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GLP‑1 medicines,
explained for Australia

Start with your health, not a brand name. What your BMI and waist mean, what the PBS covers, the risks, and where medicines like Wegovy and Mounjaro fit.

Do I have obesity?Is it on the PBS?Is it for me?Side effects
We don't sell medicines Every fact has a source No links to sellers

Where are you starting from?

Pick the one closest to you. We'll take you through just the guides you need, in order, and each one tells you what to read next.

Or read all nine guides

From understanding GLP‑1s to living with one, in four stages. Each guide ends with a link to the next.

Stage 1Understand

Guide 1 · UnderstandWeight and healthDo I have obesity? What BMI and waist numbers mean, including lower cut-offs for Asian, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
Guide 2 · UnderstandWhat GLP‑1s doHow they act on your gut, brain and appetite.

Stage 2Decide

Guide 3 · DecideYour optionsFood, activity, other medicines, GLP‑1s and surgery, side by side.
Guide 4 · DecideShould I consider a GLP‑1?Who they may suit, and when not to.
Guide 5 · DecideSide effects and risksCommon and serious effects, and when to get help.

Stage 3Do it safely

Guide 6 · Do it safelyGetting a prescription in Australia, and the medicinesPBS or private script, who may prescribe, the brands, fakes and storage in the heat.
Guide 7 · Do it safelyChoosing a doctor, clinic or programmeYour GP, telehealth and programmes: what they offer, how they charge, what to check.

Stage 4Live with it

Guide 8 · Live with itLife on a GLP‑1Food and protein, injecting, summer heat, travel and fasting.
Guide 9 · Live with itStopping and the long termWhat happens after, and the cost over the years.

Free tools

Check your numbers and get ready for your appointment. No sign-up, and nothing you type leaves your device.

BMI and waistSee where you sit against Australian cut-offs, including the lower ones for some groups
Before you see a GPQuestions to take along to your appointment

Who pays in Australia

It depends on why the medicine is prescribed. We don't show prices: your pharmacist can tell you what a script costs. Checked 12 Oct 2026.

Before you go further. These are prescription-only medicines. A doctor should prescribe them after a real-time consultation, in person, by video or by phone.1 They have real risks: read Side effects and risks first.
PBSType 2 diabetes
Ozempic and Trulicity are on the PBS (the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme) for type 2 diabetes, after metformin and an SGLT2 inhibitor haven't been enough and HbA1c stays above 7%. The first script needs an authority approval.2 You pay the PBS co-payment, less with a concession card.3
PrivateWeight management
No GLP-1 is on the PBS for weight. A private script is paid in full, every month.4 The PBAC recommended Wegovy for people with established heart disease and a high BMI in November 2025, but it hadn't been listed by July 2026.4,5 Mounjaro's maker pulled out of the PBS listing process in 2026.6
InsurancePrivate health extras
Some extras policies pay part of a non-PBS script, within yearly limits; some insurers exclude weight-loss medicines.7,8 More on who pays →
Why no prices? Australian rules treat price information for prescription medicines as advertising, and only some pharmacies may publish price lists.9 We don't list sellers, prices or providers, and we don't rank brands.

Latest updates

What's changed in Australia, newest first.

All updatesComing soon

Common questions

Short answers, each with its source.

Can I get Wegovy or Mounjaro on the PBS?
Not for weight, as of October 2026. The PBAC recommended Wegovy for people with established heart disease and a high BMI, but it hadn't been listed by July 2026.4,5 Mounjaro isn't on the PBS: its maker rejected the price terms in 2026.6 Ozempic and Trulicity are on the PBS for type 2 diabetes if you meet the criteria.2 More in Getting a prescription in Australia.
Is Ozempic approved for weight loss in Australia?
No. Ozempic is approved for type 2 diabetes, including kidney disease in type 2 diabetes.15 Wegovy contains the same medicine, semaglutide, and is the brand approved for weight management.16 Mounjaro is approved for both.10
Is a GLP‑1 right for me?
Only a doctor who knows your health history can say. For weight, the product information covers adults with a BMI of 30 or more, or 27 to under 30 with a weight-related health problem, alongside changes to food and activity.10,16 Read Should I consider a GLP‑1? and Side effects and risks before you see your GP.
What are the side effects?
The most common are nausea, diarrhoea, vomiting, constipation and stomach pain, mostly when starting or raising the dose. Less common but serious: inflammation of the pancreas (pancreatitis), gallbladder problems, and kidney injury from dehydration. The medicine should not be used in pregnancy.16 You can report side effects to the TGA.17 More in Side effects and risks.
What's the difference between Mounjaro and Wegovy?
Mounjaro is tirzepatide, which acts on two gut hormones (GLP‑1 and GIP). Wegovy is semaglutide, which acts on one. In a head-to-head trial in adults with obesity, paid for by Lilly, average weight loss was larger on tirzepatide. Results varied a lot between people, and stomach side effects were common on both.18
Is it safe to get a GLP‑1 script online?
It can be, if a registered doctor consults you in real time, by video or phone. The Medical Board doesn't support prescribing from a questionnaire or chat alone.1,19 Never buy "GLP-1" drops, patches or compounded versions: the TGA found drops and patches with no GLP-1 in them, and compounding has been banned since October 2024.14,20
What happens when you stop taking it?
Weight usually comes back. A year after stopping semaglutide, trial participants had regained about two-thirds of the weight they had lost.21
What BMI counts as obesity in Australia?
For most adults, a BMI of 30 or more is obesity, and 25 to 29.9 is overweight. For Asian people, and as recommended for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, the lines are lower: overweight from 23, obesity from 27.5.22 These numbers mark health risk. They don't decide whether you need medicine. More in Weight and health.

