Use medicines and poisons safely and comply with regulations

If you work with scheduled medicines or poisons, read the Substance Management Plan for Medicines and Poisons Procedure. It covers: 

  • approvals
  • authorised dealings (e.g. procurement, use, disposal etc.)
  • storage
  • record keeping
  • roles and responsibilities 

Follow the regulations for scheduled substances  

Scheduled medicines and poisons are regulated by the Medicines and Poisons Act 2019 and subordinate legislation:

Substances are classified into schedules under the Poisons Standard, also known as the Standard for the Uniform Scheduling of Medicines and Poisons (SUSMP). To determine if a substance is scheduled consult the Poisons Standard.

In addition to the substances specifically listed in the Poisons Standard, derivatives of listed substances must be regulated in the same manner as the listed substance. Refer to the “Reading the schedules” and “References to substances” sections of the Poisons Standard.

Regulations apply to all UQ workers, students, affiliates, visitors, contractors and controlled entities involved in research or teaching with scheduled substances. Requirements can be complex so consult with the Substance Management Plan for Medicines and Poisons Procedure, your area’s Drugs and Poisons Officer or the HSW Division (hsw@uq.edu.au).

Distinguish medicines from poisons  

  • Medicines: scheduled substances applied to humans or animals for therapy (e.g. UQ Health Clinics, remote clinics, dentist clinics, veterinary clinics) that are not for the purpose of research or teaching
  • Poisons: scheduled substances used in research or teaching are poisons – for example, in animal trials, surgery training, research laboratories (such as using antibiotics in cell culture, or using scheduled substances in chemistry), or in teaching optometry or dentistry.

Apply for approval to use scheduled poisons  

You need HSW Division approval to use scheduled medicines or poisons for research or teaching. Have your application reviewed by your area’s Drug and Poisons Officer before submission.  

Individuals, research groups and organisational units may apply. Applications are finalised in UQSafe. Ensure you use the correct form:  

You may need additional permits for applying agricultural poisons (e.g. ChemCert Accreditation or an Agricultural Chemicals Distribution Control Licence).

Appendix A (PDF, 143.53 KB) of UQ’s Substance Management Plan (SMP) lists UQ units and locations where scheduled substances can be used under an appropriate approval.

Appendix B (PDF, 135.72 KB) lists UQ units and locations where medicines are managed under the Medicines and Poisons (Medicines) Regulation 2021.

Appendix C (PDF, 144.36 KB) summarises the requirements for approvals and disposals in a table format.

Follow the approval process

Eligible persons must follow the steps below:

  1. Complete the Chemical Safety and Staff Standards of Conduct online training (Workday for staff and HDR students; Learn.UQ (Blackboard) for Honours Students).
  2. Ensure you have an approved risk assessment in UQSafe addressing the safe and secure handling and storage of relevant substances.
  3. Complete the relevant approval form (individual user, research group or organisational unit).
  4. Review the application with your area’s Drug and Poisons Officer.
  5. The Drug and Poisons Officer will submit your application to the HSW Division.

HSW Division will then:

  • check requirements and consult the Drugs and Poisons Officer if needed.
  • seek corrections or reject if requirements aren’t met and record the approval in UQSafe.
  • return an electronic copy with a unique ID. 

The eligible person should provide copies of all approvals to their HSW Manager or WHSC (as determined by their unit).

Get approval to purchase scheduled substances  

  • Eligible persons of approved Organisational Units can purchase Schedule 2, 3 and 4 (non-restricted) poisons via UniFi. If the supplier asks for it, your Drug and Poisons Officer can provide a copy of UQ’s General Approval - Regulated Poisons from Queensland Health.
  • Restricted Schedule 4, Restricted Schedule 7, Schedule 8 or Schedule 9 poisons must be purchased by your Drugs and Poisons Officer.

Apply for Drug and Poisons Officer approval 

Eligible persons must follow the steps below:

  1. Complete the required training: This includes Chemical Safety, Staff Standards of Conduct, Privacy and Drugs Officer, and Drugs Commodity Approver online modules in Workday. Ensure there is an approved organisational unit risk assessment in UQSafe that addresses the safe and secure handling and storage of relevant substances.
  2. Submit a request in Workday: Go to Workday, select ‘Create Request’ from the menu, enter ‘Safety Role Appointments’ as the request type, and click OK to begin the SMP Drug and Poisons Officer approval process.
  3. Complete and submit the online form. 

Keep usage logs and high-risk poisons registers  

Usage logs are not required for S2, S3 or S4 (non-restricted) poisons, however, packages must be updated in a chemical inventory.

You must record all dealings with restricted and high-risk poisons including amounts of substances received, used, disposed, transferred etc.

Dispose of regulated poisons

Details for the compliant disposal of regulated poisons are contained in the Substance Management Plan for Medicines and Poisons Procedure. Chemical hazards and security must be considered when undertaking disposal.

Supply of regulated poisons to external organisations

Supply of regulated poisons to external organisations or individuals is prohibited unless a specific approval is obtained by UQ from Queensland Health. If an approval for supply is required, contact the Health, Safety and Wellness Division (hsw@uq.edu.au) who will apply to Queensland Health on your behalf.

Examples of supply include:

  • supplying regulated substances to collaborators external to UQ for the purpose of research and development;
  • supplying regulated substances to external research and testing laboratories to determine physical and chemical properties;
  • supplying regulated substances to external research and testing laboratories for the purpose of conducting toxicity or efficacy testing in vitro, or in vivo in research animal models.

This requirement applies to “derivatives” of Scheduled substances synthesised in research laboratories (see the Follow the regulations for scheduled substances section of this page).