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Can you buy CBD over the counter in Australia?

No. Low-dose CBD has been pharmacist-only in law since 2021, but as of November 2026 no product is approved, so pharmacies have nothing to sell.

Facts checked 13 November 20266 min readHow we research

No. As of November 2026 you cannot buy CBD over the counter in Australia. The law has allowed pharmacists to sell low-dose CBD without a prescription since 2021, but only products approved by the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) qualify, and none has been approved.12 Every lawful CBD medicine in Australia still needs a prescription.

Why does this confuse so many people?

People run into three things that seem to contradict each other:

  1. News reports that CBD “went over the counter”. These were accurate about the law. On 15 December 2020 the TGA announced its final decision to move low-dose CBD from Schedule 4 (prescription only) to Schedule 3 (pharmacist only).3
  2. Pharmacies with nothing on the shelf. Also accurate. The new category is empty because no product has met its conditions.1
  3. Websites that sell “CBD oil” anyway. These are not selling under the pharmacist-only rules. More on that below.

The three fit together once you see that the 2021 change created a legal category. It did not approve a single product.

What did the 2021 decision actually change?

It added a new entry to Schedule 3 of the Poisons Standard, the national instrument that sorts medicines into categories. The final decision raised the daily limit from the 60 mg first proposed to 150 mg.3 The TGA’s documents give the year the entry took effect as 2021.4 It followed a TGA safety review of low-dose CBD that ran from late 2019 to April 2020.5

The entry in the current Poisons Standard (October 2026) reads:6

CANNABIDIOL in oral, oromucosal and sublingual preparations included in the Register when:

(a) the cannabidiol is either plant derived or, when synthetic, only contains the (-)-CBD enantiomer; and

(b) the cannabidiol comprises 98% or more of the total cannabinoid content of the preparation; and

(c) any cannabinoids, other than cannabidiol, must be only those naturally found in cannabis and comprise 2% or less of the total cannabinoid content of the preparation and of which tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) can only comprise 1% of the total cannabinoid content; and

(d) the maximum recommended daily dose is 150 mg or less of cannabidiol; and

(e) packed in blister or strip packaging or in a container fitted with a child-resistant closure; and

(f) in packs containing not more than 30 days’ supply; and

(g) for persons aged 18 years and over.

In plain terms, a pharmacist-only CBD product must be taken by mouth, be almost pure CBD, be low dose, come in child-resistant packaging, hold no more than a month’s supply and be for adults.

What does “included in the Register” mean?

This phrase in the first line is the part most reports left out. “The Register” is the Australian Register of Therapeutic Goods (ARTG), the list of medicines the TGA has assessed and approved for supply.

A CBD product that meets every other condition but is not on the ARTG is not a Schedule 3 medicine. It stays in Schedule 4 and needs a prescription.6

To get on the register, a company (called a sponsor) must apply to the TGA with evidence for its specific product, and the TGA must evaluate it. The TGA describes this as meeting “the Schedule 3 registration requirements”.1

Has any product been approved?

No.

  • In August 2025 the TGA wrote: “To date, no complete application for a CBD product that meets the Schedule 3 registration requirements has been submitted or evaluated by the TGA”.1
  • On 18 March 2026 the TGA told its scheduling committee: “There are only 2 medicinal cannabis medicines that have been Registered on the Australian Register of Therapeutic Goods”.4 Both are prescription medicines. See the registered cannabis medicines.
  • The health practitioner regulator, Ahpra, still described only two registered medicines on a page reviewed in October 2026.2

We did not search the live register ourselves on the day this page was updated. The statements above are the most recent official ones we found.

Why has nobody registered a product?

The TGA’s own explanation is about incentives. Prescribers can already get unapproved CBD products for patients through special access pathways. The TGA says this ready access “has reduced or removed the incentive” for companies to pay for the trials that registration needs.1

The trials are also hard to pass. Trade press reported in July 2026 that one Australian company’s sleep trial of a CBD product, with 257 participants, found no significant difference from placebo in 2023. The same report said another company was running a late-stage insomnia trial of 75 mg and 150 mg CBD capsules in 519 participants, expected to finish in 2027 or early 2028, with a TGA application to follow. It added: “To date, no company has adopted this route”.7

So there is no date for over-the-counter CBD. A product would need a successful trial, then a TGA application, then approval.

Then how are websites selling CBD without a prescription?

They are not relying on Schedule 3. A product sold without a prescription on a website generally falls into one of two groups.

Hemp seed oil. This is a food pressed from hemp seeds. It is exempt from the CBD rules only if it contains 75 mg/kg or less of CBD and 10 mg/kg or less of THC.6 That is a trace. A product within that limit is legal to sell, but it is not a CBD medicine. See CBD oil vs hemp seed oil.