All questions

Explainers and quick answers

Longer articles on costs, rules, side effects and daily life, plus short answers to single questions.

Blog20 in-depth articlesQuestions20 short answers

The monthly Australian update

New approvals, PBS changes, rule changes and safety alerts. Once a month, nothing else.

An independent guide: no drug-company money, no clinic commissions, no affiliate links.

Sources (22)
  1. Medical Board of Australia. Guidelines: Telehealth consultations with patients, in effect 1 September 2023 ("Prescribing … without a real-time direct consultation, whether in-person, via video or telephone, is not good practice and is not supported by the Board"). medicalboard.gov.au
  2. Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme. Type 2 diabetes mellitus pharmacotherapy diagram, at 1 December 2024 (GLP-1 RA subsidised after an SGLT2 inhibitor is contraindicated, not tolerated or not effective, with HbA1c above 7% on metformin, a sulfonylurea or insulin). pbs.gov.au
  3. Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme. What are the current patient fees and charges? (the co-payment set from 1 January 2026, lower with a concession card, and the safety net). pbs.gov.au
  4. Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme. Medicine status: semaglutide (Wegovy), document 1460 ("Medicine listed on PBS: Has not yet occurred"), updated 23 July 2026. pbs.gov.au
  5. newsGP (RACGP). Wegovy recommended for PBS listing (established cardiovascular disease; BMI 35 or more, or 32.5 or more for Asian, Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander patients). 19 December 2025. racgp.org.au
  6. newsGP (RACGP). Mounjaro manufacturer rejects PBS recommendation ("price conditions proposed by the Australian Government are unrealistic and unviable"). 28 April 2026. racgp.org.au
  7. HIF. Can you claim for weight loss drugs on your extras cover? ("Benefits can only be paid on non-PBS prescription items"; "The cost of the item must exceed the current PBS co-payment"). 30 July 2026. Insurer article. hif.com.au
  8. The Nightly. Private health insurer HBF tightens belt on weight-loss drug coverage (Saxenda, Contrave, Duromine, Wegovy and compounded weight-loss medicines dropped from 9 July 2024). 1 May 2024. News report. thenightly.com.au
  9. Therapeutic Goods Administration. Applying the Advertising Code rules: price information. Updated 21 July 2026. tga.gov.au
  10. Eli Lilly. Mounjaro (tirzepatide) Australian Product Information, version A14.0, October 2026 (sections 4.1, 4.5, 4.6, 6.4). medsinfo.com.au
  11. newsGP (RACGP). Ahpra launches new guidance in peptide prescribing ("We may investigate the practice of practitioners with high rates of prescribing or compounding of any scheduled medicine, even if we have not received a complaint"). 16 September 2026. racgp.org.au
  12. Therapeutic Goods Administration. TGA tests counterfeit retatrutide product following serious adverse event report (contained undeclared semaglutide, "approximately 8 times higher" than approved levels). Safety advisory, 14 September 2026. tga.gov.au
  13. Therapeutic Goods Administration. GLP-1 RAs and rare, but severe, eye disorders. 23 July 2026. tga.gov.au
  14. Therapeutic Goods Administration. Counterfeit weight loss products claiming to contain GLP-1 (laboratory testing found "no GLP-1 or any GLP-1 analogues"). Safety advisory, 2 March 2026. tga.gov.au
  15. Novo Nordisk. Ozempic (semaglutide) Australian Product Information, revised 25 September 2026 (sections 4.1, 4.2, 4.6, 6.3). medsinfo.com.au
  16. Novo Nordisk. Wegovy (semaglutide) Australian Product Information, revised 22 June 2026 (sections 4.1, 4.2, 4.4, 4.6, 4.8, 6.4). medsinfo.com.au
  17. Therapeutic Goods Administration. Reporting adverse events: consumers (report online, or ask your doctor or pharmacist to report). Updated 2 September 2026. tga.gov.au
  18. Aronne LJ et al. Tirzepatide as compared with semaglutide for the treatment of obesity (SURMOUNT-5). NEJM, 2025;393:26–36. Funded by Eli Lilly. DOI
  19. Ahpra. Information for practitioners who provide virtual care ("The Boards do not consider an online chat to be a synchronous (in real time) consultation"). Updated 7 October 2025. ahpra.gov.au
  20. Therapeutic Goods Administration. Update: glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1 RAs) pharmacy compounding changes (no compounding of any GLP-1 RA from 1 October 2024). Media release, 18 June 2024. tga.gov.au
  21. Wilding JPH et al. Weight regain and cardiometabolic effects after withdrawal of semaglutide: the STEP 1 trial extension. Diabetes, Obesity and Metabolism, 2022;24(8):1553–1564. DOI
  22. Markovic TP, Proietto J, Dixon JB et al. The Australian Obesity Management Algorithm. Australian Diabetes Society, with ANZOS, ANZMOSS and the RACGP, July 2024. diabetessociety.com.au