Medicines and poisons
Medical practitioners and schedule 8 medicines
This page has information for medical practitioners about the prescription and supply of Schedule 8 (S8) substances.
The Medicines, Poisons and Therapeutic Goods Act 2012 states that the following applies to medical practitioners:
- authorised prescribers, including doctors, nurse practitioners, eligible midwives, dentists and veterinarians, are prohibited from prescribing a S8 substance to themselves
- prescribers must check the Monitored Medicines database (NTScript) prior to issuing a prescription for a monitored medicine
- the Chief Health Officer (CHO) can also declare Schedule 4 substances to be restricted if additional controls are needed to ensure safe access and use.
For information about the use prescribing contracts list please contact Medicines and Poisons during office hours on (08) 89227 341 or by emailing poisonscontrol@nt.gov.au
Read about the laws that apply to S8 drugs in the S8 Code of Practice, further down this page.
Restricted S8 substances
S8 substances are classified as either restricted or unrestricted.
Restricted S8 substances include:
- buprenorphine depot Injections (Buvidal® and Sublocade®)
- buprenorphine (Subutex®) 0.4mg, 2mg and 8mg for sublingual administration
- buprenorphine/naloxone (Suboxone®) 2mg/0.5mg, 8mg/2mg in film form for sublingual or buccal administration
- methadone liquid 5mg/mL for oral administration
- dexamfetamine
- lisdexamfetamine
- methylphenidate.
Supply
The following applies for the supply of dexamphetamine, lisdexamfetamine and methylphenidate:
- authorisation from the CHO is required for each individual patient before a prescription can be issued
- only paediatricians, psychiatrists, physicians, neurologists and registrars in training in these disciplines may make the decision to initiate supply
- other medical practitioners may continue supply after one of the above specialists or registrars has done so
- under such a co-management situation the patient must be seen by a specialist or registrar at least every two years
- specialists may initiate supply without an authorisation, but must obtain an authorisation if supply exceeds 30 days.
The following applies for the supply of buprenorphine (Subutex®), buprenorphine/naloxone (Suboxone®), buprenorphine depot Injections (Buvidal® and Sublocade®) and methadone liquid:
- medical practitioners providing pharmacotherapies for opioid dependence need to complete approved training initially and demonstrate continued clinical involvement and the undertaking of refresher training
- an authority from the CHO to supply buprenorphine, buprenorphine/naloxone, buprenorphine depot injections and methadone is required for each individual patient before a prescription can be written or supplied
- the framework for supply of these medications covers the writing of prescriptions, details of authorisation requirements, period of supply, dispensing of medications and takeaway privileges.
Unrestricted S8 substances
Unrestricted S8 substances includes common analgesics such as morphine, oxycodone and tapentadol as well as some benzodiazepines such as alprazolam.
Supply
The following applies for the supply of unrestricted substances:
- medical practitioners may supply unrestricted S8 substances for the treatment of medical and surgical conditions but not for the treatment of addiction
- a medical practitioner may only supply unrestricted S8 substances for up to 15 patients at a time
- this number does not include patients receiving palliative care in end of life situation, hospital inpatients or those in need of emergency treatment
- a medical practitioner may apply to the CHO for an authority to prescribe unrestricted S8 substances for more than this number of patients
- medical practitioners must notify the CHO of the supply of unrestricted S8 substances under certain circumstances, for example if supply exceeds 8 weeks, if certain dosage levels are exceeded or if their circumstances may be conducive to possible abuse.
Electronic Prescribing
The NT permits electronic prescriptions for all Schedule 4 and Schedule 8 medicines in accordance with the Electronic Transactions (Northern Territory) Act 2000.
This includes for interstate prescriptions and prescriptions for Medicinal Cannabis products, however there are separate regulations that apply to interstate prescriptions.
24-hour clinical advice
The Drug and Alcohol Clinical Advisory Service (DACAS) offers professional advice to medical practitioners, pharmacists and other health professionals 24-hours.
Call DACAS on 1800 111 092.
Storage and transport
Health professionals producing or storing controlled Schedule 8 drugs read the Code of Practice for Schedule 8 Substances: Storage and Transport.
Schedule 8 code of practice
Document title | Index | Document Description |
|---|---|---|
Code of Practice S8 Substances | ||
Code of Practice S8 Substances | ||
Code of Practice S8 Substances | ||
| Code of Practice S8s - Volume 2 | Code of Practice S8 Substances | |
Appendix A - Notification of Supply of an Unrestricted S8 Substance | Appendix A | Notification Form |
Appendix B - Application for Authority to Prescribe a Restricted S8 Psychostimulant Medication | Appendix B | Application Form |
Appendix C - Application for Authority to Prescribe a Restricted S8 Substance for Addiction | Appendix C | Application Form |
Appendix D - Clinical Assessment for the Level of Supervised Dosing | Appendix D | Assessment Tool |
Appendix E1 - Application for Variation to Regular OSD Takeaway USD - Buprenorphine, Naloxone | Appendix E1 | Application Form |
Appendix E2 - Application for Variation to Regular OSD Takeaway USD - Methadone, Buprenorphine | Appendix E2 | Application Form |
Appendix F |
Publications
| Forms |
|---|
| Agreement for patients prescribed general medications |
| Opiate Pharmacotherapy Contract |
| Drug Loss, Incident or Discrepancy Report Form PDF (179.7 KB) Drug Loss, Incident or Discrepancy Report Form DOCX (61.0 KB) |
| Information sheets |
| Requirements of Prescriptions for S8 Substances |
|
Interstate S8 prescriptions state phone and fax: ACT Phone: (02) 6205 0998 Fax: (02) 6205 0997 NSW Main switch phone: (02) 9391 9944 Fax: (02) 9424 5860 Non-methadone phone: (02) 9424 5923 Fax: (02) 9424 5889 Methadone phone: (02) 9424 5921 Fax:(02) 9424 5885 Queensland Phone: (07) 3328 9890 Fax: (07) 3328 9821 South Australia Phone: 1300 652 584 Fax: 1300 658 447 Tasmania Phone: (03) 6166 0400 Fax: (03) 6233 3904 Victoria Phone: 1300 364 545 select #1 Fax: 1300 360 830 Western Australia Phone: (08) 9222 6883 Fax: (08) 9222 2463 NT Phone: (08) 8922 7341 Fax: (08) 8922 7200 |
| Medical Practitioner Guide to Supplying Isotretinoin (47KB) |
| The Scheduled Substances Clinical Advisory Committee (48KB) |
| Patient Delivered Partner Therapy (47KB) |
| Interstate Health Departments - S8 Drug Monitoring (44KB) |
| Recommended reading on treatment of pain |
| Opioid recommendations in general practice on the NSW Health website. |
| National Prescribing Service (NPS) Medicine Wise website |
| Patient guide to managing pain and opioid medicines Choosing Wisely Australia website |
Related information
Read more about scheduled substances in the Clinical Advisory Committee (CLAC).
For information on the following topics go to medicines and poisons safety:
- therapeutic goods recalls
- buying medicines online.
Print all pages in this section
Give feedback about this page.
Share this page:
URL copied!