Prescribing by registered nurses and pharmacists

Overview

The key focus of this consultation is to obtain stakeholder feedback on the preferred options for regulation of prescribing by designated registered nurse prescribers and pharmacists, under the Medicines and Poisons Regulations 2016.

For registered nurses, the intent is to support prescribing by those holding an endorsement for scheduled medicines, through the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia. For these registered nurses, known as designated registered nurse prescribers, an endorsement means their Board considers them qualified to prescribe pharmacy/pharmacist 'over the counter' medicines (Schedule 2 and Schedule 3), prescription medicines (Schedule 4) and controlled drugs (Schedule  8), within a prescribing agreement with an autonomous prescriber. Amendments to the Medicines and Poisons Regulations 2016 are required to authorise designated registered nurse prescribers to issue prescriptions.

For pharmacists, the Pharmacy Board of Australia has recently announced a prescribing endorsement will be developed for pharmacists and, once this occurs, pharmacists will similarly require a prescribing authorisation under the Medicines and Poisons Regulations. In the meantime, prescribing authorisation for pharmacists is necessary to support:

• the Enhanced Access Community Pharmacy Pilot (EACPP) in community pharmacies and
• Collaborative Pharmacist Medication Prescribing (CPMP) in hospitals.

Please read the Consultation discussion paper: Prescribing by pharmacists and registered nurses, which outlines a number of options for amendment of the Medicines and Poisons Regulations.

How to provide a submission

If you haven't already, we invite you to read the Consultation discussion paper: Prescribing by pharmacists and registered nurses and then answer the survey questions on the various sections of the discussion paper.

The question numbers in the survey align with the sections and questions in the Consultation discussion paper.

You can answer all the questions or just a few. The only mandatory questions are some of those in the 'About you' section.

Although you are encouraged to answer the questions by doing the online survey, you can download the discussion paper, answer the questions directly within the paper and email the entire paper with your answers to MPRB@health.wa.gov.au.

You can also provide a written response. However, we ask that any written response be in addition to answering questions via the online survey or within the discussion paper. Written responses can be:

• Emailed to MPRB@health.wa.gov.au or 
• Mailed to:
  • Medicines and Poisons Regulation Branch
  • Department of Health WA
  • PO Box 8172
  • PERTH BUSINESS CENTRE WA 6849

Submissions must be received no later than 2 February 2026.

Publication of submission

You have three choices on how we treat your submission (answers to questions online, answers to questions within discussion paper Word document, other written submission):

• Publish with your name and/or organisation
• Publish anonymously
• Do not publish (confidential submission)

The first question of the section 'About you' asks you to indicate your choice.

If you are emailing a copy of your completed questions using the discussion paper Word document or emailing/mailing a separate written submission, please ensure you indicate how we should treat your submission.

Why your views matter

Stakeholder feedback will help us identify issues relating to the proposed changes to the Medicines and Poisons Regulations 2016.

The information gathered from this consultation will be used in determining which options are taken forward when amending the Regulations.