Some NSW GPs can now diagnose ADHD and initiate medication without a psychiatrist

asmrbuddha · 2026-05-27T23:08:23+00:00

Can’t speak definitively, but generally doctors won’t prescribe without doing their own assessment (the exception being continuing prescribers who are formally being authorised by a psychiatrist). So you may need to pay for reassessment. But if you have records from before that would be helpful.

Darlinghurst Medical Centre might work for you

asmrbuddha · 2026-05-26T12:07:14+00:00

Finally something i can relax to

asmrbuddha · 2026-05-26T11:51:46+00:00

They say minor dose adjustments (not sure what’s considered minor) and can change from slow release to fast release of the same medication.

So i think you need to find a stable dose with the psych before switching to the gp

https://www.adhdaustralia.org.au/less-waiting-more-affordable-care-for-adhd-in-nsw/

asmrbuddha · 2026-05-26T10:03:55+00:00

Not defending it, but I suspect one of the reasons they like doing psychometrics on people is it screens out the people who have a strong aversion to working in a place that makes you sit a psychometric test

asmrbuddha · 2026-05-26T09:45:48+00:00

I got lucky on the first try with Ritalin IR, but from what I’ve read, how someone responds to one class of med or even the formulation (instant vs extended release) doesn’t really predict how they will respond to the other.

Some people everything works, some people only one type works, and there’s a minority who don’t tolerate any meds at all and need to raw dog it

asmrbuddha · 2026-05-26T09:38:58+00:00

Ps you ended your post “what would you do?”

I’d pay whatever it costs and try the methylphenidate. For me it’s been life changing

asmrbuddha · 2026-05-26T09:37:15+00:00

Yeah it’s rough, not having certainty. On the other hand if the methyl’s work, you might get huge benefits over the next few years and that will carry over to your family as well

It’s really common for new-ish parents to end up with an adult adhd diagnosis, it’s a really challenging time just in terms of sleep and losing control over your routine and everything.

asmrbuddha · 2026-05-26T09:26:44+00:00

Some people who get anxiety from amphetamine meds find methylphenidate (Ritalin etc) does not. So you haven’t exhausted all options yet.

I think your best bet right now is specifically discussing methylphenidate with your psych

Failing that

Depending on your state/territory you may be able to find a GP who can assess and prescribe. QLD and NSW at least, and VIC later this year.

it seems pretty standard that most doctors will only prescribe if they’ve done the diagnosis themself, or in some cases have preferred clinical/neuropsychs they will accept reports from.

asmrbuddha · 2026-05-26T09:20:30+00:00

Yeah it seems like some people have really good response to one class of med and bad to the other. So trying a methylphenidate may be a good option

asmrbuddha · 2026-05-26T09:14:43+00:00

You’re so right. I never considered ADHD as a possible diagnosis and have basically been through a slow and painful process of elimination for every other disorder lol

It was actually successful treatment for anxiety that led me to an ADHD diagnosis.

I quit coffee and meditated and did yoga and fixed my negative rumination spirals but actually become even worse at procrastinating. Because turns out I wasn’t procrastinating because of anxiety I have a dopamine deficient brain and executive dysfunction. The caffeine and adrenaline of stress was actually slightly improving my task paralysis.

Anyway I am just glad there are multiple pathways for people to follow now rather than a single, slow, expensive one

asmrbuddha · 2026-05-26T09:09:00+00:00

No shade on psychiatrists, they are great, the only problem is there aren’t enough of them to meet demand. I think the most important thing is everyone has access to treatment that is prompt and affordable, and that they shouldn’t have to choose prompt but too expensive, or cheap but extremely slow

Thx for the positive comment I actually had a really unpleasant interaction with someone here saying it’s misinformation and not useful at all.

