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What is the maintenance dose of Mounjaro or Wegovy?

GLP Guidebook teamUpdated 14 Oct 20266 sourcesWritten from published sources
What we checked6 sources, each one opened and linked to the sentence it supportsLast checked 14 Oct 2026 · Next review due 14 Oct 2027 · How we write
The short answer

On the Australian labels, Mounjaro (tirzepatide) has three maintenance doses for adults: 5 mg, 10 mg or 15 mg once a week. Wegovy (semaglutide) has 2.4 mg weekly, or 1.7 mg if 2.4 mg isn't tolerated. The Wegovy label also allows 7.2 mg for some adults whose BMI was 30 or more at the start.

What does "maintenance dose" mean on the label?

It is the dose you stay on once the step-up weeks are over. Both medicines start low and rise every 4 weeks or more.1,2

Before you go further
  • Mounjaro, Wegovy and Ozempic are prescription-only medicines in Australia. Your prescriber chooses your dose.
  • Doses here come from each Australian Product Information (PI), the official document each maker publishes for prescribers.
  • We don't publish medicine prices for Australia. The TGA treats price lists for prescription medicines as advertising unless strict rules are met.6
MedicineStep-upMaintenance doses
Mounjaro (tirzepatide)2.5 mg for 4 weeks, then 5 mg; later rises in 2.5 mg steps, at least 4 weeks apart15 mg, 10 mg or 15 mg weekly; 15 mg is the top dose1
Wegovy (semaglutide)0.25, 0.5, 1 and 1.7 mg, 4 weeks each (16 weeks)22.4 mg weekly (1.7 mg if 2.4 mg isn't tolerated); 7.2 mg for some adults2

Adult weight-management doses from the Australian PIs, checked 14 Oct 2026. The two medicines' doses are not equivalent to each other.

The Wegovy label says the 16-week step-up is there to reduce the chance of stomach symptoms.2 The Mounjaro label says 2.5 mg, 7.5 mg and 12.5 mg are not maintenance doses.1

Who decides which maintenance dose?

Your prescriber chooses the maintenance dose, within what the label allows. The Mounjaro label lists three doses without saying who gets which, and the Wegovy label ties 7.2 mg to BMI.1,2

  • Wegovy 7.2 mg: for adults whose BMI was 30 or more at the start, after at least 4 weeks on 2.4 mg. If weight doesn't improve further, the label says to go back to 2.4 mg.2
  • Teenagers 12 to 17: Wegovy goes up to 2.4 mg at most.2
  • Ozempic is semaglutide for type 2 diabetes, not weight loss, in Australia. Its label steps up from 0.25 mg to 0.5, 1 or 2 mg weekly, and says 0.25 mg is not a maintenance dose.3

More on the higher dose is in Wegovy 7.2 mg in Australia.

Is there a lower dose for after you reach your goal weight?

Neither Australian label lists a lower dose for after you reach a goal weight. Both give once-weekly dosing, and neither describes tapering down or spacing out doses.1,2

Trials where people stopped show what the medicine was holding back:

  • STEP 4 (Wegovy): over 48 weeks, people who stayed on 2.4 mg lost a further 7.9% of their body weight, while those moved to a dummy injection regained 6.9%.2
  • SURMOUNT-4 (Mounjaro): over 52 weeks, people who continued lost a further 6.7% of their body weight, while those moved to a dummy regained 14.8%. For someone weighing 90 kg (198 lb) when the groups were split, that is about 6 kg (13 lb) lost against about 13 kg (29 lb) regained.1

Australia's obesity algorithm says weight-loss medicines "will usually be required long-term", while long-term data are limited.4 Our guide to stopping a GLP‑1 has more.

RisksThe risks, in brief
  • Nausea is very common. In the Mounjaro weight trials it affected 24.6 to 29.0 in 100 people on 5 mg to 15 mg, against 8.5 in 100 on a dummy injection.1
  • On Wegovy, nausea affected 43.9 in 100 over 68 weeks, against 16.1 in 100 on a dummy injection, mostly while the dose was going up.2
  • Gallstones and a swollen pancreas (acute pancreatitis) are listed as uncommon (1 in 100 to 1 in 1,000) on the Australian Mounjaro label.1
  • On Wegovy, confirmed pancreatitis affected 2 in 1,000 in the main trials, against under 1 in 1,000 on a dummy injection.2
Full detail in Guide 5: Side effects and risks →
Get help now: call triple zero (000) if an illness is critical or life-threatening.5 For advice, call the healthdirect nurse helpline on 1800 022 222, 24 hours a day.5

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Related questions

What BMI do I need for Wegovy or Mounjaro in Australia? Can my GP prescribe Mounjaro? How long can Mounjaro be out of the fridge? Can I get Ozempic for weight loss in Australia?
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Sources

  1. Eli Lilly. Mounjaro and Mounjaro KwikPen (tirzepatide) Australian Product Information, vA14.0, October 2026, sections 4.2, 4.8 and 5.1 (SURMOUNT-4). Australian label. medsinfo.com.au (PDF)
  2. Novo Nordisk. Wegovy (semaglutide) Australian Product Information, date of revision 22 June 2026, sections 4.2, 4.4, 4.8 and 5.1 (STEP 4). Australian label. medsinfo.com.au
  3. Novo Nordisk. Ozempic (semaglutide) Australian Product Information, date of revision 25 September 2026, sections 4.1 and 4.2. Australian label. medsinfo.com.au (PDF)
  4. Australian Diabetes Society, ANZOS, ANZMOSS and RACGP. Australian Obesity Management Algorithm, July 2024. diabetessociety.com.au (PDF)
  5. Healthdirect Australia. How healthdirect can help you ("call triple zero (000) for an ambulance immediately"; nurse helpline 1800 022 222). healthdirect.gov.au
  6. Therapeutic Goods Administration. Applying the Advertising Code rules: price information. Updated 21 July 2026. tga.gov.au

Last checked 14 Oct 2026 · Next review due 14 Oct 2027 · Report an error

How this answer was made. Written by the GLP Guidebook team from the sources above, all checked on 14 Oct 2026. We don't publish medicine prices, and we don't name, rank or link to sellers or telehealth services. It's general information, not medical advice, and nothing here is an offer to supply any medicine. Talk to a GP, pharmacist or other qualified prescriber before starting, stopping or changing any medicine. How we write