Endorsement for scheduled medicines

In 2016 the Ministerial Council endorsed the Australian Health Ministers’ Advisory Council (AHMAC) Guidance for National Boards: Applications to the Ministerial Council for approval of endorsements in relation to scheduled medicines under section 14 of the National Law (the AHMAC Guidance).

The Guidance is published on this page and under Ministerial directives and communiqués. It provides information for National Boards about the process for, and content of, an application to the Ministerial Council for approval of endorsement for scheduled medicines for a health profession under section 14 of the National Law.

The objectives of the AHMAC Guidance are to:

• ensure robust, evidence-informed development and assessment of proposals for the use of scheduled medicines
• promote the safe and effective use of scheduled medicines
• facilitate common standards across the professions for training and clinical practice with respect to the use of scheduled medicines, and
• facilitate nationally-consistent, core scheduled medicines authorities to enable innovation in health service delivery.

In accordance with the AHMAC Guidance, Ahpra has established the Scheduled Medicines Expert Committee (the Expert Committee) whose role is to advise National Boards on:

• the use of scheduled medicines generally, and
• matters relevant to a National Board’s proposal for a new scheduled medicines endorsement or an amendment to an existing scheduled medicines endorsement.

The terms of reference of the Expert Committee are available on the Scheduled Medicines Expert Committee page.

Information about committee members is available on the Scheduled Medicines Expert Committee members page.

To support the implementation of the AHMAC Guidance, Ahpra, with the support of National Boards, has developed a guide for National Boards developing a submission to the Ministerial Council seeking approval of a new or amended endorsement in relation to scheduled medicines under section 14 of the National Law (the Ahpra Guide).

The Ahpra Guide aims to provide National Boards with further details on what to consider when developing a submission and the related key stages:

• concept development
• National Board submission preparation
• ministerial approval process
• implementation, and
• monitoring.