A CBD label should tell you what is in the product, how strong it is, which batch it came from and when it expires. For prescribed products in Australia those items are required by a quality standard. The most useful numbers are the strength in milligrams per millilitre and the amount of THC.
What must an Australian CBD label show?
Medicinal cannabis products supplied in Australia must comply with a standard called TGO 93. Its labelling rules apply to finished products released for supply since 1 July 2023. The label must carry:1
| Label item | What it tells you |
|---|---|
| Product name | Which product this is |
| Name and contact details of the sponsor | The company legally responsible for the product in Australia |
| Each active ingredient and its quantity, with units | How much CBD, and how much THC or other cannabinoid if these count as active ingredients |
| Dosage form | For example oral liquid, capsule or dried herb |
| Quantity of the product | Volume, weight or number of units in the pack |
| Batch number, after a prefix such as “Batch” or “Lot” | The code that traces this pack back through manufacture |
| Expiry date, after a prefix such as “Expiry”, “EXP” or “Use by” | The date after which the product should not be used |
| Storage conditions | How to keep it |
For products made from a plant extract or plant material, the label must also give the plant species, the plant part and the type of preparation. Everything must be in English, legible, visible and durable.1
A product compounded or repackaged by a pharmacist for one patient has a shorter list. Its label must state the name and quantity of each active ingredient.1
The pharmacy also attaches its own dispensing label with the directions for use. See filling a CBD prescription.
How do you read the strength?
Strength is the amount of CBD in each millilitre: mg/mL. The registered medicine Epidyolex is 100 mg/mL, in a 100 mL bottle.2
Some labels lead with the total amount of CBD in the bottle. To turn a total into a strength:
strength (mg/mL) = total CBD (mg) ÷ bottle volume (mL)
A 30 mL bottle holding 3,000 mg is 100 mg/mL. A 30 mL bottle holding 600 mg is 20 mg/mL. The bottles are the same size, and one is five times as strong.
To turn a prescribed dose into a volume:
volume (mL) = dose (mg) ÷ strength (mg/mL)
If the prescriber has set 50 mg and the oil is 100 mg/mL, that is 0.5 mL. With a 20 mg/mL oil the same dose is 2.5 mL.
Use the measuring device supplied. Epidyolex, for example, comes with oral syringes marked in 0.05 mL and 0.1 mL steps.2 This arithmetic is for reading a dose your prescriber has already set. It is not a way to choose one. See the CBD dosage guide and the dose calculator.
How accurate is the number? Under TGO 93 the measured content of each active ingredient must be within 90% to 110% of the stated amount, or 80% to 120% for herbal products such as dried flower.1
Why look for the THC figure?
Because it changes the legal class of the product and your risk on a drug test.
A product is a CBD-only (Schedule 4) medicine only when CBD makes up 98% or more of the total cannabinoids.3 The TGA sorts prescribed cannabis products into five categories on that basis:4
| Category | Name | CBD share of total cannabinoids | Schedule |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | CBD medicinal cannabis product | 98% or more | 4 |
| 2 | CBD-dominant | 60% to under 98% | 8 |
| 3 | Balanced | 40% to under 60% | 8 |
| 4 | THC or other cannabinoid dominant | 2% to under 40% | 8 |
| 5 | THC or other cannabinoid | Under 2% | 8 |
A ratio on a label, such as 20:1, is the proportion of CBD to THC. A 20:1 oil with 100 mg/mL of CBD has 5 mg/mL of THC. That is a Schedule 8 product, not a CBD-only one.
Under TGO 93, THC counts as an active ingredient that must be declared once it reaches 1.0% of the product, and any other cannabinoid once it reaches 2.0%.1 Below those levels a cannabinoid may be present without appearing on the label. So “no THC listed” is not the same as “no THC”. If you drive, are drug tested at work or compete in sport, ask the pharmacist or prescriber exactly how much THC the product contains. See CBD and drug tests and CBD and driving.
What do common label words mean?
- Isolate, broad spectrum, full spectrum. Industry terms for how much of the plant’s other content is kept. They are not defined in Australian law. In a United States study, 26% of products making one of these claims did not match it when tested.5 See full spectrum vs broad spectrum vs isolate.
- Carrier oil. The edible oil the CBD is dissolved in. Check it if you have a food allergy. Epidyolex contains sesame oil and must not be used by people allergic to sesame.2
- Batch or lot number. TGO 93 defines it as a code that uniquely identifies the batch and lets it be traced through all stages of manufacture and distribution.1 It is what links your pack to a laboratory report. See how to read a certificate of analysis.
- Expiry date. The standard requires a true expiry date. A prefix such as “best by” or “best before” is specifically not acceptable.1 See storing CBD.
- “Hemp oil” or “hemp extract”. Ambiguous. Hemp seed oil is a food with only a trace of CBD. The Office of Drug Control describes “hemp oil” as an extract of the plant that usually contains THC and CBD above the permitted thresholds, and says it should not be confused with hemp seed oil.6 See CBD oil vs hemp seed oil.
Which label claims deserve caution?
“TGA approved” or “TGA registered”. Only two cannabis medicines are registered in Australia: Epidyolex and Sativex.7 Other CBD products are unapproved medicines, which the TGA says “have not been assessed by us for safety, quality or effectiveness”.8 The TGA’s advertising guidance treats statements implying TGA approval or endorsement as prohibited.9
Health claims. Advertising medicinal cannabis to the public is prohibited in Australia, and claims about serious conditions are separately restricted.9 A pack or website that promises to treat anxiety, pain or sleep is a warning sign, not a reassurance. See why Australian clinics cannot advertise CBD.
