Who can formally diagnose ADHD in Australia?

If you've been wondering whether you have ADHD, you've probably had the experience of being passed between professionals: a GP who suggests a screener, a psychologist who runs an assessment, a friend who mentions their psychiatrist. Who actually diagnoses ADHD in Australia? And who can prescribe? Here's the pathway.

The short answer

For adults, formal ADHD diagnosis in Australia is made by a psychiatrist. For children and adolescents, it's a paediatrician or a child and adolescent psychiatrist. This sits alongside state-based regulation: in most Australian states, only psychiatrists and paediatricians can initiate stimulant prescribing.

What everyone else does

GPs

Your GP is the gateway. They take an initial history, screen for look-alike conditions (thyroid, sleep, mood, anxiety), and write the specialist referral required for Medicare rebates. After diagnosis and stabilisation, most GPs continue ADHD prescribing under a written shared-care plan from the psychiatrist, with specialist review at agreed intervals.

Psychologists

Psychologists can administer ADHD screening tools and structured assessment, and many do so as part of a multi-disciplinary pathway. They cannot formally diagnose ADHD for the purposes of stimulant prescribing — that requires a medical specialist. Psychologists also deliver the therapy component (ADHD-adapted CBT) that pairs well with medication.

Telepsychiatry services like SetMind

Telepsychiatry is psychiatry delivered by secure video. It is regulated identically to in-person specialist care — same AHPRA registration, same Medicare items, same scope of practice. For adult ADHD assessment specifically, telepsychiatry has substantially shortened the pathway compared to in-person private wait-lists, which in capital cities can run six to twelve months.

What the pathway actually looks like

1. GP appointment — history, basic screening, referral letter.
2. Pre-assessment screening — validated tools (ASRS, DIVA-5-style structured interview), developmental history form.
3. Specialist consultation — 60–90 minute structured diagnostic interview by an AHPRA-registered psychiatrist.
4. Written formulation — diagnostic letter and treatment plan back to you and your GP.
5. Treatment initiation, if indicated — discussion of options, medication trial with monitoring.
6. Shared-care handover — once stable, prescribing returns to your GP under a written plan, with periodic specialist review.

Why the regulation looks like this

Stimulants used for ADHD (methylphenidate, dexamfetamine, lisdexamfetamine) are Schedule 8 controlled medications in Australia. The combination of a regulated medication, a condition with significant differential diagnosis, and meaningful comorbidity (anxiety, depression, substance use, cardiovascular considerations) is the reason the diagnostic gate is set at specialist level.