its own conditions. Whether a wholly remote assessment with no in-person examination satisfies the section 59E delegate is not stated anywhere we could find.

We checked the Poisons Act 1971 and Poisons Regulations 2018 consolidations and the Department's fact sheet and interstate FAQ; none contains a face-to-face condition. Do not cite the Department's phrase 'most telehealth consultations for patients located in Tasmania' as approval of telehealth assessment - in context it answers a prescriber's question about when they should reasonably believe a prescription will be dispensed in Tasmania and therefore comply with Tasmanian prescription rules; it says nothing about whether telehealth assessment is permissible. The Medical Board's telehealth guidelines state that prescribing 'for a patient without a real-time direct consultation, whether in-person, via video or telephone, is not good practice and is not supported by the Board', including questionnaire-based asynchronous requests - but the Board immediately adds that a practitioner who does prescribe in those circumstances 'must be able to explain how the prescribing and the management of the patient was appropriate and necessary in the circumstances', and that it 'may be appropriate for a patient's usual medical practitioner or another health practitioner with access to the patient's clinical record to prescribe without a consultation in certain circumstances'. Publishing the first sentence alone overstates the rule. On practice structure, the Department answers a telehealth practice's question about colleagues in different physical locations by saying a section 59E authority letter records the prescriber's physical practice address, that the authority does not tie the holder to that address, and that 'the legislation allows for another prescriber employed at the same practice to prescribe under the same issued authority'; it treats a practice as having one intake process, one clinical management approach and one health record system accessible to all prescribing employees, and adds that 'Prescribers may consider seeking independent advice on whether your colleague practicing in a different location is considered part of the same practice'. One sentence in that answer ('s59E authorities do not restrict the authority holder from prescribing at this physical practice address') reads as the opposite of its evident meaning and should be paraphrased, not quoted. On cost rather than legality: for GP telehealth items, Medicare requires that the patient is registered in MyMedicare with that practice, or that the practitioner is the patient's eligible telehealth practitioner - meaning the patient has had a face-to-face MBS service with that practitioner or that practice in the past 12 months - with listed exemptions including specific mental health treatment services. Specialist telehealth items are not subject to that GP relationship rule.

If you move here

What happens to a diagnosis and treatment from another state?

An existing diagnosis is not re-made by the Department, but a prescribing approval held under another state's or territory's scheme has no effect in Tasmania. Before the first prescription for a Tasmanian patient, a prescriber must hold a Tasmanian section 59E authority for that person, 'regardless of their practice location'. Since 16 February 2026 there are two lawful routes: the existing interstate prescriber obtains a Tasmanian authority and keeps prescribing, or a Tasmanian prescriber applies and takes over. Only one of them can hold the authority for a particular medicine at a time.

The Department's FAQ is explicit that there is no mutual recognition: 'I am an interstate prescriber and my jurisdiction requires an authority/approval to prescribe certain medicines. Do I also need a Tasmanian authority to prescribe (59E)? Yes, in order to ensure that consistent regulatory standards are applied for all Tasmanians, you will need to apply for a Tasmanian authority.' Whether the prescriber also needs an authority where they are physically located 'is a matter for the laws of that jurisdiction'. Since 16 February 2026 a Tasmanian pharmacist may dispense a lawful interstate prescription for a Tasmanian patient provided it complies with Tasmanian requirements, and an interstate prescriber must check TasScript before prescribing a monitored medicine. If care is transferring to a Tasmanian GP who has not done the ADHD training, that GP can apply to continue treatment only with a comprehensive clinical report from the diagnosing medical practitioner covering diagnosis, management plan and recommended regimen - practically, that report should be obtained from the interstate clinician before the move rather than after. Where an appointment or an authority cannot be arranged in time, the fact sheet allows a medical practitioner or nurse practitioner to telephone the Pharmaceutical Services Branch (03 6166 0400) to seek verbal authorisation for short-term prescribing, listing 'transfer in treating prescriber' and 'unable to secure necessary medical appointment' as examples. Processing timeframes are not published: the Department says they vary with the number of applications, their complexity and the completeness of the information provided, and directs urgent cases to telephone the branch. Note the limit of what the sources say: the Department states that a GP 'trained in their practicing jurisdiction to diagnose ADHD' is accepted as appropriately trained, and its guidance places no geographic limit on where a diagnosis was made, but no source states in terms that an interstate diagnosis is portable, so this should be written as the absence of a stated limit rather than as a guarantee.

What we could not confirm

We went looking for these and could not find a primary source. We would rather show you the gap than fill it with something that sounds right. Take these to your prescriber or the department directly.

