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How much THC can a CBD product legally contain in Australia?

In a prescription-only CBD product, other cannabinoids, including THC, can be up to 2% of the total cannabinoids. Australia has no "under 0.3% THC" rule.

Facts checked 13 November 20262 min readHow we research

A prescription-only CBD product in Australia must have CBD at 98% or more of its total cannabinoids, so THC and other cannabinoids together can make up as much as 2% of the cannabinoid content.1 If other cannabinoids exceed 2%, the product is no longer a CBD medicine in law, and if it is a lawful medicine at all it is a Schedule 8 controlled drug.1

How do the limits work?

Category Limit Schedule
Prescription CBD CBD 98% or more of cannabinoids; others, which must occur naturally in cannabis, 2% or less 4
Pharmacist-only CBD (none registered) Same, and THC “can only comprise 1% of the total cannabinoid content” 3
More than 2% other cannabinoids Falls outside the CBD entries 8

Source: Poisons Standard, October 2026.1

The limits measure THC against the total cannabinoids, not against the whole product.1 A THC percentage “by weight” therefore says nothing about the schedule.

No. Australian law has no rule that a product under a set THC percentage is legal.1 The 0.3% figure is borrowed from other countries’ hemp laws. Whether a CBD product is lawful here depends on the Poisons Standard, a prescription and how it was supplied. Any product with more than 75 mg of CBD per kilogram is at least a Schedule 4 medicine, whatever its THC level.1

Can a lawful CBD product contain THC?

Yes. A Victorian Government fact sheet warns that some medicines “that contain mostly CBD may also contain very small amounts of THC”.2 Products the Therapeutic Goods Administration labels “CBD-dominant” (CBD 60% to under 98% of cannabinoids) are Schedule 8 and can contain meaningful THC.34

Why does this matter?

THC is what roadside and workplace drug tests look for. A study of a full-spectrum, high-CBD extract containing 0.02% THC concluded that people using such products “may have positive test results” on a urine drug screen.5 Driving with any THC present is an offence in every state and territory, with a medical defence only in Tasmania.6 See can you drive on CBD oil? and will CBD show up on a drug test?

Ask your prescriber or pharmacist exactly how much THC your product contains.

Read the full guide: CBD scheduling explained.

Footnotes

  1. 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

  2. Victorian Government. Medicinal cannabis and driving: patient fact sheet. https://edge.sitecorecloud.io/stategovernc45d-cftw-production-c9ca/media/Project/TransportWebsite/Forms/medicinal-cannabis-and-driving-patient-factsheet.pdf ↩

  3. 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 ↩

  4. Therapeutic Goods Administration. Medicinal cannabis (unapproved therapeutic goods). https://www.tga.gov.au/products/unapproved-therapeutic-goods/medicinal-cannabis ↩

  5. Dahlgren MK and others. Urine drug screens after full-spectrum, high-CBD products. JAMA Psychiatry, 2021. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33146684/ ↩

  6. Tasmania. Road Safety (Alcohol and Drugs) Act 1970, section 6A. https://www.legislation.tas.gov.au/view/whole/html/inforce/current/act-1970-077 ↩

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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