04/02/2026
ADHD care in Victoria
The Victorian Government has announced two changes affecting ADHD assessment and treatment. One expands the role of general practitioners in diagnosis and prescribing. The other would allow the Victorian Virtual Emergency Department to provide ADHD prescription refills from September. Both are presented as measures to improve access. Access matters. Design and clinical integrity matter just as much.
ADHD is a chronic neurodevelopmental condition that requires accurate diagnosis, careful monitoring, and continuity of care over time. Many patients face long waits and high costs. A broader role for appropriately trained GPs is a reasonable direction if it is implemented safely and sustainably. National AMA principles support expanded GP involvement where it is grounded in high-quality care, specialist collaboration, appropriate education, and consistent prescribing frameworks across jurisdictions
The practical detail now matters. GPs are asking how additional assessment and follow-up time will be accommodated in already stretched practices, how patient expectations will be managed, what support will exist for complex presentations, and whether funding will reflect the real clinical workload involved. There are also concerns about fragmentation if short-term or single-issue service models emerge without continuity or multidisciplinary care. AMA Victoria has written to the Department seeking clarity. Reform that improves access while protecting quality, safety and sustainability is worth getting right.
The proposal for the VVED provide ADHD prescription refills raises a more serious concern. Emergency services are designed for episodic, urgent care. ADHD management depends on longitudinal assessment, monitoring of treatment response and side effects, and an ongoing therapeutic relationship. Locating routine prescribing within a virtual emergency model risks bypassing treating clinicians, fragmenting care, and shifting chronic condition management into settings not designed for it. This approach is untested and difficult to reconcile with established clinical principles.
Across both announcements, the same principles hold. Patients need timely access to diagnosis and treatment. Clinicians need clear frameworks, appropriate training, specialist support, and funding that reflects the work required. Care must remain continuous, collaborative and evidence based.
AMA Victoria supports reform that genuinely improves access and quality of ADHD care. Where proposals risk undermining safe, coordinated care, they should be reconsidered. We will continue to engage directly with government to ensure these changes strengthen the system patients rely on.
