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Ka whakairia te tapu
Kia wātea ai te a
1982ra
ACT
Kia tūruki whakataha ai
Karakia
Kia tūruki whakataha ai
whakakapi
Haumi ē, hui
INFORMATION ē, tāiki ē!
Closing karakia
OFFICIAL
THE Restrictions are moved aside
So that the pathway is clear
So we may move forward
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Join, group, and affirm
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Session 2: Preparing for ADHD Prescribing Changes: Health Sector
update
Date: 24 November 2025
Time: 5-6pm
Format: Microsoft Teams meeting
Roles and attendees
Lead: Ministry of Health, supported by Medsafe and Pharmac.
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Chair: Dr Anna Skinner
Support: Dr Jin Russell
ACT
Attendees:
•
Session 1 attendees
•
Care delivery organisations
•
Quality, safety & rights agencies
•
Prescriber bodies
•
PHOS’s
INFORMATION
Purpose
•
Provide clear, practical information about upcoming ADHD prescribing changes,
including:
OFFICIAL
•
Regulatory, operational, and funding changes – what is changing and what is not.
•
Roles and responsibilities – who
THE is accountable for what in the system.
•
Expectations for health sector organisations and professionals – acknowledging
that uptake wil vary and that GPs and NPs wil need time to build competence and
confidence.
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Regulation and governance – how health professionals and services wil be
overseen.
•
Equity considerations and risks – identify gaps and mitigate unintended
consequences.
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•
Visibility of readiness activities – understand who is developing services and what
is happening across the sector.
•
Get feedback from the sector
The session wil also share practical messages to support consistent communication with
clinicians, pharmacists, consumers, and whānau.
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Agenda and Timing
Time
Duration Agenda Item
Details / What we’re
Presented by
aiming for
5pm-
3 min
Karakia / Opening
Set a respectful tone and Chair: Anna
5.03pm
acknowledge shared
purpose.
5.03pm- 4 min
Session outline and
Framing of the session,
Chair: Anna
5.07pm
housekeeping
who’s involved, what we’re
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seeking etc.
Support: Jin
Explain Town Hall format: Alice, Jin, Natalie.
ACT
attendees muted, Use chat
for any questions or
queries. You might want to
pause your questions until
after the presentations as
we’ll answer lots as we go.
We will respond to a
selection of questions
INFORMATION
after the presentation and
the rest will be
reviewed/included in
upcoming FAQ document.
5.07pm- 5 min
Framing from ADHD New Provide
OFFICIAL lived experience Sarah Hogan,
5.12pm
Zealand – lived
perspective. Aim: remind ADHD NZ - Talk to
experience perspective attendees why this matters about tone
THE
for patients and whānau.
Hoping to create a positive
atmosphere, everyone
Jin/Claudia tone
thinking about this being and framing
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an opportunity, and
helping to break through
resistance. Constructive
and collaborative. Patient
centred.
5.12pm- 23 min
System update and key Medsafe (4 mins):
Medsafe -
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5.35pm
information
Regulatory changes – what Alastair
- Ministry of Health,
the new prescribing rules
Medsafe & Pharmac
allow, what remains
MoH – Jin
unchanged.
Slides and clinical
MoH (9 mins): Broader
principles
context, roles and
frameworks
responsibilities for
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implementation,
Pharmac – Robyn
expectations for impact,
competence in ADHD
Clinical Principles
Clarify- Who is
Framework .
speaking- reduce
Joint presentation from
time and not
Medsafe & Pharmac about repeat.
managing switching ADHD
medicines and the
regulatory and funding
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considerations.
Pharmac (4 mins): Special
ACT
Authority changes and
supply management – how
access will work, any
constraints or monitoring.
5.35pm- 10 mins
Presentation from
Giving an example of the Michael Buckly
5.45pm
Michael Buckley
expected service model in
primary care, to
demonstrate to others
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what could emerge in
different regions
5.45-
5-10 min
FAQ: Respond to 2 FAQ Panel response
Chair: Anna
OFFICIAL
5.50pm
(MOH/Pharmac/Medsafe)
to 2 FAQ questions,
THE
selected by Anna.
