Neridah’s son had to ration his medication. These changes will stop that

GPs in NSW will soon be able to diagnose and prescribe medication for attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), under major changes that will slash appointment wait times and make it more affordable for children and adults to receive a diagnosis and treatment.

The NSW Labor government will pay for GPs to undergo the accredited training required for them to prescribe ADHD medication, which is restricted at present to psychiatrists and paediatricians. GPs will also be able to do a further tier of training to allow them to diagnose ADHD.

Neridah Armstrong with her son Andrew, who has ADHD and like many patients, faced lengthy waits to see a specialist. Credit: Steven Siewert

Under the current system, many patients in NSW wait months or years to get a diagnosis, which can cost thousands of dollars, before having to maintain appointments with specialists – who also have lengthy wait times and high fees – for medication.

The ADHD Foundation Australia says the neurodevelopmental condition affects between 5.9 and 7.1 per cent of children and adolescents. It is the most common mental disorder among children.

Neridah Armstrong has experienced the complexity of navigating the state’s health system with children with ADHD. The mother of seven, including some who have ADHD, said wait times to see a doctor for one of her sons, Andrew, were so long that the family needed to ration his medication.

Andrew, now 23, was diagnosed with ADHD when he was eight, and has been on medication since he was 16. But when his paediatrician retired, the family had to scramble to find a new specialist to prescribe his medication.

“Andrew was facing the prospect of waiting indefinitely for a psychiatrist,” Armstrong said.

“He was about to start university, and he said: ‘Mum, maybe I’ll just need to start rationing my medication’. As a mother, I fought tooth and nail and searched high and low, and with a bit of luck we were able to find a psychiatrist for Andrew.”

Armstrong, who has long been an advocate for better access to diagnosis and treatment of ADHD for children, said it was “an anxious process waiting to get to the top of the wait list”.

“I will do anything for my children, it’s what parents do. But it really shouldn’t be that hard. There’s got to be an easier way to access life-changing care – that’s how I’d describe treatment for ADHD.

“I do feel for families and people who weren’t as lucky as we were because, for many young people, they may just give up trying to find help, especially when you consider the cost of each appointment, and you may have multiple appointments a year.”

Armstrong said she was “incredibly grateful” that the Minns government had listened and acted on “this incredibly long-standing issue”.

Dr Rebekah Hoffman, chair of the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners NSW and ACT, said she often heard of families in rural areas who travelled more than seven hours to see a paediatrician for ADHD. In Sydney, families can spend more than $5000 on assessments for ADHD.

“This announcement will have life-changing impacts when it comes to accessing timely and affordable ADHD care for families across the state,” Hoffman said.

“We know when it comes to ADHD that early intervention is vital, and being able to access appropriate therapy and medications from a young age helps kids thrive at school and at home. So, enabling GPs with specific skills to initiate prescriptions for ADHD medications will stop many children from languishing on outpatient waiting lists.

“GPs in many parts of Australia, and around the world, are already diagnosing ADHD and prescribing medications. Our colleagues in Queensland, for example, have been safely prescribing ADHD medications since 2017.”

NSW Health Minister Ryan Park said GP training would start in coming months and the ability for GPs to provide ongoing prescriptions for children was expected to open up in early 2026.

“We know that people endure long wait times as well as significant expenses just to see a specialist to receive a diagnosis, [and] we’re not going to stand idly by while people struggle to access life-changing treatment,” Park said

“The option to see a GP to manage ADHD will provide a timely, safe and appropriate pathway to care, while relieving pressure on in-demand specialists.”

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