The government is now operating in accordance with the Guidance on Caretaker Conventions, pending the outcome of the 2025 federal election.
This Scheduling Policy Framework (SPF) has been developed by the Australian Health Ministers' Advisory Council (AHMAC). AHMAC oversees the development of a national approach to regulatory policy and administrative protocols relating to the availability and accessibility of medicines and chemicals in Australia. AHMAC comprises representatives of each state and territory Government, the Australian Government and the New Zealand Ministry of Health.
The SPF replaces the National Coordinating Committee on Therapeutic Goods Scheduling Policy Framework for Medicines and Chemicals (2010) and will be maintained by AHMAC with input from the Department of Health, the Advisory Committee on Medicines Scheduling (ACMS) and the Advisory Committee on Chemicals Scheduling (ACCS).
This document should be read in conjunction with Part 6-3 of the Therapeutic Goods Act 1989, Part 6 Divisions 3A-3D of the Therapeutic Goods Regulations 1990 and the Poisons Standard (Standard for the Uniform Scheduling of Medicines and Poisons or SUSMP).
Revision history
This table records the document's history of changes.
| Version No | Section No | Date | Brief description |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1.0 | All | 1 July 2010 | NCCTG Final Document |
| 2.0 | All | 22 November 2013 | Inter-Jurisdictional Working Group Poisons Control of the Community Care and Population Health Principal Committee - draft |
| 3.0 | All | 1 February 2015 | AHMAC Final document |