Suggested FAQ themes:
- Where to get
education and
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training/Who pays
- How will clinical
quality be
maintained
- How will equity be
maintained
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Defer FAQ about
preparedness of other
agencies, e.g., HNZ
escalation pathways
5.55pm- 5 min
Wrap up
Anna
6pm
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Karakia to close
Additional opportunities for sharing with the sector:
-
Primary care clinical leaders forum – will provide another forum for that – Anna
-
Pharmacy Hui – for particlar issue around funding and legislation for pharmacy
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Kia hora te marino1982
Kia whakapapa po
ACT unamu te
moana
Karakia
Hei huarahi mō tātou i te rangi nei
whakatuwhera
Haumi ē, hui ē, t
INFORMATION āiki ē!
Opening karakia
OFFICIAL
May peace be widespread
THE
May the seas be as flat as pounamu
To provide a path for us today
J
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Agenda overview
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Chair: Dr Anna Skinner
ACT
Hosts: Ministry of Health, supported by Medsafe and Pharmac
Attendees: Organisations and professionals involved in implementing the changes,
PHOs, Pharmacy organisations, quality & safety organisations
INFORMATION
1. Intro and housekeeping
2. Framing from ADHD NZ – lived experience p
OFFICIAL erspective
3. System Update - Ministry of Health, M
THE edsafe, Pharmac
4. Presentation from Dr Michael Buckley – GP with Special interest in ADHD –
Example models of care
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5. Wrap-up & Next Steps
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Housekeeping
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1. This is a
sector update session – there won’t be an opport
ACT unity for everyone to
speak, but we welcome your input in the
Q & A after the initial presentations
2. If posting a question in the Q & A, please include your
organisation name so we
can fol ow up if needed.
3. We’l
collate the questions into an FAQ document that
INFORMATION wil be published at a later
date.
4. Today is a broad overview for the sector. There wil be
dedicated sessions for
PHOs through a Primary Care forum, and for
OFFICIAL pharmacies through the
Community Pharmacy forum THE
5. The session is being
recorded for those who can’t attend live and for transcibing
the minutes.
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Hearing from Sarah Hogan, ADHD NZ – lived experience perspective
from the ADHD community
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Approved prescribing settings from 1 February 2026
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PRESCRIBING SETTINGS
ACT
PATIENT AGE
INITIATION OF PRESCRIBING
ONGOING PRESCRIBING
Restriction on the Supply
17 years and
Medical practitioners with a
Any medical practitioner or nurse
of Dexamfetamine,
under
vocational scope of practice of
practitioner may prescribe when acting
Lisdexamfetamine, and
paediatrics or psychiatry.
on the written recommendation of
one
Methylphenidate—
of the practitioners who have initiated
Nurse practitioners practising
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Approval to Prescribe,
prescribing (i.e. nurse practitioners or
within their area of practice of
general practitioners working within
Supply and Administer
paediatric services or child and
their scope of practice).
(Approval No. RI21900002-
adolescent mental health
services.
00)
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18 years and
Medical practitioners with a
THE
above
vocational scope of practice of
paediatrics, psychiatry, or
general
practice.
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Nurse practitioners working
within their area of practice.
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Creating the health system environment for safe and effective
implementation of the changes
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ACT
• The uptake of change is
voluntary.
• The extent of implementation of the changes relies on individual GPs and NPs
choosing to develop competence and confidence in providing ADHD care and the
voluntary creation of ADHD clinical models of care in the
INFORMATION community.
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Ministry of Health goals and activities to support implementation
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As the government's lead advisor on policy,
• NZ
ACT Clinical Principles Framework
regulation, and monitoring of the health system, the
for ADHD
Ministry has an interest in:
• Endorsement of a single set of
clinical guidelines for ADHD
• improving access to care for people with ADHD
(AADPA, 2022)
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• supporting high quality, clinical y safe practice
• Liaison with key stakeholders for
• clear communication to the public and providers
coordination
about the changes and what to expect
OFFICIAL
• Development of
• monitoring the impacts.
