Patients in Australia can now be diagnosed with ADHD by a GP. What does this mean for treatment?

Where have changes to diagnosis and treatment been made?

In December, Queensland became the first state to allow GPs to diagnose and prescribe for ADHD. GPs were already able to prescribe to children over the age of four, as long as a specialist had seen and diagnosed the young person first.

Trained specialist GPs in South Australia have been able to prescribe and diagnose those aged eight and above since March.

In October, the New South Wales government announced almost 300 GPs in NSW have completed Royal Australian College of General Practitioners training and can now diagnose ADHD and prescribe medication. Another 300 fellows will undertake the training in November. From early 2027, eligible patients may be able to be assessed by GPs for free.

In Victoria, 150 GPs will be able to diagnose, treat and prescribe medication for ADHD to adults and children six years and over from 26 October.

About 65 Western Australian GPs who undertook RACGP training have been able to diagnosis and treat ADHD since June.

Specially trained Tasmanian GPs have been able to diagnose and treat patients aged six years and older since September.

Since February, patients in the ACT have been able to see specially trained GPs for their medication, as long as they are six or older and have an existing ADHD diagnosis from a relevant specialist such as a psychiatrist.

The ACT also announced in July that GPs who undergo further training will be authorised to diagnose ADHD and initiate medication in non-complex patients over six who are not drug-dependent, but they will need approval from the chief health officer. More information is expected in late 2026.

No reforms have been made in the Northern Territory.

What is the process of diagnosis with a GP?

The Western Australian chair and vice-president of the RACGP, Dr Ramya Raman, said it is important to check that your GP is trained and provides assessments for ADHD.

Raman said best practice would be to have a few appointments with your GP, with age, health conditions, blood tests and further referrals taken into account before receiving a diagnosis.

Prof Dave Coghill, a child and adolescent psychiatrist and researcher with the University of Melbourne, said: “The only real way to diagnose ADHD is to meet with someone and do what we call a clinical interview.

“You need to ask about those symptoms of ADHD, but also you need to establish that people don’t just have the symptoms but that those symptoms cause real-world difficulties in their day-to-day lives.”

Are there any concerns about the changes?

Coghill said there are concerns over the variation of training GPs receive across the states, with WA and NSW GPs receiving months of training while those in other jurisdictions receive less.

Queensland GPs are not required to undertake any extra training.

Coghill said some GPs have “been given the licence to diagnose and prescribe after just a two-day training course, which I think is not adequate”.

The president of the Royal Australia New Zealand College of Psychiatrists (RANZCP), Dr Astha Tomar, wants greater standardisation of training and support offered for more complex cases.

“There is no simple ADHD assessment, it is a comprehensive psychiatric evaluation,” Tomar said.

She also worried about the chance of a wrong diagnosis, saying the medications can have “significant side effects”.

“If you ask our emergency department colleagues, you will find that there is an increased number of people presenting with heightened anxieties, difficulties with sleep, but most importantly, psychosis. People are presenting with psychotic symptoms related to the medication, which possibly at times was not a medication which that person needed.”