Codeine Rescheduling – February 2018
From 1 February, 2018, medications containing codeine will no longer be available over the counter. Research has shown that low dose medicines containing codeine for pain relief are no more effective than similar medicines without codeine.
Patients who have been using codeine containing medications will need education and support to transition to new pain management strategies including non-pharmacological options.
To support the rescheduling of Codeine, Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) have undertaken a number of initiatives to support both Health Professionals and the community during this transition.
Information and resources can be found on the TGA website – Codeine information hub https://www.tga.gov.au/codeine-info-hub
The TGA have been running face to face education sessions for GPs in number of areas. Recorded webinars of these sessions are also available on the TGA website: https://www.tga.gov.au/events-training
Addiction information is available for health professionals:
Information for Consumers
- TGA Codeine use can be harmful
- Codeine rescheduling FAQs
- Pain management network
- Chronic Pain Australia
- The Pain Toolkit
