Administration of medication procedures
Direction and guidance to assist schools in administering medication to ensure all children and young people can participate in education and training, regardless of their health support needs.
Audience
NSW public schools, NSW public preschools, parents and carers, and school communities
| Version | Date | Description of changes | Approved by |
|---|---|---|---|
V01.1.0 |
31/03/2025 |
Updated content to align with revised department procedures. |
Executive Director, Inclusion and Wellbeing |
| V01.0.0 | 21/06/2024 | Under the 2023 Policy and procedure review program, new policy document which has consolidated existing information and instructions for administering medication. | Executive Director, Inclusion and Wellbeing |
About the policy
https://myplsso.education.nsw.gov.au/pages/mandatory-training-courses-listSchools must assist with administering medication during school activities where the dosing schedule is time sensitive.
All staff identified to administer medication are required to complete the Administration of Medication in Schools course on MyPL (staff only).
These procedures relate to the Student health and wellbeing policy.
| Term | Definition | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Medication | Prescribed medication – can only be made available to a patient on written instruction from an authorised health professional. Non-prescribed medication – may be purchased without a prescription. |
||
| Non-emergency | Not an immediate life-threatening situation. | ||
Schedule 4 |
Prescription only medicine – medicines that must be prescribed by an authorised healthcare professional (such as your doctor). They may be supplied in hospital or bought from a pharmacy with a prescription. |
||
Controlled medications |
Controlled drug – medicines or chemicals that have special rules for producing, supplying, distributing, owning and using them. These medicines may only be prescribed by an authorised healthcare professional, who may need a special prescribing permit. |
||
| Schedule 8 | Schedule 8 substances are labelled ‘Controlled Drug’. They are medicines that are obtained from a pharmacist on prescription and are subject to tight restrictions because of their potential to produce addiction. They are often referred to as ‘drugs of addiction’. Morphine, oxycodone and fentanyl are examples of schedule 8 drugs. |
Principals:
- coordinate and implement systems to support staff when administering medication, including storage and record keeping
- assess and determine how the school will meet the health support needs of students. This includes determining which staff will be responsible for administering medication
- assess parental request for students to carry and administer own medication and provide written confirmation
- must not approve students to carry controlled medications, such as schedule 8 medications.
Designated staff members:
- follow the Student health and wellbeing policy and related procedures when supporting student health needs and administering medication
- administer medication in line with department procedures, training and school processes
- maintain current training requirements.
Parents and carers:
- notify the school of students’ health needs and provide up to date information as required
- complete a written request when students require medication to be administered at school using the Request form – Student Health Support (PDF 196 KB)
- supply the medication, in the original packaging and/or blister pack prepared by a pharmacist, and any consumables necessary for its administration.
Students:
- take medication for the purpose for which it is intended
- cooperate with staff when they are assisting in managing their health requirements
- act safely when permitted to carry and/or self-administer medication.
What needs to be done
1. Gather information for administering medication
When the school needs to administer medication to a student, either temporarily or as part of an individual health support plan based on medical practitioner or authorised health professional advice, during the school day (including school coordinated activities), the principal or delegated staff:
- asks the parent or carer to complete Request form – Student Health Support (PDF 196 KB).The completed form should detail information such as the student’s health condition, medication requirements, health support needs and relevant supporting documentation
- consults with the student, parents or carers when determining arrangements for administering medication
- provides a letter of confirmation to the parents or carers outlining the arrangements for administering medication at school, Confirmation letter – Confirmation of prescribed medication administration arrangements (PDF 115 KB)
- stores all copies of the written medical advice and any other relevant documentation, requests and confirmation letters in a secure and confidential manner
- where it is necessary to provide information to staff, other parents or students, the parent and where applicable, the student, should be informed of this beforehand and consulted about the information to be provided
- principals should ensure that the persons who are provided with this information are aware of the need to deal with such information sensitively and confidentially
- ensures processes are in place to manage the supply and storage of medication, the administration of medication and the recording of its administration
- coordinates the administration of medication.
2. Nominate staff to administer medication
Principals:
- determine how many staff will be required to administer medication, based on current student need
- nominate specific members of staff to administer medication.
Staff employed in School Administrative Manager, School Administrative Officer, School Learning Support Officer and Aboriginal Education Officer classifications are required to perform duties and complete relevant training associated with the administration of medication, as directed by the principal.
3. Complete mandatory training
Principals are responsible for ensuring the appropriate staff complete and maintain the relevant professional learning to support health needs of their students:
- Any staff required to administer medication must complete the Administration of medication in schools on MyPL (staff only).