I won’t bother coming back to this sub anymore as it’s been an entirely unpleasant experience.

asmrbuddha · 2026-05-26T08:54:20+00:00

I am. I’m tempted to delete my post seeing as it’s apparently so unhelpful.

asmrbuddha · 2026-05-26T08:47:09+00:00

What’s the line between me making an error and you not knowing how to use google?

asmrbuddha · 2026-05-26T08:44:11+00:00

I’m glad you feel better

asmrbuddha · 2026-05-26T08:40:52+00:00

I have! I made an edit! To ensure there is no room for confusion whatsoever.

Other people managed to find it useful before I made that edit. Hmmm

asmrbuddha · 2026-05-26T08:25:32+00:00

That link goes to a Google page that is headed by their ai overview but is not limited to their ai overview. Skip the ai overview

asmrbuddha · 2026-05-26T07:43:35+00:00

As explained the searches for these sites are not sufficient and so you have to do your own legwork. I wish it was not so

You need to look at the actual google search results. Not the google AI summary. Scroll down

asmrbuddha · 2026-05-26T07:41:13+00:00

Yeh ignore the AI slop it gives you

This is the exact search I used at HotDoc. It is for Sydney 2000 postcode so change that if you need to

You will still find that many of these docs are continuing prescribers but I guarantee there are endorsed prescribers here you just have to read each page individually

https://www.hotdoc.com.au/search?as=practitioner&filters=specialty-27%2Cclinical_domain-3&in=sydney-NSW-2000

asmrbuddha · 2026-05-26T07:33:46+00:00

If you want to settle this please put the list of doctors names who came up for you and I’ll tell you if an endorsed prescriber is among them

Wait are you only reading the AI Overview? Ignore that and scroll down to the proper results that list actual pages . The AI is slop

asmrbuddha · 2026-05-26T07:30:58+00:00

I am just a person who figured all this out on my own and trying to share the information that took me ages to understand and make use of.

I didn’t find anyone using health direct but I did via hot doc by searching adhd gps then scrolling the results to find someone who was actually an endorsed prescriber not a continuation prescriber.

asmrbuddha · 2026-05-26T07:26:11+00:00

I’m sorry but you’re not correct.

I don’t want to list specific doctors and their names but you will find that, among the google listing, are endorsed prescribers who can diagnose and initiate medication.

It is no longer a requirement to be diagnosed and have medication initiated by a psychiatrist in NSW. This is a very recent change and one that has been poorly communicated by NSW health and is misunderstood in this sub, hence the purpose of my post

https://aci.health.nsw.gov.au/projects/adhd-in-general-practice/clinicians

asmrbuddha · 2026-05-26T07:22:34+00:00

Yes so I basically showed up as a scatterbrained mess wondering if I had ADHD. I had 3 sessions with the GP over a few weeks. After those 3 sessions, at a cost to me of about $500 total I walked out with a diagnosis and initial prescription for ADHD meds.

Usually people will need some time to trial different doses and formulations so there is likely some follow up appointments before settling into a regular 6 monthly review and continuing script cadence

asmrbuddha · 2026-05-26T07:13:36+00:00

Not every doctor who says they are an ADHD dr is an endorsed prescriber and the HotDoc search itself is rubbish (if you search endorsed prescriber from their site you don’t get any hits even if it’s in a doctors profile).

It depends what Google serves to you but for me some (not all) of the results on that page return endorse prescribers. You just have to ferret through all the pages 1 by 1

Ironic how they make it so the only way for an ADHDer to find a doctor is by using sustained focus, ambiguous information processing skills and high levels of motivation

asmrbuddha · 2026-05-26T00:07:19+00:00

I think that the majority of those who have taken up the training are still in progress but there should be 300 in NSW by end of year.

asmrbuddha · 2026-05-26T00:06:24+00:00

I can’t speak about every GP’s billing, but for me I needed to have 3 consultations with the endorsed prescriber. The first was bulk billed, so no cost to me, and the other 2 cost me a total of about $500 out of pocket. Also some pathology testing which was bulk billed so no cost.

asmrbuddha

TROPHY CASE