While government guidance advises that GPs may prescribe medications for up to 12 months, this is only appropriate for a limited number of medications and only if all of the patient's medications are eligible for 12-month prescribing.
Pharmacies will only be allowed to dispense a maximum of 3-months of medications. The Medical Council of New Zealand (Te Kaunihera Rata o Aotearoa) recommends patient safety and safe prescribing, so these are our priorities while we update our safe prescribing policy to reflect the Government initiative. In practice, 12-month prescribing is not suitable for most patients.
After 1st February 2026, any initial request for a 12-month prescription will need to be in person during a dedicated GP consultation and will be carefully assessed by the clinician. All prescriptions will be considered on a case-by-case basis, taking into account clinical and patient safety, current guidelines and policy, monitoring and individual patient needs.