Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA)

The Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) is Australia's regulatory authority for therapeutic goods.

The TGA makes sure that all therapeutic goods sold in Australia are safe. This includes medications, medical devices and other health-related products. In addition, the TGA controls how those products are manufactured and advertised.

If you would like to know more about the TGA, you can visit their visit their website.

TGA regulations

Your medication falls under the category of "unapproved therapeutic goods" in Australia. This means it has not been evaluated by the TGA and can only be accessed in certain circumstances. Health practitioners can prescribe unapproved therapeutic goods to patients through the Special Access Scheme (SAS) or the Authorised Prescriber (AP) scheme.
Many of our doctors are registered as Authorised Prescribers (AP) which means they have approval to prescribe certain products to you without having to notify the TGA each time. This greatly reduces the waiting time and ensures you receive your medication sooner. 

We actively look to assist our doctors in obtaining AP status to speed up approval times, where appropriate. 

The Special Access Scheme (SAS) requires the doctor to apply to the TGA to prescribe certain products to you on a case-by-case basis. You will then need to wait for the SAS approval before our partners at uMeds can process your first order.

TGA approval

All SAS approvals are completed by the TGA and the processing times can vary depending on demand. Currently these can take anywhere from 11 - 14 business days, and are outside of our control.

You’ll still be able to place an order through our partners at uMeds, however it won’t begin processing until we receive the SAS approval. Once approved, all subsequent orders from that prescription will process as normal.

Discounts

Our partners at uMeds don’t offer discounts on medication, with the exception of eligible concession card holders. Similar to other prescribed medications, there are limitations in place around when and how discounts can be applied.

This means that neither we nor uMeds are able to offer discounts on medication as compensation for any issues that may arise. Other forms of compensation may be an option, but this is decided by our internal escalations team on a case-by-case basis.

Products

Unfortunately, we are unable to provide pricing or information on brands or products that are not specifically prescribed to you.

Your prescribed products are shown with plain packaging in your patient portal, which is standard for prescription medications. The medications will still arrive with proper labelling and packaging.

If you would like to know more about alternative medications or formulations, please discuss your options with your Alternaleaf doctor at your next follow-up consultation. They will work with you to create an appropriate treatment plan.