THE
communications and
engagement approach. A public
FAQ document with official
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information about the changes
is in development.
• Briefings for Ministers and cross-
agency coordination.
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What we expect will happen when the changes take effect
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1. Uptake of the policy will take time
ACT
• The government has not mandated specific training pathways, educational requirements,
or established a micro-credential ing system.
• There is an expectation that general practitioners and nurse practitioners with a special
interest in ADHD wil develop requisite competence and confidence in providing ADHD care.
INFORMATION
• There is no additional funding for education or training. Pursuit of further clinical education
for new prescribers wil be self-directed and self-funded.
• This does not preclude professional bodies develo
OFFICIAL ping professional training requirements
or recommended education packages.
THE
• GPs and NPs are recommended to refer to their professional bodies (RNZCGP, NPNZ) for
further information regarding education packages.
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What we expect will happen when the changes take effect
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2. ADHD care is delivered by GPs and NPs with a speci
ACT al interest
• There is no Ministerial expectation that ADHD assessment, diagnosis, and treatment is
becoming part of core general practice services
• ADHD care is not included in capitation funding
• ADHD services cannot be undertaken in a standard 15-minute
INFORMATION consultation.
• Most providers wil develop fee-for-service models and fees wil vary between providers.
OFFICIAL
What about equity of access?
THE
• The fee-for-service model has implications for the accessibility of ADHD care.
• The Ministry wil monitor the impacts of the policy, including analysis of geographic and
between-group variation, and provide
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What we expect will happen when the changes take effect
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3. Local ways of working will emerge, and will vary ACT
• Primary care providers may seek to refer complex cases to specialists at the local level or
establish local supervision arrangements.
• Multidisciplinary clinical models of care may be established that include practitioners
working in the private sector.
INFORMATION
• Over time, we expect the changes wil improve access to ADHD treatment.
OFFICIAL
How wil we manage public expectations?
• Clear communication to the public and pre
THE scribers about what to expect is important
during the change.
• Publication of an official information d
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Competencies: high quality ADHD care b
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with high quality assessment
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Knowledge and skil s for competency in ADHD care are set out under ‘General Principles’ of the
framework, and include:
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• Conducting comprehensive assessments: in-depth clinical interview with multi-source col ateral information and
clear consideration of differential diagnosis
• In practice, this is approx. 60 to 120 minutes of face-to-face assessment time, with further administrative time
to gather and interpret col ateral information and rating scales.
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• Administering and interpreting standardised ADHD rating scales
THE
• Explicit use of DSM and/or ICD criteria in assessment and diagnostic reporting
• Responsiveness to Māori and cultural considerations
• Providing access to evidence-informed mult
UNDER imodal treatment and support tailored to individual needs, preferences
and developmental level.
• Pharmacological and non-pharmacological approaches are both important and should be offered as part of a
comprehensive management plan.
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Clinical, education, and training resources
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Resources are in development or are already available from:
ACT
• The Royal NZ Col ege of General Practitioners (e.g., Adult ADHD GP Masterclass, Specific
Interest Group)
• Nurse Practitioners New Zealand (e.g., educational packages)
• GoodFel ow Unit (e.g., e-learning)
INFORMATION
• BPAC NZ (e.g., educational resources)
• Australasian ADHD Professionals Association (e.g., ADHD Clinical Guideline, 2022; ADHD
Prescribing Guides)
OFFICIAL
• ADHD community organisations, e.g., ADHD NZ
• Pharmac (e.g., methylphenidate supply web
THE page)
• Ministry of Health (NZ Clinical Principles Framework for ADHD)
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We are working with
Health Pathways to update the
ADHD in Adults pathway as a landing
pad for relevant links to ADHD resources, guidelines, and the ADHD Clinical Principles
Framework. The updated national pathway is expected to be published in February 2026.
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