  • How many trained GPs are actually available to an adult seeking assessment, and where they are. The Minister told Parliament that 48 GPs had completed the training as at 12 August 2026 (via ABC News), but the Department publishes no register of trained or authorised prescribers, and completing training is not the same as accepting new adult patients.
  • Whether the 6-hour Tasmanian GP ADHD workshop is now available online. The 29 May 2026 media release said the module 'will also become available online following the conference' - future tense. The fact sheet still lists only the workshop and directs GPs to gpandprimarycare@health.tas.gov.au. We found no page confirming an online version is live.
  • Whether a diagnosis made by a non-medical practitioner (for example a psychologist) can support a section 59E application. The Department lists only medical practitioner categories and requires a supporting report from 'a relevant medical practitioner', but it does not expressly address the standing of a non-medical assessment.
  • Whether a wholly remote assessment, with no in-person examination at any stage, satisfies the section 59E delegate. No Tasmanian in-person requirement exists in the Act, the Regulations or the guidance, and the Department's FAQs plainly contemplate telehealth practices - but the Department nowhere states affirmatively that a fully remote assessment is sufficient, and the delegate may request further information on any application.
  • How long a section 59E application takes. The Department publishes no service standard, saying only that timeframes vary with volume, complexity and completeness, and directing urgent cases to telephone the Pharmaceutical Services Branch.
  • Whether a nurse practitioner may ever initiate treatment on their own assessment. The guidance describes nurse practitioner applications only in a continuation context and lists only medical practitioner categories as eligible to diagnose, which reads as continuation-only, but it does not say so expressly.
  • Whether the Department's statement that an authority covers 'any colleague that works within the same medical practice' extends to nurse practitioners. Section 59E(7) extends cover to a medical practitioner or dentist in the same practice; the nurse practitioner extension appears only in the departmental gloss.
  • The position for ADHD medicines that are not Schedule 8 substances. No Tasmanian departmental page addresses them. Our statement that no section 59E authority applies rests on regulation 24's closed list of narcotic substances and the Act's definition of a narcotic substance as a Schedule 8 substance - not on a departmental statement.
  • Public-system availability of adult ADHD assessment. We could not find any Tasmanian Department of Health page stating whether adult ADHD assessment is or is not provided through the public system.
  • Adult wait times and private assessment costs. The figures in circulation - adult assessment waits exceeding two years, assessment costs of roughly $500 to $3,000 - are stakeholder evidence given to the parliamentary inquiry and reported by ABC News on 12 August 2026, not departmental or official data. Treat them as indicative only.
  • The parliamentary inquiry report itself. The report was tabled on 12 August 2026 with more than 100 findings and 31 recommendations, but we could not retrieve the report document from parliament.tas.gov.au, and no government response has been located. All inquiry figures here come from news coverage.
  • Whether Commonwealth PBS subsidy is available for an adult diagnosed after childhood. PBS restrictions differ by medicine and we did not verify current PBS criteria in this pass, so we make no claim about what an adult will pay for medicines.
  • Whether the comprehensive review and rewrite of the Poisons Act 1971 and Poisons Regulations 2018 has opened for public consultation. The Department states a rewrite has commenced and that 'Extensive public consultation will be undertaken during 2026'. Any rule on this page could change as a result.
  • Process note: the material we settled from arrived as a single merged research object with no attribution between the two researchers and with the transfer-of-care field truncated mid-sentence, so no researcher-versus-researcher cross-check was possible. Every rule published above was re-verified directly against the primary pages on 21 August 2026 rather than carried across from the merge.

What changed recently

  1. 2026-02-16

    The Poisons Amendment (Interstate Prescriptions) Act 2025 commenced. Tasmanian pharmacists may now dispense a lawful prescription written interstate for a Tasmanian patient, and a prescriber operating interstate may prescribe for a Tasmanian - but must check TasScript and must hold a Tasmanian section 59E authority. Another state's approval is not recognised in its place.

    Tasmanian Department of Health — Interstate prescribing in Tasmania

  2. 2026-03-02

    Current version of the Department's fact sheet published (last updated 29 May 2026). It lists appropriately trained GPs alongside psychiatrists, paediatricians, sleep physicians and neurologists, sets out the GP training requirements, recognises GPs trained in other jurisdictions, and confirms an authority is required regardless of the prescriber's practice location.

    Tasmanian Department of Health — Seeking authorisation to prescribe S8 psychostimulants in Tasmania

  3. 2026-05-29

    The GP pathway commenced: the first 6-hour Tasmanian GP ADHD training workshop was delivered in Devonport with nearly 50 GPs enrolled. The Minister said trained GPs could then apply to the Pharmaceutical Services Branch to initiate prescribing for patients they assess and diagnose, covering children and adults, and that the first GPs were expected to be practising under the expanded scope 'in the next month' - so the route was not in practical use on that date.

    Premier of Tasmania (Minister for Health, Mental Health and Wellbeing) — Delivering high-quality ADHD care through general practice

  4. 2026-06-12

    RACGP advocacy resource updated to record that from May 2026 Tasmanian GPs may assess, diagnose and initiate treatment for children aged six and over and for adults, subject to completing training and then applying per patient for approval.

    RACGP — ADHD management and diagnosis by GPs

  5. 2026-06-24

    The Department's patient-facing page on authority applications was updated. It sets out that applications are approved, approved with conditions (example given: weekly pickups), or refused, and that a prescriber, patient or carer may seek review by a different delegate.

    Tasmanian Department of Health — Applications to issue an authority to prescribe Schedule 8 medicines

  6. 2026-08-12

    A House of Assembly committee report on the assessment and treatment of ADHD was tabled, with more than 100 findings and 31 recommendations; it found limited capacity to obtain a diagnosis through the public system, with most people going private. The Minister told Parliament 48 GPs had completed the ADHD training. Reported by news media; the report document itself could not be retrieved.

    ABC News — Delayed ADHD diagnosis impacting Tasmanian children's outcomes

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