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Is CBD oil the same as hemp oil?

No. Hemp seed oil is a food oil pressed from seeds with only a trace of CBD. CBD oil is a prescription medicine in Australia.

Facts checked 13 November 20262 min readHow we research

No. Hemp seed oil, often sold as “hemp oil”, is a food oil pressed from the seeds of the plant, and it contains only a trace of CBD. CBD oil contains CBD extracted from other parts of the plant and is a prescription medicine in Australia.1

How much CBD is in hemp seed oil?

Almost none. Under the Poisons Standard, hemp seed oil is exempt from the medicine schedules only if it contains 75 mg/kg or less of CBD and 10 mg/kg or less of THC.1 The Food Standards Code sets the same limits for hemp seed oil sold as food.2

At 75 mg/kg, a full kilogram of oil holds at most 75 mg of CBD. When the food regulator tested hemp foods on the Australian market, every product met the CBD limit.3

Some older articles quote limits of 50 and 20 mg/kg. Those figures are out of date.4

Why is the name confusing?

Because “hemp oil” is used for two different things.

The Office of Drug Control says hemp oil is “an extract of a plant in the genus Cannabis” that “usually contains THC and CBD in excess of the threshold amounts”, and that it “is not to be confused with” hemp seed oil. It adds: “Only the seeds of the hemp plant can be used for human consumption - extracts from the remainder of the plant are considered a drug.”5

In shops, though, “hemp oil” usually just means hemp seed oil.

How can you tell them apart?

  • Hemp seed oil lists “hemp seed oil” or “Cannabis sativa seed oil” as the ingredient. It is sold as a food or in skincare. A hemp food cannot make claims about CBD.2
  • CBD oil states an amount of CBD in milligrams. In Australia it is lawfully supplied only on prescription, through a pharmacy.1

Will hemp seed oil have the same effects as CBD?

There is no basis to expect that. An Australian review of oral CBD found that reported benefits “became more clearly evident at doses ≥300 mg” a day.6 You could not reach that from a food oil capped at 75 mg per kilogram.

What about “hemp oil” sold online with CBD in it?

If a product contains more than a trace of CBD, it is not a hemp seed food, whatever the label says. Selling it without a prescription is unlawful, and ordering it from overseas is a prohibited import.1 See is it legal to buy CBD online?

Read the full guide: CBD oil vs hemp seed oil and hemp foods in Australia.

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

  2. Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code, Standard 1.4.4 (compilation in force 12 November 2017). https://www.legislation.gov.au/F2015L00416/2017-11-12/2017-11-12/text/original/epub/OEBPS/document_1/document_1.html ↩ ↩2

  3. Food Standards Australia New Zealand. Survey of low-THC hemp seed foods. https://www.foodstandards.gov.au/science-data/monitoring-safety/survey-of-low-THC-hemp-seed-foods ↩

  4. Therapeutic Goods Administration. Document released under FOI 26-2886, 2026. https://www.tga.gov.au/sites/default/files/2026-06/FOI%2026-2886.PDF ↩

  5. Office of Drug Control. Information on hemp products, hemp oil and hemp seed oil. https://www.odc.gov.au/node/1372 ↩

  6. Arnold JC, McCartney D, Suraev A, McGregor IS. The safety and efficacy of low oral doses of cannabidiol. Clinical and Translational Science, 2023. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36259271/ ↩

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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