Tuesday September 30 2025 marks a pivotal moment in Australian nursing history. The new registration standard enabling registered nurses (RNs) to prescribe, in partnership with an authorised prescriber, officially takes effect – the biggest advancement for our profession in more than two decades.
Are you a registered nurse? Here’s what you need to know:
- New prescribing pathway available: Registered nurses will be able to apply for endorsement to administer, obtain, possess, prescribe, supply and/or use Schedule 2, 3, 4 and 8 medicines in partnership with an authorised prescriber (e.g., a medical practitioner or nurse practitioner).
- Requirements to qualify: You need current RN registration, 5,000 hours (3 years) clinical experience in the past 6 years, completion of an approved prescribing education program, and 6 months clinical mentorship with your prescribing partner. Education providers are presently developing their courses, which must be accredited by the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Accreditation Council required courses before they can be offered.
- Partnership model only: You can only prescribe medicines when working in partnership with an authorised prescriber through a formal written agreement – this is not independent prescribing and requires ongoing collaboration.
Are you a nurse practitioner or medical practitioner? Here’s what you need to know:
- New collaboration opportunity: You will be able to partner with endorsed registered nurses to expand prescribing capacity in your practice through formal prescribing agreements that outline roles, responsibilities and scope of practice.
- Mentorship requirement: You’ll need to provide 6 months of clinical mentorship to any RN prescriber you work with initially, helping them develop confidence in prescribing within their scope of practice.
- Shared accountability: While RN prescribers are accountable for their prescribing decisions, you maintain responsibility for collaboration, referrals when care is outside the RN’s scope, and participating in regular reviews of the prescribing agreement.
Are you a healthcare provider? Here’s what you need to know:
- Workforce expansion coming: The new registered nurse prescriber designation will allow endorsed RNs to prescribe medicines in partnership with authorised prescribers to improving the delivery of quality, accessible and efficient healthcare across Australia.
- Implementation still pending: While health ministers approved the model in December 2024, education providers must develop required courses before rollout begins.
- Clinical governance essential: Healthcare organisations will need to establish clinical governance frameworks, prescribing agreements, and policies to support this new model while maintaining safety and quality care standards.
This milestone aligns Australian nursing with international best practice, following successful implementation in countries such as New Zealand, the UK, Ireland, and the Netherlands. Research consistently shows non-medical prescribing is safe, effective, and increases job satisfaction among nurses.
While legislative changes are still required across some jurisdictions before implementation begins, today represents the culmination of extraordinary professional collaboration led by the Chief Nursing and Midwifery Officers (CNMOs) across the country. We congratulate the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia (NMBA) for their unwavering commitment to driving this change, our CNMOs for their leadership and support, and the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Accreditation Council for developing the accreditation standards and accrediting the programs to ensure quality education for RN prescribers.
ACN looks forward to supporting our colleagues along the journey towards registered nurse prescribing, one that, in advancing nursing, will shape the health of our nation.
For more information please go to the NMBA website.
