The government is now operating in accordance with the Guidance on Caretaker Conventions, pending the outcome of the 2025 federal election.
A prescription medicine is a medicine that can only be made available to a patient on the written instruction of an authorised health professional. Examples of prescription medicines include blood pressure tablets, cancer medicine and strong painkillers.
All prescription medicines are registered in the Australian Register of Therapeutic Goods (ARTG) and can be identified by an AUST-R number on the label.
Key information
- See the Australian Regulatory Guidelines for Prescription Medicines (ARGPM)
- For more detailed information on prescription medicines go to Prescription medicines overview.
- For information on obtaining market authorisation go to Supply a prescription medicine.
- For information on manufacture go to Manufacture a medicine.
- For a list of standards and guidelines go to Standards and guidelines for prescription medicines
- Search the Prescription medicines collection