Poisons Act 1971

Part 1A, inserted by amendment, consolidates provisions applicable to licences granted under the Act generally. These provisions cover the form, conditions and duration of licences, the appointment of a responsible officer for non-natural-person licence holders, the grounds for suspension or cancellation of a licence (including conviction of a relevant offence, failure to comply with conditions, and conduct that is prejudicial to the public interest), and rights of appeal to the Magistrates Court.

A key feature is the responsible officer requirement under section 16A: a company or other body corporate holding a licence must appoint a natural person to serve as responsible officer, ensuring there is always an identifiable individual accountable for compliance with the licence conditions. The requirement to renew licences annually creates regular opportunities for the regulator to review whether a licence holder continues to meet the eligibility criteria.

Part II establishes the administrative machinery of the Act. The Secretary of the relevant Department administers the Act and is given broad powers to issue guidelines, require information, conduct inspections and take enforcement action. Inspectors may be authorised by the Secretary and have powers of entry, search and seizure in relation to premises where scheduled substances are kept or where a licence is exercised.

The Secretary's powers under Part II intersect with the monitored medicines database provisions in Part III, giving the Secretary authority to collect, use and disclose prescription data for regulatory purposes. The Act also provides for the appointment of analysts and the admissibility of analyst certificates as evidence in proceedings.

Part III is the operational heart of the Act for everyday pharmacy and medical practice. It regulates the conditions under which scheduled substances may be manufactured, sold, supplied, dispensed and possessed.

Division 1 covers manufacturing chemists and wholesale chemists, requiring licences and imposing conditions on premises, storage, record-keeping and reporting. Division 3 deals with licensing of pharmacies and the conditions under which pharmacists may dispense and supply scheduled substances.

A major addition in 2021 (by the Poisons Amendment Act 2021) was the monitored medicines database under sections 38A to 38E. The database is maintained by the Secretary and records prescriptions issued and dispensed for Schedule 8 substances (controlled drugs such as opioids, benzodiazepines and amphetamines). Prescribers and pharmacists are required to check the database before prescribing or dispensing in specified circumstances, and to report dispensing events to the database. The stated purposes of the database include:

• preventing misuse of monitored medicines;
• detecting and responding to unsafe prescribing;
• facilitating clinical monitoring and patient safety;
• facilitating research and evaluation; and
• facilitating the administration and enforcement of the Act.

Section 38C gives the Secretary broad powers to authorise data sharing with Commonwealth and other State and Territory agencies, enabling participation in real-time prescription monitoring (RTPM) schemes that operate nationally.

Part IV empowers the Minister to designate a substance as a "new drug" where it is not otherwise scheduled but presents a potential health risk. Once designated, the new drug is subject to the same controls as a scheduled substance for the period of the designation, allowing the regulatory framework to respond to novel psychoactive substances without waiting for national scheduling decisions.

Part V is the strictest regulatory regime in the Act. Section 44 contains an interpretation section for Part V, defining "narcotic substance", "prohibited plant" and related terms.

Section 46 prohibits the manufacture of narcotic substances without a licence. Section 47 prohibits the sale or supply of narcotic substances except by or to authorised persons. Section 48 prohibits the possession of narcotic substances or raw narcotics without authority. A series of defences is available in section 48, including possession under a permit or licence, possession authorised by an emergency order, and (added in 2026 by Act No. 26 of 2025) possession of substances connected to the roadside drug testing regime under the Road Safety (Alcohol and Drugs) Act 1970, section 6A. Penalties for unauthorised possession include fines and imprisonment.

Section 49 prohibits the possession of prohibited plants (including cannabis and the opium poppy outside the licensed framework) without a licence, with a defence available for persons who did not know and had no means of knowing the plant was prohibited.

Section 52 prohibits the growing of prohibited plants without a licence. This prohibition is central to the alkaloid poppy industry: all commercial poppy growing in Tasmania must be authorised by a licence granted under Part V, and the licence specifies the land, variety, quantity and conditions of cultivation.

Part VA, inserted by amendment, provides a notification and pre-authorisation mechanism for specified restricted and narcotic substances. It requires certain users (including hospitals and research institutions) to notify the Secretary before acquiring or using designated substances, and allows the Secretary to impose conditions on that use. This part is designed to bridge the gap between the full licence regime and unregulated possession, providing a calibrated response for institutional settings.

