Not without a prescription. As of November 2026, no Australian chemist can sell CBD oil over the counter, because no over-the-counter CBD product has been registered. A pharmacy can dispense CBD that a doctor or nurse practitioner has prescribed.1
Did CBD not go over the counter in 2021?
The rule changed, but no product followed. On 15 December 2020 the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) announced that low-dose CBD would move to Schedule 3 (Pharmacist Only Medicine).2 To qualify, a product must:3
- be registered on the Australian Register of Therapeutic Goods (ARTG)
- be taken by mouth
- have a maximum recommended daily dose of 150 mg or less
- come in a pack of no more than 30 days’ supply
- be for adults aged 18 and over.
A CBD product that meets every other condition but is not on the register stays prescription-only.3
Why is nothing on the shelves?
No company has completed the registration process. In August 2025 the TGA said: “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 In March 2026 it still counted only two registered cannabis medicines, both prescription products.4
The TGA’s own explanation is that easy access through prescription pathways “has reduced or removed the incentive” for companies to generate the data that registration requires.1
We did not search the live register on the day of writing, so check with a pharmacist if this matters to you.
When will it be available?
Nobody can say. One company is running a large trial of a CBD capsule for insomnia, with results expected in 2027 or early 2028, to be followed by an application to the TGA.5 An earlier sleep trial by another company found no significant difference from placebo.5
What about “hemp oil” on the chemist’s shelf?
That is hemp seed oil, a food oil with only a trace of CBD. See is CBD the same as hemp oil?
Read the full guide: can you buy CBD over the counter in Australia? and filling a CBD prescription at a pharmacy.
Footnotes
-
Therapeutic Goods Administration. Consultation paper on 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
-
Therapeutic Goods Administration. Over-the-counter access to low dose cannabidiol, 15 December 2020. https://www.tga.gov.au/news/media-releases/over-counter-access-low-dose-cannabidiol ↩
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Australian Government. Therapeutic Goods (Poisons Standard, October 2026) Instrument 2026, Schedule 3 cannabidiol entry. https://www.legislation.gov.au/F2026L01327/asmade/2026-09-30/text/original/pdf ↩ ↩2
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Therapeutic Goods Administration. Document released under FOI 26-2886, 2026. https://www.tga.gov.au/sites/default/files/2026-06/FOI%2026-2886.PDF ↩
-
Biotech Daily, 3 July 2026 (trade press report on a Phase III CBD insomnia trial). https://www.biotechdaily.com.au/wp/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/AVE-Jul-3-2026.pdf ↩ ↩2
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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