Bringing medicine into Australia from India: the three-month rule, the written authority and the ones that need a permit

The first question on Australia’s Incoming Passenger Card asks whether you are carrying “goods that may be prohibited or subject to restrictions, such as medicines, steroids, illegal pornography, firearms, weapons or illicit drugs”. Many common medicines, from antibiotics to sleeping tablets, are prescription-only or controlled under Australian law. Bringing medicine into Australia from India is lawful, but the rules set a quantity limit, require a written authority for prescription-only medicines and require a permit for some substances. The written authority rule for travellers changed on 8 September 2026.

The three-month rule and where it comes from

The Therapeutic Goods Regulations 1990 exempt medicines “imported for therapeutic use in the treatment of the importer or the importer’s immediate family” from the requirement to be included in the Australian Register of Therapeutic Goods, provided the quantity in one importation is “not more than 3 months’ supply at the maximum dose recommended by the manufacturer”. A second cap applies: the total imported in the 12 months ending on the latest importation must not exceed “15 months’ supply”. The medicine must be “in packaging that enables the medicine to be accurately identified”. The Office of Drug Control (ODC) advises travellers: “Ensure the medication remains in its original packaging with the dispensing label intact.” The regulations define “immediate family” to include a spouse or de facto partner, child, parent, grandparent, grandchild or sibling, and the same relatives of a spouse or partner.

The written authority rule changed on 8 September 2026

If a medicine is in Schedule 4 (prescription only) or Schedule 8 (controlled drug) of the Australian Poisons Standard, the exemption requires a written authority. Until 8 September 2026, that requirement did not apply to medicines a passenger carried into Australia. Since that date, goods “carried by the importer as a passenger on a ship or an aeroplane” need a written authority from “a medical practitioner, or an overseas medical practitioner treating the importer or the importer’s immediate family”. An overseas medical practitioner is “a person who is registered or licensed to practise medicine under a law of a foreign country” that provides for such registration.

On the regulation’s wording, a written authority from a registered doctor in India who is treating the traveller can meet the passenger rule. The ODC’s traveller page puts it differently: “Australian residents require a valid prescription from an Australian doctor for the medication they are travelling with”, while “International visitors should have a valid prescription from their doctor.” The ODC also accepts “a letter from your doctor that states you are under their treatment”, and adds: “Your doctor’s letter must specify the name of the medicine and dosage.”

Prescription-only in Australia

The regulations refer to the Australian Poisons Standard, so a medicine’s Australian schedule decides whether a written authority is needed. Schedule 4 carries the signal words “PRESCRIPTION ONLY MEDICINE” and includes everyday medicines such as amoxicillin, metformin and atorvastatin, as well as diazepam, lorazepam, clonazepam, zolpidem and tramadol. Alprazolam is in Schedule 8, the “CONTROLLED DRUG” schedule. Codeine is Schedule 4 only when combined with another active ingredient at 30 mg or less per dosage unit, or 1 per cent or less in an undivided preparation (one not made as tablets, capsules or other pre-measured doses); otherwise it is Schedule 8.

Codeine, benzodiazepines and the Customs list

A second layer covers substances listed in Schedule 4 of the Customs (Prohibited Imports) Regulations 1956. Importing one of these “drugs” is prohibited without both an import licence and a permission. The exception that matters to travellers covers a drug imported by “a passenger on board a ship or aircraft” if it “is required for the medical treatment of the person or of another passenger under the care of the person”, “was prescribed by a medical practitioner for the purposes of that treatment” and “was supplied to the person in accordance with the prescription”. Here a medical practitioner is a person authorised “under the law of a State, a Territory or another country”.

Alongside morphine, oxycodone and cannabis, the list names codeine, diazepam, alprazolam, clonazepam, lorazepam and zolpidem. It also names pseudoephedrine and ephedrine. The definition of “drug” excludes an “exempted preparation” under Schedule III to the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs, 1961, so whether a codeine combination product is caught depends on its formulation.

For codeine “of any strength” brought in for personal use, the ODC says, “you must have a prescription or letter from your doctor”. It says prescription medicines including morphine, oxycodone and benzodiazepines “are all covered by the traveller exemption”. Under the heading “Prohibited items”, the ODC names substances travellers may not bring, including metamizole, dipyrone, yohimbine and abortifacients such as mifepristone. Schedule 8 of the Customs regulations lists abortifacients, dipyrone and yohimbine, and bars their import without written permission.

Steroids and hormones: a permit unless prescribed

Anabolic or androgenic substances, erythropoietin, growth hormones and gonadotrophins are listed separately, in Schedule 7A of the Customs regulations. Importing them needs written permission from the Secretary of the department that administers the Therapeutic Goods Act 1989, or an authorised person. The traveller’s exception is narrower: the substance must be for the medical treatment of a passenger, carried on the same ship or aircraft, prescribed by a medical practitioner, and “the amount of the substance imported does not exceed the amount of the substance prescribed”. It does not apply to athletes as defined in the Sport Integrity Australia Act 2020, or to their visiting support staff. Testosterone and nandrolone are also Schedule 4 in the Poisons Standard, so the written authority rule applies too.

Bringing medicine into Australia from India by post is a different matter

The Therapeutic Goods Administration’s (TGA) Personal Importation Scheme page describes products “typically shipped via mail or courier from overseas”, and its conditions are tighter. The same three-month and 15-month limits apply, but “if the medicine is prescription-only in Australia, you must hold a valid Australian prescription or written authority at the time of importation”, issued by an Australian registered medical practitioner and including an Australian prescriber number. Electronic prescriptions “cannot be accepted as valid written authority for importation because they often lack the necessary details”. On the TGA’s wording, an Indian prescription alone does not meet that condition. The import must not “contain a controlled substance”. The Customs passenger exception covers only drugs a passenger brings in, so a posted parcel of a listed drug such as diazepam needs an import licence and permission.

Ayurvedic and herbal products

The TGA states that Ayurvedic medicines in Australia “are regulated as listed medicines” and that “anyone ordering herbal or dietary supplements from overseas should verify that the product does not contain any controlled substances”. In a safety alert, the TGA said it had tested “an Ayurvedic product labelled Kumar Kalyan Rasa” and found “extremely high concentrations of heavy metals, including mercury, lead, arsenic, and cadmium”. The Victorian Government’s Better Health Channel states that “cases of lead poisoning as a result of taking Ayurvedic treatments imported from India have been reported in Victoria”.

Question 7 on the Incoming Passenger Card asks about “traditional medicines or herbs”, and the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry states: “You must declare any goods you are bringing or sending to Australia.”

At the counter

The Australian Border Force (ABF) marks prescription medicines “DECLARE IT”, adding: “You can bring in medicines for personal use, but there are restrictions.” The ODC tells travellers: “Be ready to declare all medication to the Australian Border Force upon arrival.” For non-citizens, the ABF says, “providing false information can affect their visa status”. If an importer cannot show the import complies, the TGA says, products “may be seized and destroyed”, and importers may “face significant fines, or civil or criminal proceedings”.

Three months, a letter and a tick on the card

Under the regulations and the ODC’s guidance, the core conditions are no more than three months’ supply, packaging that identifies the medicine, a written authority for prescription-only and controlled medicines, and a declaration on arrival. Steroids and hormones need a permit unless prescribed for a passenger on the same flight or voyage, and the TGA requires an Australian prescription for prescription-only medicines sent by post. The written authority rule for travellers has applied since 8 September 2026.

This article is general information, not legal or tax advice.