Lost, stolen or forged prescriptions

​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​Reporting lost, stolen or forged prescriptions

If you are a consumer or member of the public you do not need to report a lost or stolen prescription to Pharmaceutical Services. We advise you to contact your doctor to discuss your options.

Health practitioners are required to report lost, stolen or forged prescription stationery or prescriptions. The details provided are subsequently published below.

By reporting lost, stolen,​ or forged prescriptions, you may help reduce the trafficking of drugs of abuse, such as alprazolam, and opioids such as fentanyl and oxycodone, sourced through fraudulent prescriptions.

To report lost, stolen or forged prescriptions please submit an online notification form.

Online notification form - Lost, stolen or forged prescriptions 

Please allow up to two weeks for the submitted information to be published.

​To prevent loss or theft of prescription stationery for handwritten or computer-generated prescriptions authorised practitioners must keep these in ​a secure place and away from public access. 

The prescriptions reported lost, stolen or forged table contains details of the purported prescriber as they appear on the prescription reported to be lost, stolen or forged.

Information for pharmacists

Pharmacists are encouraged to be vigilant in verifying the validity of prescriptions from authorised practitioners who have had their prescription stationery reported lost or stolen. ​

Verification of prescriptions for Schedule 8 (S8) or Schedule 4 Appendix D (S4D) medicine​​

When a pharmacist is presented with a prescription for a S8 or S4D medicine for a new patient or an unfamiliar prescriber, they must verify the prescription prior to dispensing it​. To do this the following should be considered:​ 

• ​​Contact the prescriber and verify the practice name and contact ​details using an independent source. ​Some prescription stationery is printed with the prescriber's false name, address, or telephone number. Care should be taken when contacting a purported prescriber using the telephone number provided on the prescription, as they may not be contacting the registered health practitioner. 
• ​​The prescriber's name may be checked on the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (Ahpra) Register of Pract​itioners, and the practice address and telephone number should be verified independently through other published sources.
• Confirm the patient's identity by requesting some form of identification or consent from the patient named on the prescription.
• Do not assume that the inclusion of a PBS Authority number verifies the prescription as valid. 
• Use SafeScript NSW​ for real-time patient’s prescription history for high-risk medicines. In most instances, computer-generated and e-prescriptions will be listed as a prescribed event under the patient profile.
• Be aware of phone, fax, and email scams.

​If verification is not possible and there is no reason to suspect the prescription’s validity, up to 2 days’ supply of the medicine may be dispensed. The prescription must be retained for future verification.

Legislation

The reporting of lost, stolen, or forged prescriptions to the Pharmaceutical Services Unit is not mandatory under the Poisons and Therapeutic Goods Act 1966. It is however an offence under the Poisons and Therapeutic Goods Regulation 2008 (the Regulation) for a pharmacist to dispense Schedule 4 and Schedule 8 medicines on prescription if it appears to have been forged or fraudulently obtained.

The Regulation also requires that immediately on being requested to supply a Schedule 4 Appendix D or Schedule 8 medicine on a forged, fraudulently altered, or fraudulently obtained prescription, a pharmacist must not dispense the prescription and report the incident to NSW Police.

It is an offence under the Drug Misuse and Trafficking Act 1985for a person to forge or fraudulently alter or utter, knowing it to be forged or fraudulently altered, a prescription of a medical practitioner, nurse practitioner, midwife practitioner, or veterinary practitioner. It is also a breach of this legislation for a person who knowingly by any false representation (whether verbal, in writing, or by conduc​t), obtains a forged or fraudulently altered prescription, or requests a pharmacist to dispense such a prescription, or to be in possession of such a prescription.

Prescriptions reported lost, stolen or forged for the year 2025

​The information below is published as reporte​d by practitioners to Pharmaceutical Services. The details are as stated on either a lost, stolen or forged prescription hence the contact details may also be forged. If you are presented with a prescription with the below details, you should contact the prescriber and verify the practice name and ​details using an independent source. ​​

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Historical data for prescriptions reported lost, stolen or forged

• Prescriptions reported lost, stolen or forged for the year 2024
• Prescriptions reported lost, stolen or forged for the year 2023
• Prescriptions reported lost, stolen or forged for the year 2022
• Prescriptions reported lost, stolen or forged for the year 2021
• Prescriptions reported lost, stolen or forged for the year 2020