Australia’s health regulators have drawn a clearer line between responsible virtual care and what they see as unsafe prescribing practices.
The Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA) and the National Boards have released new telehealth guidance and supporting resources that update expectations for doctors, pharmacists, and allied health professionals offering care online. The message is unambiguous: practitioners remain fully accountable for the quality and safety of virtual consultations — and convenience does not excuse cutting corners.
At the heart of the update is a key clarification: prescribing or providing therapeutic goods based solely on an online questionnaire, email or chat exchange is not considered acceptable practice. In effect, that means a real-time interaction — whether via video, phone or in-person — must take place before issuing a prescription or clinical recommendation.
AHPRA said the update reflects how telehealth has evolved in recent years and aims to address emerging risks to patient safety as new virtual care models emerge.
The updated guidance makes clear that practitioners using telehealth platforms are bound by the same professional standards and codes of conduct as those seeing patients face to face.
A clampdown on ‘script factories’
The move follows a rising number of complaints about what some regulators describe as “script factory” models — high-volume online services offering quick prescriptions for common medications with minimal medical oversight.
AHPRA says that while most telehealth providers operate legitimately, the regulator has received hundreds of notifications since 2020 concerning inadequate assessment or prescribing without proper consultation. The Medical Board’s earlier reforms on telehealth prescribing were a precursor; today’s guidance closes remaining loopholes by explicitly defining what constitutes an appropriate consultation.
Practitioners must now be able to demonstrate that their telehealth interaction allowed sufficient clinical assessment, that the patient’s identity was verified, and that follow-up or referral arrangements were in place. The guidance also reminds practitioners they must comply with state and territory prescribing rules, ensure professional indemnity coverage extends to virtual care, and maintain proper records.
Impact on digital health business models
For the digital health sector, the implications are significant. Telehealth ventures that built growth around algorithmic “consult-to-script” models — particularly in areas like weight-loss medication, reproductive health, or medicinal cannabis — may face higher compliance costs and slower workflows.
Many of these services rely on online intake forms or semi-automated approvals and will now need to integrate more live clinician oversight. That could mean hiring additional medical staff, re-engineering platforms to support synchronous consultations, and tightening audit processes to prove regulatory compliance.
For investors, this marks a regulatory turning point. Business models premised on speed and automation will need to demonstrate defensibility under stricter AHPRA oversight. The additional costs of compliance could weigh on margins, but they also favour larger incumbents with deeper resources and more robust clinical governance.
A push for safer virtual care
AHPRA’s update does not represent a retreat from telehealth — rather, a recalibration. Regulators continue to support virtual care when it is clinically appropriate and when practitioners maintain responsibility for patient outcomes.
In rural and remote areas, where telehealth remains essential, the focus will shift towards ensuring high-quality, culturally safe practice and continuity of care — especially for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander patients.
For Australia’s rapidly growing digital health and biotech ecosystem, the takeaway is clear: innovation must be grounded in sound clinical practice. As the sector matures, the companies that thrive will be those that build safety, compliance and transparency into their business models from the start — not as an afterthought.
"Telehealth has been great in making it easier for people to get the care they need," said AHPRA chief executive officer Justin Untersteiner. "We just want to make sure that convenience doesn’t come at the cost of safety or quality."