Part VB establishes the Poppy Advisory and Control Board, which is the industry oversight body for the alkaloid poppy growing sector. Division 1 (inserted in 2016) sets out the Board's composition, with members drawn from government and industry. The Board's functions include advising the Minister on matters relating to the alkaloid poppy industry, including licensing policy, growing conditions, security requirements and research priorities.

Schedule 1 governs membership of the Board, including appointment, terms and conditions, and vacancy provisions. Schedule 2 governs Board meetings, including quorum (three members), voting procedure (majority, with the chairperson holding a casting vote), telephone and video conference participation, and conflict of interest disclosure obligations. These governance provisions are standard for advisory bodies of this kind.

Part VI contains provisions on a range of matters that do not fit neatly into the substantive Parts above.

Division 1 covers the analysis and examination of scheduled substances and scheduled plants. Authorised analysts appointed under the Act may analyse substances seized or produced in enforcement proceedings, and their certificates of analysis are admissible as evidence of the composition of the substance without further proof, subject to the defendant's right to challenge the analysis.

Other miscellaneous provisions in Part VI deal with: the power to require information from licence holders; offences relating to false information provided to the Secretary or inspectors; general penalty provisions; the power to make regulations; and savings and transitional provisions.

Schedule 3 (inserted by the Poisons Amendment Act 2012) contains savings and transitional provisions relating to existing licences at the time of the 2012 amendments, including a provision that licences in force on commencement remain valid until 31 March next following commencement, and that the responsible officer appointment requirement does not apply immediately to existing corporate licence holders.

The Act operates within a broader national framework that includes:

• The Therapeutic Goods Act 1989 (Cth), which governs the registration of therapeutic goods and the national Poisons Standard;
• The Commonwealth Narcotic Drugs Act 1967, which regulates the cultivation, production and manufacture of narcotic drugs at the Commonwealth level;
• The Road Safety (Alcohol and Drugs) Act 1970 (Tas), particularly section 6A, which links the roadside drug testing scheme to the Poisons Act for the purposes of determining whether a person has lawfully obtained a substance detected in their system;
• The Ambulance Service Act 1982 (Tas), which is referenced in the definition of "ambulance officer" for the purposes of Schedule 8 possession exemptions.

The Act contains a range of offences with graduated penalties. Unauthorised possession of narcotic substances or prohibited plants attracts a fine of up to 50 penalty units or imprisonment for up to two years, or both, for a first offence. Manufacturing narcotic substances without a licence attracts more serious penalties. Regulatory offences (such as failure to keep required records or failure to report to the monitored medicines database) attract lower penalty unit fines.

The Act confers search and entry powers on inspectors, and provides for the seizure of substances and equipment used in contravention of the Act. Analyst certificates are a key evidentiary tool, and the Act addresses the rules of evidence applicable to prosecutions.

The Act has been amended by more than 30 amending instruments since 1971, most recently by Act No. 26 of 2025 (in force 16 February 2026) and Act No. 3 of 2025 (in force 16 April 2025). These recent amendments have refined the Schedule 10 provisions, updated the monitored medicines database regime and connected the narcotic substance framework to the roadside drug testing regime.

For legal practitioners, the Act is most commonly encountered in three contexts. First, criminal proceedings involving unauthorised possession, manufacture or supply of narcotic substances or prohibited plants, where the licensing defences, the definition of "prohibited plant" and the analyst certificate provisions are central. Second, licensing disputes, where practitioners advise manufacturing chemists, wholesale chemists, pharmacies or poppy growers on applications, conditions, renewals, suspensions and cancellations. Third, regulatory compliance, where health practitioners and pharmacists need to understand their obligations under the monitored medicines database regime, including the circumstances requiring a database check before prescribing or dispensing.

For health practitioners and pharmacists, the monitored medicines database provisions under sections 38A to 38E are the provisions of most day-to-day relevance, as non-compliance can constitute a disciplinary matter as well as a criminal offence.

For the alkaloid poppy industry, Part V and Part VB together form the primary regulatory framework governing one of Tasmania's most economically significant agricultural industries.