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Improving Access to Medicinal Cannabis

Current status

This bill did not become law and is no longer proceeding.

Policy area

Government & democracy

What does this bill do?

Any doctor could prescribe medicinal cannabisCannabis products used as medicine, which this bill would make easier to prescribe and supply. for people and animals without using the Approved Prescriber SchemeA current pathway that lets only certain doctors prescribe some medicines, including medicinal cannabis, without case-by-case approval. or Special Access SchemeA current approval process doctors use to get unapproved or hard-to-access medicines for a specific patient..

Why was it introduced?

Approved Prescriber and Special Access rules, and a federal 0.1% THCThe main intoxicating chemical in cannabis; the bill uses its percentage limit to decide whether a product is hemp, pharmacy-only or prescription-only. cutoff that differs from every state's 1% hemp limit, left medicinal cannabisCannabis products used as medicine, which this bill would make easier to prescribe and supply. access more restricted than the bill's sponsor wanted. The bill lets any doctor prescribe medicinal cannabisCannabis products used as medicine, which this bill would make easier to prescribe and supply., expands low-strength over-the-counter sales, and aligns the federal THCThe main intoxicating chemical in cannabis; the bill uses its percentage limit to decide whether a product is hemp, pharmacy-only or prescription-only. threshold with state law.

Broader context

Medicinal cannabisCannabis products used as medicine, which this bill would make easier to prescribe and supply. became legally available in Australia in 2016, but access largely ran through the Authorised Prescriber and Special Access schemes, and by 2022 a jump from only a few hundred prescriptions in 2018 to more than half a million was being cited in Parliament as evidence that the system was struggling with access, price, availability and quality. The bill introduced in March 2023 responded by letting any doctor prescribe medicinal cannabisCannabis products used as medicine, which this bill would make easier to prescribe and supply., widening over-the-counter access to low-strength products and lifting the federal THCThe main intoxicating chemical in cannabis; the bill uses its percentage limit to decide whether a product is hemp, pharmacy-only or prescription-only. threshold toward the 1 per cent state standard, but it never passed and lapsed when Parliament ended in July 2025.

Key criticism

The main case against the bill was that it would strip away existing safety and clinical safeguards by letting any doctor prescribe medicinal cannabisCannabis products used as medicine, which this bill would make easier to prescribe and supply. and by loosening current scheduling rules without enough caution. That criticism came from Labor and the Coalition in debate, with opponents focusing on drafting and patient-safety risks rather than rejecting medicinal cannabisCannabis products used as medicine, which this bill would make easier to prescribe and supply. itself.

Who supported it?

Senator Malcolm Roberts introduced this bill. Speeches supporting it came from Greens, Pauline Hanson's One Nation Party.

Introduced in Senate 09 Mar 2023
Failed in Senate 21 July 2025
Did not reach House —
Did not become law —

Did it become law?

No

The bill did not complete passage through Parliament.

Final passage

Did not pass

1 recorded vote before the bill stopped proceeding

Time before failure

865 days

From introduction to the final recorded step before the bill stopped proceeding

Official record

View on APH

Parliament of Australia bill page

Meaning

What does this bill do?

  1. Any doctor could prescribe medicinal cannabisCannabis products used as medicine, which this bill would make easier to prescribe and supply. for people and animals without using the Approved Prescriber SchemeA current pathway that lets only certain doctors prescribe some medicines, including medicinal cannabis, without case-by-case approval. or Special Access SchemeA current approval process doctors use to get unapproved or hard-to-access medicines for a specific patient..

  2. Medicinal cannabisCannabis products used as medicine, which this bill would make easier to prescribe and supply. products above 1% THCThe main intoxicating chemical in cannabis; the bill uses its percentage limit to decide whether a product is hemp, pharmacy-only or prescription-only. or 10% CBDA non-intoxicating cannabis chemical that the bill treats as a key limit for deciding whether a product can be sold over the counter or needs a prescription. would become prescription-only medicines instead of remaining in stricter drug schedules.