“Pharmaceutical grade”, “lab tested”, “organic”, “premium”. None of these has a fixed legal meaning for CBD. The meaningful statements are the ones TGO 93 requires, backed by a batch test.
“THC-free”. In a United States study of unregulated products, 5 of 21 labelled “THC-free” contained measurable THC.10
What does the pharmacist-only category require on a pack?
No product has been approved in the Schedule 3 (pharmacist-only) category as of November 2026, but the law already sets out what such a pack would look like. It would be an oral product for adults with a maximum recommended daily dose of 150 mg or less, in a pack of no more than 30 days’ supply, in blister or strip packaging or a container with a child-resistant closure.3 It would have to carry the warnings “Do not use if pregnant or likely to become pregnant” and “Do not use if breastfeeding or planning to breastfeed”.11 See over-the-counter CBD.
What about hemp food labels?
Hemp seed foods follow food law, not medicine law. Their labels must not make a nutrition or health claim about CBD, must not show any part of the plant other than the seed, and must not use the words “cannabis” or “marijuana”. The word “hemp” is allowed. CBD in any food is capped at 75 mg/kg.12 A food label that advertises its CBD content is not following those rules. See hemp foods.
A quick check for any CBD label
- Is there a named Australian sponsor with contact details?
- Are CBD and THC amounts stated with units?
- Can you work out the strength in mg/mL?
- Is there a batch number and a true expiry date?
- Are storage conditions given?
- Is the pack child-resistant?
- Is it free of health claims?
- Did it come from a pharmacy against a prescription?
A “no” to several of these suggests the product was not supplied through the lawful Australian system. Research on such products shows their contents often differ from the label. See is what is on the label in the bottle?
Footnotes
-
Australian Government. Therapeutic Goods (Standard for Medicinal Cannabis) (TGO 93) Order 2017, compilation of 6 December 2022, sections 4, 12, 15 and 17. https://www.legislation.gov.au/F2017L00286/latest/text ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6 ↩7
-
Therapeutic Goods Administration. Epidyolex (cannabidiol) Australian Product Information, version published with the AusPAR, January 2021 (may have been superseded). https://www.tga.gov.au/sites/default/files/auspar-cannabidiol-210115-pi.pdf ↩ ↩2 ↩3
-
Australian Government. Therapeutic Goods (Poisons Standard, October 2026) Instrument 2026, Schedule 3 and Schedule 4 cannabidiol entries. https://www.legislation.gov.au/F2026L01327/asmade/2026-09-30/text/original/pdf ↩ ↩2
-
Penington Institute. Cannabis in Australia, November 2025 (restating the TGA category scheme). https://www.penington.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/Penington_Institute_Cannabis-in-Australia_Nov_2025.pdf ↩
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Gidal BE, et al. Product labeling accuracy and contamination analysis of commercially available cannabidiol product samples. Frontiers in Pharmacology, 2024. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10982813/ ↩
-
Office of Drug Control. Hemp products. https://www.odc.gov.au/node/1372 ↩
-
NPS MedicineWise. Medicinal cannabis: what you need to know. https://www.nps.org.au/professionals/medicinal-cannabis-what-you-need-to-know ↩
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Therapeutic Goods Administration. Access pathways for medicinal cannabis. https://www.tga.gov.au/products/unapproved-therapeutic-goods/medicinal-cannabis/access-pathways ↩
-
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 ↩ ↩2
-
Johnson E, Kilgore M, Babalonis S. Cannabidiol (CBD) product contamination: quantitative analysis of delta-9-THC concentrations found in commercially available CBD products. Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 2022. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9899037/ ↩
-
Therapeutic Goods Administration. Freedom of information release FOI 26-2886, 2026. https://www.tga.gov.au/sites/default/files/2026-06/FOI%2026-2886.PDF ↩
-
Food Standards Australia New Zealand. Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code, Standard 1.4.4, Prohibited and restricted plants and fungi (compilation of 12 November 2017). https://www.legislation.gov.au/F2015L00416/2017-11-12/2017-11-12/text/original/epub/OEBPS/document_1/document_1.html ↩
Common questions
What does mg/mL mean on a CBD oil label?
It is the strength, meaning how many milligrams of CBD are in each millilitre of oil. An oil labelled 100 mg/mL holds 100 mg of CBD in 1 mL. To find the volume for a prescribed dose, divide the dose in milligrams by the strength.
What does 1000 mg or 3000 mg on a bottle mean?
It is usually the total CBD in the whole bottle, not the strength and not a dose. Divide it by the bottle volume to get mg/mL. A 30 mL bottle containing 3,000 mg works out to 100 mg/mL.
What does a ratio like 20 to 1 mean on a label?
It is the proportion of CBD to THC. A 20 to 1 product has twenty parts CBD to one part THC, so it does contain THC. Under Australian rules a product only counts as a CBD-only (Schedule 4) medicine if CBD is at least 98% of the cannabinoids.
Does "TGA approved" on a CBD product mean it has been assessed?
Be cautious. Only two cannabis medicines are registered in Australia. Other CBD products are unapproved medicines that the TGA says it has not assessed for safety, quality or effectiveness. TGA guidance treats claims that imply TGA approval or endorsement as prohibited in advertising.
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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