Experts Warn Against Expanding Prescribing Rights Amid Growing Antibiotic Resistance
24 Nov 2025
The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) has expressed serious concerns about the “rapid expansion” of prescribers in the country. RACGP President Dr Michael Wright said this comes at a time when global antibiotic resistance is increasing, threatening decades of progress in medicine.
“Considerable effort is going into reducing unnecessary antibiotic prescriptions, so we have to be careful about what we prescribe and who prescribes it,” Dr Wright told newsGP. He specifically raised concerns over proposals to allow pharmacists to prescribe more medicines independently.
Pharmacy prescribing is becoming more common across Australia, with some peak bodies advocating for pharmacists to autonomously prescribe all Schedule 8 medicines. This comes as Monash University opens applications for a Graduate Certificate of Pharmacist Prescribing, aimed at supporting pharmacists in making safe prescribing decisions.
Dr Wright added, “We need to be careful about every antibiotic script. Expanding prescribing beyond qualified medical professionals does not seem to be a logical step. Sometimes explaining to patients why they don’t need a prescription takes longer than issuing one, but it’s crucial for patient safety.”
The World Health Organization’s Global Antibiotic Resistance Surveillance Report 2025 shows that resistance has increased for over 40% of monitored antibiotics in the past five years. The report also found that in 2023, one in six common bacterial infections was resistant to standard antibiotic treatments.
Supporting the RACGP’s stance, Australian Medical Association (AMA) President and GP Dr Danielle McMullen said overprescribing and inappropriate use of antibiotics remain major contributors to resistance. “Australia has traditionally restricted prescribing to medical practitioners, which remains the safest and preferred model,” she said. “We must avoid experiments that risk fragmentation of care and patient safety.”
Earlier this month, the RACGP and AMA jointly criticised the push for widespread pharmacy prescribing, urging the Medical Board of Australia to reconsider its consultation on the initiative.
Source: RACGP, AMA, World Health Organization Global Antibiotic Resistance Surveillance Report 2025
