News
Nurse prescribing training to start in 2026
A new standard has now come into effect, paving the way for nurses to prescribe in partnership with ‘an authorised health practitioner’.
The first graduates from studies to allow nurses to prescribe are expected in mid-2026.
As part of a significant change to nursing regulation, a new standard setting out how registered nurses (RNs) can qualify to prescribe a range of medicines has now come into effect.
The move, which was signed off by state and federal health ministers last December, will mean eligible RNs will be able to prescribe Schedule 2, 3, 4 and 8 medications once they have had approved training.
Under the terms of the standard, they will be able to prescribe under ‘an active prescribing arrangement in place with an authorised health practitioner’ after qualifying.
‘This standard is one of the biggest changes to nursing regulation in decades,’ said Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia (NMBA) Chair Adjunct Professor Veronica Casey, who said the move will improve access to safe and affordable healthcare.
New guidelines for aspiring or qualified nurse prescribers also published this week define the ‘authorised health practitioner’ needed for an RN prescribing partnership as ‘an authorised autonomous prescriber’.
An endorsed RN ‘is educated to make diagnostic and treatment decisions within their level of competence and scope of practice’, the guidelines also state.
The RACGP previously expressed concerns about the move, particularly surrounding the prescribing of Schedule 8 medicines, warning that expanding RNs’ scope in this way could lead to increased risks and more fragmented care.
‘Patient safety is paramount and best protected where multidisciplinary teams which include a GP, are working together to provide coordinated, collaborative and continuous patient care,’ the college said in a 2023 submission to the NMBA.
Instead, the college proposed allowing RNs to expand their scope of practice with endorsement to prescribe only Schedule 2, 3, and 4 medicines under designation or supervision ‘in areas of identified need’.
To become an endorsed prescriber, RNs will need a current registration with no conditions relevant to the endorsement, and the equivalent of 5000 hours post-registration clinical experience within the past six years, as well as undertaking approved studies.
No program of study has yet been approved, but the NMBA said four education providers have put forward education programs for assessment against accreditation standards released in January, which it said would allow ‘hundreds of students’ to begin their studies early next year.
‘The first cohort of graduates from these programs of study is expected from mid-2026, strengthening the skilled RN workforce through the new prescribing model,’ it stated in an announcement on Tuesday.
The NMBA said prescribing ‘will align with each RN’s role, the clinical governance framework, the prescribing agreement, and relevant state and territory medicines legislation’.
A newly endorsed RN prescriber will also need to carry out a six-month period of clinical mentorship with an authorised health practitioner on completing their studies.
The NMBA said an ‘implementation oversight group’, co-chaired by the Chief Nursing and Midwifery Officers of NSW and South Australia, will help guide the implementation of RN prescribing across Australia.
On Monday, the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA), also released details of an update to the National Prescribing Competencies Framework, which was developed in 2012 and last updated by the now-defunct NPS MedicineWise in 2021.
According to AHPRA, the framework outlines the skills and knowledge prescribers need, including ‘best practice around the use of medicines, and the professional obligations of those involved’.
It said the document ‘describes prescribing expectations for all prescribers, regardless of profession’, and can be seen ‘as a description of safe and effective prescribing’.
Updates for the third edition cover the prescription of unapproved therapeutic goods, compounded products and off-label prescribing.
AHPRA also said the framework has more detail on the shared decision-making process, the importance of person-centred care, as well as looking ‘to ensure cultural safety is embedded throughout’.
Log in below to join the conversation.
continuity of care nurse nurse prescribing scope of practice
newsGP weekly poll
Have you seen an increase in vaccine hesitancy among your patients in the past three years?