  3. Adults could buy low-strength cannabis products over the counter from chemists or veterinarians if they stay under 1% THCThe main intoxicating chemical in cannabis; the bill uses its percentage limit to decide whether a product is hemp, pharmacy-only or prescription-only. and 10% CBDA non-intoxicating cannabis chemical that the bill treats as a key limit for deciding whether a product can be sold over the counter or needs a prescription..

  4. Australia's federal law would raise the THCThe main intoxicating chemical in cannabis; the bill uses its percentage limit to decide whether a product is hemp, pharmacy-only or prescription-only. threshold for a plant to count as regulated cannabis from 0.1% to 1%, matching state laws.

  5. Hemp foods would keep the current low THCThe main intoxicating chemical in cannabis; the bill uses its percentage limit to decide whether a product is hemp, pharmacy-only or prescription-only. and CBDA non-intoxicating cannabis chemical that the bill treats as a key limit for deciding whether a product can be sold over the counter or needs a prescription. limits, so ordinary hemp seed foods would still be treated as food products.

Show source excerpts
  1. The Improving Access to Medicinal Cannabis Bill 2023 (the Bill) restores the primacy of the doctor/patient relationship and removes the need for the Approved Prescriber Scheme and Special Access Scheme for medicinal cannabis.
    Improving Access to Medicinal Cannabis explanatory memorandum
  2. If the product is above 1% THC or above 10% CBD the product is a prescription only product (Schedule 4).
    Improving Access to Medicinal Cannabis explanatory memorandum
  3. allowing whole plant cannabis products with a limit of 1% THC and 10% cannabidiol (CBD) to be sold over the counter at a chemist or veterinarian to persons over 18; and
    Improving Access to Medicinal Cannabis explanatory memorandum
  4. The Bill harmonises Commonwealth law with the states and by increasing the THC limit above which the plant is regulated as a narcotics drug to 1%.
    Improving Access to Medicinal Cannabis explanatory memorandum
  5. If the product is hemp seeds and hemp seed oil containing 75 mg/kg or less of cannabidiol and 10 mg/kg or less of THC, it is a food product and excluded from the Schedule. This maintains the current arrangement.
    Improving Access to Medicinal Cannabis explanatory memorandum

Context

Broader context for this bill

Medicinal cannabisCannabis products used as medicine, which this bill would make easier to prescribe and supply. became legally available in Australia in 2016, but access largely ran through the Authorised Prescriber and Special Access schemes, and by 2022 a jump from only a few hundred prescriptions in 2018 to more than half a million was being cited in Parliament as evidence that the system was struggling with access, price, availability and quality. The bill introduced in March 2023 responded by letting any doctor prescribe medicinal cannabisCannabis products used as medicine, which this bill would make easier to prescribe and supply., widening over-the-counter access to low-strength products and lifting the federal THCThe main intoxicating chemical in cannabis; the bill uses its percentage limit to decide whether a product is hemp, pharmacy-only or prescription-only. threshold toward the 1 per cent state standard, but it never passed and lapsed when Parliament ended in July 2025.

  1. 2016

    Medicinal cannabisCannabis products used as medicine, which this bill would make easier to prescribe and supply. becomes legally available in Australia

    Senators debating the bill said medicinal cannabisCannabis products used as medicine, which this bill would make easier to prescribe and supply. had been legally available nationally since 2016, establishing the regulated access system the bill sought to change.

    Hansard ↗
  2. 23 Nov 2020

    Online prescribing platform raises money to navigate access rules

    Montu raised $2 million to connect patients with doctors willing to prescribe medicinal cannabisCannabis products used as medicine, which this bill would make easier to prescribe and supply., showing how a specialist market had grown around the existing approval process.

    Australian Financial Review ↗
  3. 2022

    Prescription growth puts the access system under strain

    A Senate speech backing the bill said prescriptions had risen from a few hundred in 2018 to more than half a million in 2022, with patients facing problems around access, quality, availability and pricing.

