Designated Registered Nurse Prescribing (DRNP) represents significant reform but details around how DRNP will be operationalised and the authorising environment relating to legislative and regulatory changes are still being clarified. ANMF will continue to advocate for DRNP and will keep members updated as we receive more details.
Eligibility requirements
1. What do I need to become a DRNP?
Not all RNs will be eligible for endorsement as a DRNP. To become a DRNP you must:
- be a registered nurse with general registration and no conditions relating to prescribing
- have 5,000 hours or more of recent clinical experience, which is the equivalent of approximately three years full time
- complete an NMBA‑approved prescribing program of study
- gain NMBA endorsement as a DRNP
- undertake six months of supervised clinical mentorship with an authorised partner prescriber (doctor, nurse practitioner or endorsed midwife).
Read the registration standard and guideline.
2. What programs are eligible?
Programs must be accredited by the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Accreditation Council (ANMAC) and be endorsed by the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia (NMBA).
At present the only programs approved for the DRNP pathway are:
- La Trobe University: Graduate Certificate in Registered Nurse Prescribing
- University of Melbourne: Specialist Certificate in Registered Nurse Prescribing
- University of Tasmania: Graduate Diploma Nursing Advanced Practice Pathway
- Queensland University of Technology: Graduate Certificate in Nursing (Designated Registered Nursing Prescribing)
However, more education providers have submitted programs for approval that are pending NMBA approval.
3. Will prescribing be limited to certain areas?
Victoria is rolling DRNP out in stages, starting in October 2026 with the first sites being:
- hospitals (including hospital in the home and similar programs)
- residential aged care
- palliative care
- custodial settings – prisons and police jails.
We anticipate the greatest potential areas, in addition to residential aged care, will be community and primary health services, particularly in regional areas. However, expansion to other settings will require further legislative change.
4. My qualification leading to registration was gained overseas and I can only work in a specific field. Can I be a DRNP?
Eligibility to become a designated RN prescriber depends on meeting the NMBA registration standard. You must hold general registration as a registered nurse with no conditions or undertakings relevant to prescribing or this endorsement. Restrictions or conditions that limit your scope of practice may affect eligibility, depending on their nature. If you have conditions on your registration, it is best to check with
AHPRA or the NMBA to determine whether these are compatible with endorsement.
Scope of practice
5. What medications can DRNPs prescribe?
DRNPs will be eligible to prescribe Schedule 2, 3, 4 and 8 medicines but only in accordance with their prescribing agreement, which takes their competence, experience, scope and role into account, along with guidelines, formularies and workplace protocols that are currently being developed.
Rather than full and independent prescribing (like a medical or nurse practitioner), DRNP will be targeted and policy‑guided.
6. What determines whether I can work as a DRNP?
In addition to meeting the requirements for endorsement, you need to practice within the Victorian drugs and poisons legislative and regulatory framework and your employer’s guidelines and policies. The legislation and associated regulations are in review, with changes expected to come into effect in October to enable DRNPs to practice.
7. Who is accountable for a DRNP’s practice?
DRNPs will be personally accountable for their prescribing decisions, working within a clinical governance framework and prescribing agreement. Legal accountability sits with the DRNP within this shared governance system.
Proposed stage 2 FAQs
Prescribing partnerships and mentoring
8. How often are the nurse prescriber and authorised prescriber expected to check in after the first six months? What will supervision look like?
While mentoring is only mandated for the first six months, a prescribing agreement must be in place whenever prescribing occurs. Agreements may change depending on role, setting, or employment. Frequency of contact, including specifics of how monitoring will be undertaken, will be determined.
9. Who will be mentoring or entering prescribing partnerships in nurse-led clinics and regional areas where there are no medical supports?
While some sites will have nurse practitioners or endorsed midwives who can enter into these arrangements, other mentoring and prescribing partnerships can be implemented remotely, provided the requirements of the policies and guidelines are met. The partner prescriber does not need to be physically present for the DRNP to practice.
10. Are doctors supportive of this?
The Australian Medical Association officially supports the introduction of DRNPs.
Differences between DRNPs and NPs
11. Will a nurse prescriber diagnose and then prescribe, or simply re-prescribe medication?
There is some ambiguity currently in relation to DRNPs and diagnosing. Unlike Nurse Practitioners (see question 12 below), DRNP may undertake clinical assessment and contribute to diagnostic and treatment decisions but only within their scope of practice and prescribing agreement.
12. What’s the difference between NPs and DRNPs?
Nurse Practitioners (NPs) are advanced practice nurses with a protected title and endorsement who can independently assess, diagnose, refer and prescribe.
Designated RN Prescribers (DRNPs) are registered nurses with endorsement who can prescribe only within a collaborative arrangement.
This is the key difference for DRNPs who work in a collaborative prescribing model, not independent practice. This means the prescribing partnership involves consultation, operates within a defined scope and authorised medications unique to each practitioner’s role, context and setting, with a clear and identified escalation and referral processes.
Recognition/compensation
13. Will allowances or classifications be introduced/changed to recognise the nurse prescriber role?
At present, there is no recognition of DRNPs in industrial instruments (i.e. Agreements and Awards). Discussion about whether DRNPs should be recognised in classification structures and/or paid a separate allowance (like endorsed midwife and RIPERN allowances) are underway and will be consistent once implemented.
