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Drug Classification Process

The Act now requires the classification of illicit drugs to be based on the risk of harm to individuals or society. Drugs posing a:

very high risk of harm should be scheduled as ‘Class A’
high risk of harm should be scheduled as ‘Class B’
moderate risk of harm should be scheduled as ‘Class C’.

What factors will the EACD consider when examining a substance?

The Act requires the EACD to advise the Minister of Health on a range of specific criteria for each substance (see Section 4B(2)). Therefore, each paper will generally follow a consistent format and include information and evidence on:

substance identification
the drug’s similarity to known substances
current classification (if any)
proposed classification
likelihood or evidence of abuse (eg, prevalence of the drug, seizure trends and potential appeal to vulnerable populations)
specific effects of the drug (eg, pharmacological, psychoactive and toxicological)
risk, if any, to public health
therapeutic value of the drug
potential for death upon use
ability to create physical or psychological dependence
international classification and experience of the drug in other jurisdictions
other matters
references.

Procedure for drugs to be considered

When a drug is to be considered by the EACD, the usual first step is for officials to prepare a preliminary paper which is circulated to EACD members.

The EACD then considers the paper and provides its expert advice (either via a face-to-face meeting or via an out-of-session procedure). Final papers will then be produced which will provide the basis for the advice to the Minister of Health.

The timeframe for each paper will depend on the particular issues raised by the EACD for each drug. For example, the EACD may decide further information on a particular issue needs to be gathered and incorporated into the paper before it can finalise its advice to the Minister. Conversely, the EACD may be happy with the preliminary paper and make little change.

The Minister of Health is then provided with the EACD’s advice and decides whether or not to make a recommendation to the Governor-General that the substance in question be classified under the Act. The mattter will then be referred to Cabinet.

If Cabinet agree, the Governor-General may then issue an Order in Council and the issue is referred to the Health Select Committee for consideration. The Select Committee will undertake a public consultation as a part of its process. Finally, before any law change is made regarding the classification status of a drug, it must be approved by Parliament.

If you want to input into this process, please refer to public input to the drug classification process.

The EACD is expected to meet about three to four times each year. However, it will also consider drugs via out-of-session procedures.

Drug classification process flowchart

Drug classification process flowchart (PDF, 62 KB)