    Hansard ↗
  4. 09 Mar 2023

    Roberts introduces bill to remove special access barriers

    Senator Malcolm Roberts introduced the bill to scrap reliance on the Approved Prescriber and Special Access schemes and return prescribing decisions to ordinary doctor-patient care.

    Hansard ↗
  5. 22 Mar 2023

    Senate debate links the bill to cost and THCThe main intoxicating chemical in cannabis; the bill uses its percentage limit to decide whether a product is hemp, pharmacy-only or prescription-only. threshold rules

    Supporters argued the bill would ease access by down-schedulingMoving a substance to a less restrictive legal category, which is the main regulatory change this bill proposes for several cannabis products. medicinal cannabisCannabis products used as medicine, which this bill would make easier to prescribe and supply., allowing low-strength over-the-counter sales and lifting the federal THCThe main intoxicating chemical in cannabis; the bill uses its percentage limit to decide whether a product is hemp, pharmacy-only or prescription-only. definition from 0.1 per cent to 1 per cent to match state settings.

    Hansard ↗
  6. 21 July 2025

    Bill lapses at the end of Parliament

    The proposal did not complete its parliamentary passage, so the existing medicinal cannabisCannabis products used as medicine, which this bill would make easier to prescribe and supply. access arrangements stayed in place when the bill lapsed.

    Parliamentary timeline ↗

Legislative route

How did it move through Parliament?

House Senate
Introduced 09 Mar 2023

The bill was formally presented to the chamber and read a first time, which starts its parliamentary journey.

Introduced and read a first time

Second reading opened 09 Mar 2023

A minister or sponsoring member moved the second reading, opening the main debate on the bill's purpose and principles.

Second reading moved

Second reading debate 22 Mar 2023

The bill reached this recorded parliamentary step.

Community Affairs review 23 Mar 2023

Referred to Committee (23/03/2023): Senate Community Affairs Legislation Committee; Committee report (01/09/2023)

Referred to committee

APH bill page notes
Lapsed at end of Parliament 21 July 2025

The bill reached this recorded parliamentary step.

Key criticism

The main case against this bill

The main case against the bill was that it would strip away existing safety and clinical safeguards by letting any doctor prescribe medicinal cannabisCannabis products used as medicine, which this bill would make easier to prescribe and supply. and by loosening current scheduling rules without enough caution. That criticism came from Labor and the Coalition in debate, with opponents focusing on drafting and patient-safety risks rather than rejecting medicinal cannabisCannabis products used as medicine, which this bill would make easier to prescribe and supply. itself.

Opposition focused on safeguards and rescheduling detail, not on the broader goal of patient access.

Safety and clinical safeguards could be weakened

Critics argued the bill would bypass the existing approval pathways and the safeguards built into them, without showing that patients would be safer or get better access as a result.

Raised by Labor senators, especially Anne Urquhart Source ↗

Rescheduling and prescriber access changes were seen as too broad

The Coalition said the bill's detailed changes, especially moving more medicinal cannabisCannabis products used as medicine, which this bill would make easier to prescribe and supply. products into prescription-only medicine categories and widening access through medical practitioners, raised serious concerns that were not adequately resolved.

Raised by Coalition senators, especially Anne Ruston Source ↗

Further sources

parlinfo.aph.gov.au ↗

Votes

Recorded votes

Amendments at a glance

Other recorded votes grouped by chamber. Expand a vote to see the party breakdown.

Senate

Carried

Table medicinal cannabis correspondence

Aye 37 No 14

Passed 37 to 14. Support came from Liberal Party, Greens, Nationals, One Nation, and minor parties and independents. Opposition came from Labor. Minor-party and independent votes were split.

27 Mar 2023

This was a procedural information-gathering motion, not a vote on the bill itself. It passed 37 to 14 and required disclosure of government communications about the bill.

Party Recorded votes Aye / No
Liberal Party 15 / 0
Labor 0 / 11
Greens 10 / 0
Unknown 6 / 3
Nationals 2 / 0
One Nation 2 / 0
Independent 1 / 0
UAP 1 / 0

This list includes amendment votes, procedural votes and votes on the bill itself.

