Is Weed Legal in Australia?

Last reviewed: August 6, 2026

It depends where you are standing — recreational cannabis is illegal in every Australian state, legal in small personal amounts in the Australian Capital Territory, and medical cannabis is legal nationwide on prescription. The ACT's Drugs of Dependence (Personal Cannabis Use) Amendment Act 2019, in force since 31 January 2020, lets adults in Canberra possess up to 50 grams of dried cannabis and grow two plants per person. Everywhere else, possession remains an offence under state and territory drug statutes, though most jurisdictions divert first-time personal-use offenders away from court. Medical cannabis has been lawful federally since 2016, accessed through the Therapeutic Goods Administration's Special Access Scheme and Authorised Prescriber pathways.

Australia Cannabis and Hemp Overview

Australia runs three regimes at once. The Commonwealth licenses medicinal cultivation and manufacture under the Narcotic Drugs Act 1967 and regulates products under the Therapeutic Goods Act 1989. The six states and two territories control the criminal law of possession and use, and they have drifted apart: the ACT legalized personal possession and home growing, South Australia and the Northern Territory issue civil expiation notices, and the remaining states rely on cautioning or diversion schemes layered over criminal prohibitions. Meanwhile the prescription market has become one of the world's largest by patient volume — large enough that the regulator's current problem is over-prescribing, not access. Federal legalization is off the table for now: the Senate defeated the Greens' Legalising Cannabis Bill 24–13 on 27 November 2024.

What Australian Law Actually Says

In the ACT, adults may possess up to 50 grams of dried cannabis (150 grams fresh) and cultivate two plants per person, four per household. Sales, public consumption, hydroponic growing, and supply of any kind remain offences — there are no shops, and buying cannabis is still illegal even though possessing it is not. In South Australia, simple possession draws an expiation notice (a civil fine, typically a few hundred dollars) rather than prosecution; the Northern Territory operates a similar infringement scheme for small quantities in private. New South Wales police may issue up to two cannabis cautions for under 15 grams; Western Australia uses a Cannabis Intervention Requirement (a mandatory counselling session) for up to 10 grams; Tasmania runs a three-tier cautioning scheme; Victoria police adopted an internal cautioning policy for small quantities in 2024, and the Legislative Council debated formalizing it ahead of the November 2026 state election. Queensland remains the strictest state — possession is a criminal offence prosecuted in court, though first-time minor offenders must be offered drug diversion. Trafficking and commercial cultivation carry heavy custodial sentences everywhere, up to life imprisonment for large commercial quantities in several states.

Medical Access: SAS-B and Authorised Prescribers

Almost all medicinal cannabis in Australia is supplied as an "unapproved" therapeutic good through two TGA pathways. Under Special Access Scheme Category B (SAS-B), a doctor applies to the TGA for approval to prescribe a specific product for a specific patient — approvals routinely issue within days. Under the Authorised Prescriber scheme, a doctor obtains standing authority to prescribe a class of products to a class of patients without per-patient applications; the TGA publishes Authorised Prescriber data showing the scheme now accounts for the bulk of prescribing. Any registered doctor or authorised nurse practitioner can use these pathways; products are mostly private-pay and not PBS-subsidised. The boom triggered a regulatory response: the TGA opened a formal review of medicinal cannabis safety and prescribing in August 2025, and Ahpra issued guidance targeting high-volume telehealth prescribing, so operators and patients should expect tighter rules through 2026–2027. Low-dose CBD was down-scheduled to pharmacist-only (Schedule 3), but no S3 product has been approved for sale — our briefing on Australia's Schedule 3 CBD pathway explains the gap.

What This Means for Travelers

There is no legal way for a visitor to buy cannabis anywhere in Australia — not in Canberra, not in Sydney, not in Byron Bay. The ACT allowance covers possession and home growing only; every purchase is a supply offence for the seller. Travellers on prescribed medicinal cannabis may carry up to a three-month supply into Australia with a prescription, and should fly domestically with product in original pharmacy packaging and paperwork in hand. Be careful behind the wheel: jurisdictions run roadside saliva testing for THC presence, not impairment, and a prescribed patient can test positive days after dosing. Never carry cannabis across a state border into a stricter jurisdiction, and never attempt to take product out of the country without an export licence.

What This Means for Operators

Cultivation, production, and manufacture for medicinal use require licences from the federal Office of Drug Control under the Narcotic Drugs Act 1967, layered under state poisons and land-use rules; Australia is a significant exporter of medicinal flower and extracts to Europe. Industrial hemp is licensed separately by each state, and hemp seed foods are legal nationally. The commercial risk in 2026 is regulatory tightening: the TGA's medicinal cannabis review, advertising enforcement against dispensary-style promotion, and scrutiny of vertically integrated telehealth clinics are reshaping the prescribing channel. Recreational-market plays have no legal pathway anywhere in Australia.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can tourists buy weed legally anywhere in Australia?
No. There are no recreational dispensaries in any state or territory, including the ACT. Legal access runs only through a prescription filled at a pharmacy.

Is weed legal in Sydney or Melbourne?
No. NSW and Victoria both criminalize possession, though police can caution first-time offenders with small amounts. Sale and cultivation are prosecuted.

Does the ACT allowance apply to visitors in Canberra?
The possession and cultivation allowances apply to any adult in the ACT, resident or not. But there is nowhere legal to buy, public use is banned, and carrying your 50 grams across the border into NSW is a NSW offence.

Can a visitor get a medical cannabis prescription in Australia?
Yes in principle — the SAS-B and Authorised Prescriber pathways require an Australian-registered doctor, and telehealth clinics will see visitors. Travellers can instead carry up to three months' supply of their own prescribed medication with documentation.

Will Australia legalize recreational cannabis?
Not federally in the near term — the Senate voted down the Legalising Cannabis Bill 24–13 in November 2024. Watch the states: Victoria's cautioning reform debate and the ACT's example keep the issue alive.

Is CBD legal in Australia?
Yes, but almost entirely by prescription (Schedule 4). The pharmacist-only Schedule 3 category exists on paper, yet no low-dose CBD product has cleared TGA approval for over-the-counter sale.

This page is provided for informational purposes by ComplyAssistAI LLC and is not legal advice. Australian cannabis law varies sharply by state and territory and changes quickly. Travelers and operators should verify current requirements with Australian counsel. Find one in our Cannabis Lawyer Directory.