Products with real amounts of CBD. Anything above 75 mg/kg of CBD is at least a Schedule 4 prescription-only medicine.6 Supplying it without a prescription breaks state and territory medicines laws, and importing it without a licence and permit is prohibited.8 The Office of Drug Control has warned that overseas companies were “illegally exporting” CBD and hemp products to Australians.8

A website being easy to find, or having an Australian address, does not change the legal status of what it sells. See buying CBD online.

Can a pharmacy supply CBD at all?

Yes, on prescription. A pharmacy can dispense CBD that a doctor or nurse practitioner has prescribed. See filling a CBD prescription and how legal access to CBD works.

If a product is approved, what rules would apply?

Schedule 3 means “Pharmacist Only Medicine”.6 The Poisons Standard conditions tell us some things for certain:

  • It would be for adults aged 18 and over.6
  • The pack would hold no more than 30 days’ supply, with a maximum recommended daily dose of 150 mg or less.6
  • The label would carry the warnings “Do not use if pregnant or likely to become pregnant” and “Do not use if breastfeeding or planning to breastfeed”.4
  • It could not be advertised to the public. Most Schedule 3 medicines cannot be advertised unless they are listed in a part of the Poisons Standard called Appendix H, and CBD is not listed there.6 The TGA’s guidance says: “Schedule 3 cannabidiol cannot be advertised to the public.”9

A daily limit of 150 mg is low compared with the doses used in many CBD trials. See does low-dose CBD work?

CBD can interact with other medicines at any dose. See CBD drug interactions.

Could the rules change?

They might. In the TGA’s 2025 consultation on medicinal cannabis, “some stakeholders called for consideration to be given to down-scheduling CBD”. The TGA has said reform options “may include a review of the current scheduling of cannabis, CBD and THC”.4 No decision has been made as of the latest documents we found (mid-2026).10

Footnotes

  1. Therapeutic Goods Administration. Consultation paper: reviewing the safety and regulatory oversight of unapproved medicinal cannabis products, August 2025. https://consultations.tga.gov.au/medicines-regulation-division/test-soms/user_uploads/final---consultation-paper---medicinal-cannabis-review---august-2025.pdf ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5

  2. Ahpra and National Boards. Medicinal cannabis prescribing guidance. https://www.ahpra.gov.au/Resources/Medicinal-cannabis-prescribing.aspx ↩ ↩2

  3. Therapeutic Goods Administration. Over-the-counter access to low dose cannabidiol, media release, 15 December 2020. https://www.tga.gov.au/news/media-releases/over-counter-access-low-dose-cannabidiol ↩ ↩2

  4. Therapeutic Goods Administration. Paper to the scheduling advisory committee, 18 March 2026, released as FOI 26-2886. https://www.tga.gov.au/sites/default/files/2026-06/FOI%2026-2886.PDF ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4

  5. Therapeutic Goods Administration. Review on the safety of low dose cannabidiol, 2020. https://www.tga.gov.au/safety/safety-monitoring-and-information/safety-alerts/review-safety-low-dose-cannabidiol ↩

  6. Australian Government. Therapeutic Goods (Poisons Standard, October 2026) Instrument 2026. https://www.legislation.gov.au/F2026L01327/asmade/2026-09-30/text/original/pdf ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6 ↩7 ↩8

  7. Biotech Daily. Company report, 3 July 2026. https://www.biotechdaily.com.au/wp/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/AVE-Jul-3-2026.pdf ↩

  8. Office of Drug Control. Consumer warning on CBD and hemp oil imports, 15 May 2018. https://www.odc.gov.au/node/1328 ↩ ↩2

  9. Therapeutic Goods Administration. Advertising guidance for businesses involved with medicinal cannabis products, December 2023. https://www.tga.gov.au/sites/default/files/2023-12/advertising-guidance-businesses-medicinal-cannabis-products.docx ↩

  10. Therapeutic Goods Administration. Update to the sector on the medicinal cannabis review, July 2026. https://www.tga.gov.au/sites/default/files/2026-07/update-tga-sector.pdf ↩

Common questions

The news said CBD went over the counter in 2021. Why can I not buy it?

The law changed, but the shelves did not. The change allowed low-dose CBD to be sold by pharmacists only if the product is on the Australian Register of Therapeutic Goods. As of November 2026 no product has been registered for that purpose.

Can I buy CBD oil at a chemist in Australia?

Only with a prescription. A pharmacy can dispense prescribed CBD. No pharmacy can lawfully sell CBD without a prescription, because no Schedule 3 product has been approved.

When will over-the-counter CBD be available?

Nobody can say. A company would need to finish clinical trials, apply to the TGA and be approved. Trade press reported in July 2026 that one late-stage sleep trial was expected to finish in 2027 or early 2028, with an application to follow.

What is the 150 mg limit?

It is one of the Schedule 3 conditions. A pharmacist-only CBD product must have a maximum recommended daily dose of 150 mg or less of CBD. Many clinical trials have used far higher daily doses.

This page is general information, not medical or legal advice. Laws and evidence change; we show the date we last checked the facts at the top of every page. Talk to your doctor or pharmacist before starting, stopping or changing any medicine.

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