The government is now operating in accordance with the Guidance on Caretaker Conventions, pending the outcome of the 2025 federal election.
A Nationally Coordinated Codeine Implementation Working Group (NCCIWG) has been established with representatives from state and territory health departments and peak professional bodies representing consumers, pharmacists and medical professionals. The purpose of this working group is to assist with the implementation of a communication and engagement strategy to help inform the community of the upcoming changes to the availability of low-dose codeine containing medicines from 1 February 2018.
Advice for pharmacists and medical professionals regarding the changes to codeine access and to help them provide the best advice to their patients will be made available on the Department's website - external site.
The following organisations have contributed to the work of the Nationally Coordinated Codeine Implementation Working Group (NCCIWG):
- ACT Health
- Asthma Foundation, NT
- Australian College of Nurse Practitioners
- Australian College of Pharmacy
- Australian College of Rural & Remote Medicine
- Australian Medical Association
- Australian Nursing & Midwifery Federation
- Australian Pain Management Association
- Australian Pain Society
- Australian Physiotherapy Association
- Australian Self Medication Industry
- Chiropractors' Association of Australia
- Consumer Health Forum of Australia
- Faculty of Pain Medicine, Australian and New Zealand College of Anaesthetists
- Hunter New England Health Pathways
- National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre, University of NSW
- National Rural Health Alliance
- NPS MedicineWise
- NSW Health
- NSW Nurses & Midwives' Association
- NSW Poisons Information Centre
- NT Health
- Painaustralia
- Pain Management and Research Institute, University of Sydney
- Pharmaceutical Society of Australia
- Pharmacy Guild of Australia
- QLD Health
- Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists
- Royal Australian College of General Practitioners
- Royal Australian College of Physicians
- ScriptWise
- Society of Hospital Pharmacists of Australia
- Tasmanian Health Service
- Victoria Primary Health Network (PHN) Alliance
- WA Health
- Western Victoria PHN
NCCIWG meeting statements
Prominent professional organisations are supportive of the national codeine communication strategy being implemented through NCCIWG. Their views are articulated in these letters of support and media releases.
Letters of support
- Letter from the Australian Pain Society (pdf,94kb)
- Letter from Faculty of Pain Medicine, Australian and New Zealand College of Anaesthetists (ANZCA) (pdf,230kb)
- Letter from Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) (pdf,188kb)
Media releases
- Media release from the Australian Medical Association - external site
- Media release from Consumers Health Forum of Australia - external site
- Media release from Painaustralia, RACP and RACGP (pdf,164kb) - external site
- Media release from the Royal Australian College of Physicians (RACP) (pdf,100kb) - external site
- Media release from the Rural Doctors Association of Australia (RDAA) (pdf,515kb)
*Large file warning: Attempting to open large files over the Internet within the browser window may cause problems. It is strongly recommended you download this document to your own computer and open it from there.