Are magic mushrooms legal in Australia?
Medical onlyOnly through medical channels. Psilocybin is available in Australia under a clinician or authorisation scheme, not for general or recreational use.
Since 1 July 2023, psilocybine has been a Schedule 8 medicine for treatment-resistant depression, prescribable only by psychiatrists approved under the TGA Authorised Prescriber scheme after ethics committee approval; no product is registered on the ARTG and states add their own controls. For every other use it remains a Schedule 9 prohibited substance. Possession is an offence across Australia, though in the ACT a small quantity (up to 1.5 g) carries only a minor fine or a $100 offence notice.
Last verified against primary sources:
What is and is not allowed
- Possession
- Outside the authorised-prescriber pathway psilocybine is a Schedule 9 prohibited substance; in the ACT, possessing up to 1.5 g (pure or in a mixture) is an offence with a maximum penalty of 1 penalty unit.
- Sale and supply
- Only authorised psychiatrists can obtain psilocybine for patients, through the TGA Authorised Prescriber scheme with HREC approval and an Office of Drug Control import permit; no product is registered on the ARTG.
- Penalties
- ACT: possession of a prohibited substance at or below the small quantity (1.5 g for psilocybine) carries a maximum of 1 penalty unit ($160 at the November 2025 republication), with a $100 offence notice; above the small quantity the maximum is 50 penalty units, 6 months' imprisonment or both.
- Recent changes
- ACT small-quantity reforms took effect on 28 October 2023.
Governing law
Common questions
Are magic mushrooms legal in Australia?
No. Psilocybine is only legal when prescribed by a TGA-authorised psychiatrist for treatment-resistant depression; otherwise it is a prohibited substance.
Can my doctor prescribe psilocybin?
Only a psychiatrist who is a TGA Authorised Prescriber, with ethics committee approval, can prescribe it, and only for treatment-resistant depression.
Is psilocybin decriminalised in Canberra?
Partly. In the ACT, possessing up to 1.5 g is still an offence but carries a maximum of 1 penalty unit, and police can issue a $100 offence notice or divert you instead.