Parliamentary debate

Who spoke, and what they said

Start here — lead voices

Sponsor speech Supports

Malcolm Roberts

Pauline Hanson's One Nation Party • Senator 09 Mar 2023

Roberts supports the bill and says it would improve access to medicinal cannabisCannabis products used as medicine, which this bill would make easier to prescribe and supply. by widening prescribing rights, easing hemp regulation, and allowing some low-THCThe main intoxicating chemical in cannabis; the bill uses its percentage limit to decide whether a product is hemp, pharmacy-only or prescription-only., low-CBDA non-intoxicating cannabis chemical that the bill treats as a key limit for deciding whether a product can be sold over the counter or needs a prescription. products to be sold through pharmacies.

Read in Hansard ↗
Lead opposing voice Opposes

Anne Urquhart

Australian Labor Party • Senator 22 Mar 2023

Urquhart opposes the bill, saying it would not improve access to medicinal cannabisCannabis products used as medicine, which this bill would make easier to prescribe and supply. and would ignore the existing safety, clinical and treaty-based safeguards already built into the system.

Read in Hansard ↗
Lead supporting voice Supports

Peter Whish-Wilson

Australian Greens • Senator 22 Mar 2023

Whish-Wilson says the Greens support the bill because medicinal cannabisCannabis products used as medicine, which this bill would make easier to prescribe and supply. is still too hard and too expensive for ordinary patients to access.

Read in Hansard ↗
Lead voice Supports

Jordon Steele-John

Australian Greens • Senator 22 Mar 2023

Jordon Steele-John says the Greens support the bill, but argue it does not go far enough because medicinal cannabisCannabis products used as medicine, which this bill would make easier to prescribe and supply. is still too expensive and hard to access.

Read in Hansard ↗

All speeches by bloc

Labor

1 speaker · 1 oppose

  1. Anne Urquhart ★ Urquhart opposes the bill, saying it would not improve access to medicinal cannabisCannabis products used as medicine, which this bill would make easier to prescribe and supply. and would ignore the existing safety, clinical and treaty-based safeguards already built into the system.
    “Medicinal cannabis is a very fast-developing therapeutic product, not just here in Australia but across the world. There remains much to be done in this emerging area to improve access to safe, affordable and effective medicinal cannabis products, but this bill does not provide for a coherent way forward. It is not the solution to improve access to safe, affordable and effective medicinal cannabis products. It fails to take into account the processes our country uses, the nature of the Federation, the treaties we are signatories to as well as the safety mechanisms we have in place when it comes to the prescription of medicinal cannabis products that are unapproved by the TGA.”

    Australian Labor Party • Senator • 22 Mar 2023

    Read the full speech in Hansard ↗

Coalition

1 speaker · 1 oppose

  1. Anne Ruston Ruston says the coalition cannot support the bill because it has serious concerns about the details of rescheduling medicinal cannabisCannabis products used as medicine, which this bill would make easier to prescribe and supply. to schedule 4The prescription-only category for medicines that a doctor must prescribe before they can be supplied. and about allowing access through a medical practitioner.
    “Whilst the coalition appreciates the work that One Nation has done with this bill and the intent of this bill, there remain some serious concerns around the details that would allow the scheduling of a medicinal cannabis product to a schedule 4 item. The coalition has some further concerns about how this rescheduling would allow access through a medical practitioner, so at this time the coalition is not in a position to support this bill.”

