State-wide reform to ADHD treatment enabling faster, cheaper diagnoses

Treatment for people living with ADHD – one of the most prevalent mental disorders in Australia – will become cheaper and more accessible under major reforms made by the NSW Government.

The Minns Government has announced reforms to the treatment of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) – a chronic condition including attention difficulty, hyperactivity and impulsiveness – which expands who is permitted to diagnose, manage and dispense ongoing prescriptions.

Currently, people seeking treatment for ADHD must see a specialist, which can be expensive and involve long wait times of months or years.

For many Australians, these barriers mean that treatment will not be accessed at all.

The reforms announced on Monday will allow GPs to become accredited to diagnose and initiate medication, after completing additional training and education.

There are two tiers of accredited training or registration, with each providing differing levels of capacity to diagnose, treat, prescribe or manage ADHD.

Up to 1000 general practitioners will be supported to complete additional training to allow continuation prescriptions once a patient has been stabilised without the need of a formal arrangement.

Currently, GPs can only get approval to prescribe stimulant medications under specific conditions.

The additional training will be funded by NSW Health.

With the number of Australians prescribed ADHD medication growing by almost 300 per cent in a decade, rising to 470,000 people in 2022-2023, the changes are expected to make a significant impact.

These reforms will be rolled out in a staged approach, with an initial focus on prescriptions for children as delays in treatment for this cohort can be detrimental to academic progress, employment and mental health.

Premier Chris Minns said he hopes that by removing “red tape”, these reforms will “break the cycle” of delays plaguing ADHD treatment in the mental health system.

“By safely training more GPs to treat and diagnose ADHD, we are hoping to break the cycle of people having to wait years for, what can be, a life-altering diagnosis,” he said.

“Not getting diagnosed can have a particularly big impact on a child getting the most out of their life, whether that’s academically or socially.

“These reforms help tilt the scales in favour of fairness – reducing the cost of getting treatment by hundreds of dollars, removing red tape for thousands of families and young people, and giving people the support they need to live happier, healthier lives.”

RACGP Chairperson Dr Rebekah Hoffman said she has witnessed how challenging acquiring an ADHD diagnosis can be for individuals and families, and welcomes the changes.

“As I travel across New South Wales, I hear from my colleagues about families in rural areas who travel more than seven hours to see a pediatrician, and of families in Sydney spending more than $5,000 on assessments and diagnosis for ADHD,” she said.

“This announcement will have life-changing impacts when it comes to accessing timely and affordable ADHD care for families across the state.

“GPs in many parts of Australia, and around the world, are already diagnosing ADHD and prescribing medications. Our colleagues in Queensland, for example, have been safely prescribing ADHD medications since 2017

“ … In the years ahead, we look forward to working constructively with the Government to go even further and train up more GPs to diagnose and initiate medication so that all families can access the care and treatment they need.”

The training will begin in the coming months and GPs are expected to be able to provide ongoing prescriptions to children by early 2026.