14. Will courses leading to DRNP endorsement attract scholarships?
Some course providers are offering Commonwealth Supported Places and some employers will have scholarships available for this program.
Areas of practice
15. Are registered nurses working in the community (caring for disability clients) eligible to participate in the nurse prescribing program?
Not at present.
16. Will there be an opportunity for community registered psychiatric nurses to prescribe under psychiatrists as mentors?
Not at present.
17. How will DRNPs be selected within a workplace?
RNs interested in progressing to DRNP endorsement should begin by having a conversation with their manager/Director of Nursing about capacity and support in their workplace for the role. This includes whether the organisation has policies and guidelines in place or in development, both around how the role would work and arrangements for mentoring and prescribing partnerships. If these elements and supports are not in place, we do not recommend enrolling in a course leading to endorsement.
18. Can enrolled nurses or nurse practitioners transition into this pathway?
Enrolled nurses are not eligible to progress to DRNPs.
NPs already have prescribing authority but this is confined to roles where they are employed in that capacity. It is not yet clear whether they can function as a DRNP if employed in a different role, as the key elements of mentorship, supervision and endorsement are not in place.
Prescribing in action
19. Will there be opportunities in the specialty areas like ICUs and peri-op?
Yes, dependent on the service needs of the organisation and the support they’re prepared to provide.
20. Will DRNPs be able to de-prescribe?
Yes – where authorised within their prescribing agreement, as prescribing includes de‑prescribing.
21. Will DRNPs be able to access SafeScript?
SafeScript is a clinical software tool and real-time prescription monitoring system used to track the prescribing and dispensing of high-risk, potentially addictive medicines.
In Victoria, SafeScript access is controlled through legislation and system permissions, not NMBA endorsement. During initial implementation, DRNPs will practise in settings with existing clinical governance, and where needed, will work with authorised health practitioners or other clinicians who have SafeScript access. Requirements may evolve over time, subject to legislative and system-level changes.
At the time of publication of this Guidance, Victoria’s Drugs, Poisons and Controlled Substances Act and Regulations have not been amended to include endorsed DRNPs.
Until those legislative amended are made, DRNPs cannot access Safe Script, and must refer to their prescribing partner to check Safe Script prescriptions for those in their care.
22. Will DRNP prescriptions be covered by Medicare/the PBS?
Funding is partially resolved but still being implemented. National legislation is being amended to allow DRNPs to prescribe PBS-listed medicines. However, specific medicines and eligibility will be set by regulation and Medicare/service funding models are still evolving.
Proposed stage 3 FAQs
Regulatory guidance
23. How is patient safety guaranteed?
Safety is built into the model through:
- strict eligibility criteria around both experience and postgraduate education
- supervised mentorship period
- prescribing agreements and governance frameworks, and
- limiting prescribing to scope of competence and protocols.
Evidence from countries like the UK, which has decades of nurse prescribing experience, shows nurse prescribing:
- is safe and clinically appropriate
- improves access and patient outcomes.
24. Why do RN prescribers do their supervision post-registration, but NPs need to do it before being endorsed?
The scope of practice, including but not limited to independent prescribing, requires supervision during the period an NP candidate is learning and developing their skills and knowledge in this role.
25. Will nurse prescribers be able to order associated diagnostic tests?
No, as this requires a provider number. DRNP will have a prescriber number, not a provider number for Medicare.
26. Will NPs automatically be able to work as DRNPs in settings where they are not employed as an NP?
No, as they will need to have a prescribing partnership and mentoring arrangement in place to be endorsed as a DRNP. Secondary endorsement for NPs as DRNPs is not yet determined.
27. How will this interface with nurse-initiated medications?
Nurse-initiated medications are confined to schedules 2 and 3 (over the counter), with clear guidelines and policies about which medications may be given, under what circumstances and how often.
Hypothetical example – aged care facility
NP assesses a deteriorating resident, diagnoses infection, orders tests and prescribes antibiotics independently.
DRNP may adjust or prescribe medicines but only within an agreed protocol and in collaboration with a GP or NP.
KEY DIFFERENCES
| Nurse Practitioner (NP) | Designated RN Prescriber (DRNP) | |
| Level | Advanced practice role | Expanded RN role |
| Experience | Extensive advanced practice experience | 5,000 hrs RN experience |
| Education | Master degree (NP program) | Postgraduate prescribing qualification |
| Practice setting | Broad (including private practice) | Typically employed settings only |
| Accountability | Full clinical responsibility | Shared/structured within agreement |
| Role | Independent practitioner | Complementary – support and extend care |
| Scope of practice | ||
| Autonomy | Independent practitioner | Collaborative only |
| Prescribing | Independent prescribing | Prescribes within a partnership agreement |
| Pathology | Can order and interpret tests | Cannot order tests nor interpret results |
| Diagnosis | Can assess and diagnose | Cannot diagnose independently |
| Escalation | Can refer to specialists | Escalates to their partner and/or mentor |
| Role | ||
| Purpose | Fill advanced clinical care gaps | Collaborative only |
| Practice | Comprehensive, independent care | Improves access to care, reduces delay |
| Management of complex conditions | Supports existing services |