    Liberal Party • Senator • 22 Mar 2023

    Read the full speech in Hansard ↗

Greens

3 speakers · 3 support

  1. Peter Whish-Wilson ★ Whish-Wilson says the Greens support the bill because medicinal cannabisCannabis products used as medicine, which this bill would make easier to prescribe and supply. is still too hard and too expensive for ordinary patients to access.
    “It's very encouraging that we're having a discussion today about how we can continue to advance this very exciting frontier of medicine that I think's going to open up huge possibilities. I hope also, for human development, that we can start seeing our world differently, that we can start seeing each other differently and that we can start exploring this frontier, but it's got to be done the right way. I think the bigger debate is about legalising cannabis and finally walking away from this terrible war on drugs that has literally achieved nothing. It's available on every street corner. We have people going and buying cannabis and other products in car parks or in dodgy circumstances. We have people who are on highly addictive drugs and have addiction issues, which is a health problem, and they are dying because we're not assisting them in the way we should. These people need our help. They don't need to be put into a criminal system where essentially they're condemned for the rest of their life—not being able to get a loan, not being able to get a job. We're creating a subclass of people in our society. So the Greens are very pleased to be debating this bill today.”

    Australian Greens • Senator • 22 Mar 2023

    Read the full speech in Hansard ↗
  2. Jordon Steele-John ★ Jordon Steele-John says the Greens support the bill, but argue it does not go far enough because medicinal cannabisCannabis products used as medicine, which this bill would make easier to prescribe and supply. is still too expensive and hard to access.
    “It is far past time for the Labor government to ensure that medicinal cannabis is affordable for the Australian public. The lived experience and the research support it. So do all the families who actually need to access it and who have cried out during so many of these investigations and reports. The Greens will continue to fight for access to and affordability of medical cannabis, alongside our broader work to legalise cannabis for all Australians, which Senator Shoebridge will shortly outline for the chamber.”

    Australian Greens • Senator • 22 Mar 2023

    Read the full speech in Hansard ↗
  3. David Shoebridge Shoebridge supports the bill and says the Greens want it to make medicinal cannabisCannabis products used as medicine, which this bill would make easier to prescribe and supply. genuinely affordable and available to anyone who needs it, not just people who can pay the current high prices.
    “So, yes, let's get on and radically reduce the cost of legalised cannabis. Let's come to this position that no matter what's in your wallet, no matter who your mum and your dad are, no matter what property you own, if you go to a doctor and a doctor says you need legalised cannabis then you should be able to get it, afford it and treat your chronic pain, treat your health conditions. That's the way the world should operate in a country like Australia.”

    Australian Greens • Senator • 22 Mar 2023

    Read the full speech in Hansard ↗

One Nation

2 speakers · 2 support

  1. Pauline Hanson Hanson says One Nation supports the bill and wants it passed because it would make medicinal cannabisCannabis products used as medicine, which this bill would make easier to prescribe and supply. easier to prescribe, cheaper to access and better aligned with state laws.
    “I rise to speak to One Nation's Improving Access to Medicinal Cannabis Bill 2023. Medicinal cannabis has only been legally available since 2016. Since it was down-scheduled through measures like the Authorised Prescriber Scheme, the number of Australians prescribed medicinal cannabis products has increased from a few hundred in 2018 to more than half a million in 2022. This growth clearly shows there is a prominent place for medicinal cannabis products in Australian health care. However, a system which worked quite well for only a few thousand scripts a year is under strain from hundreds of thousands of scripts. Patients have more recently encountered increasing problems with accessing these products, along with other issues like product quality, availability and pricing. These difficulties have resulted in a small drop in prescriptions. We consider this legislation to be a timely response.”

    Pauline Hanson's One Nation Party • Senator • 22 Mar 2023

    Read the full speech in Hansard ↗
  2. Malcolm Roberts ★ Roberts supports the bill and says it would improve access to medicinal cannabisCannabis products used as medicine, which this bill would make easier to prescribe and supply. by widening prescribing rights, easing hemp regulation, and allowing some low-THCThe main intoxicating chemical in cannabis; the bill uses its percentage limit to decide whether a product is hemp, pharmacy-only or prescription-only., low-CBDA non-intoxicating cannabis chemical that the bill treats as a key limit for deciding whether a product can be sold over the counter or needs a prescription. products to be sold through pharmacies.
    “The Bill will substantially improve Australians' access to medicinal cannabis and create an avenue for the listing of cannabis on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme.”

    Pauline Hanson's One Nation Party • Senator • 09 Mar 2023

    Read the full speech in Hansard ↗

Record

Full record

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