- Any staff required to administer medication through specific administration methods including buccal, injection and tube must complete the Health Support in Schools Training Certification or the Health Support in Schools Training Recertification on MyPL (staff only), and through the student's health care team and/or external providers.
School staff must complete the required professional learning relevant to their role that meets the needs of the students in their school, including the following MyPL (staff only) courses:
- Administration of Medication in Schools
- Health Support in Schools Training Certification
- Health Support in Schools Recertification, if necessary
- any other mandatory training requirements in MyPL
- access support resources (refer to Administration of medication [staff only]) as needed, once training has been completed.
4. Administer medication
Principals need to:
- ensure all staff understand they are required to assist any student in the case of an emergency – and administer medication if required – and that they are protected from liability when doing so, unless they have deliberately injured the student or behaved with extreme recklessness
- except in an emergency, only individual staff members who have been trained will administer prescribed medication to students
- ensure all permanent, temporary and casual school-based staff are up to date with the mandatory training requirements for anaphylaxis and emergency care by completing the Emergency Care (staff only) course on MyPL on commencement for new staff, or the Annual competency check (staff only) for existing staff.
School staff need to:
- administer medication as per individual medication schedule
- follow the 5 rights to safely administer medication (the right student, right medication, right dose, right route and right time)
- ensure a second person check is undertaken when administering medication
- administer medication to any student in need in the case of emergency.
Unless the student is to administer their own medicine, they are not to carry it without a signed consent form.
- The NSW Department of Education has a duty of care to take reasonable steps to keep students safe from foreseeable risk of harm while they attend school or engage in school related activities. The department meets its duty of care obligations through the actions of its staff. This includes the administration of an adrenaline injector and/or any other emergency care provided when a student has an episode of anaphylaxis at school or during school activities.
- Any member of staff who provides an emergency response to a student who has an anaphylactic reaction at school is acting in the course of their employment.
- The the department is legally responsible for what staff do in the course of their employment.
- In the unlikely event that an employee is personally sued for providing an emergency response to a student who has been provided with an emergency response, the department will defend their claim at no expense to the staff member and pay any damages.
- The only exception will be where the actions of the employee amount to serious and wilful misconduct. Carelessness, inadvertence (lack of attention) or a simple mistake do not amount to serious and wilful misconduct.
- If a student’s parents or carers provide the school with a Do Not Resuscitate (DNR) order for their child, an emergency response should be provided, and an ambulance called with details of the DNR provided to the paramedics when they arrive at the school.
Record-keeping requirements
Refer to the Primary and secondary education (FA387) (PDF 246 KB) retention and disposal authority for information on retaining and disposing of records.
Standard forms and letters have been developed to support the administration of medications in schools. Refer to Individual health support planning (forms and letters section).
Under the Privacy and Personal Information Protection Act 1998External link (NSW), the department and its staff have certain obligations regarding collecting, using and storing personal information. Information relating to student health must be compliant with privacy legislation, and records must be held in a secure location and managed centrally. Refer to Legal Services information on Privacy.
Once a request has been approved, schools will need to register the student’s name, medicine type, dose and instructions in the department’s approved online system. Alternatively, the Record of Administration of Medications (DOCX 266 KB) form may be used.
After administering medication, the student’s medication record will need to be updated.
Mandatory tools and templates
- Request form – Student Health Support (PDF 196 KB)
- Confirmation letter – Confirmation of prescribed medication administration arrangements (PDF 115 KB)
- MyPL (staff only) – Administration of Medication in Schools
- MyPL (staff only) – Health Support in Schools Training (Certification)
- MyPL (staff only) – Health Support in Schools Training (Recertification)
- Application for allowance payment (staff only) form (refer to HR Employee Forms [staff only])
- Request for student to carry their own adrenaline injector or asthma reliever (PDF 249 KB)
Supporting tools, resources and related information
- Record of Administration of Medications (DOCX 266 KB)
- Student health support – Administration of medication
- Student health and physical care – Administration of medication (staff only)
- Important information for parents of children who carry their own medication at school and/or who self medicate (DOCX 47 KB)
- First aid procedures (staff only)
- Emergency care/response plan (PDF 89 KB)
- Administration of medication in schools checklist (PDF 1.2 MB)
- Anaphylaxis and allergy management procedures
- Emergency management procedures (staff only)
- Anti-Discrimination Act 1977 (NSW)External link
- Disability Discrimination Act 1992 (Cth)External link
- Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (NSW)External link
- Health Records and Information Privacy Act 2002 (NSW)External link
Policy contact
The Executive Director, Inclusion and Wellbeing monitors the implementation of this procedure, regularly reviews its contents to ensure relevance and accuracy, and updates it as needed.