Schedule 8 medicines
Storing, recording, checking and destroying Schedule 8 (and any Schedule 9) poisons, and what to do when the count doesn't match.
Version 2 · approved 23 Sept 2026 by Sam Nguyen
What this covers
All Schedule 8 poisons (drugs of dependence) held at the pharmacy — stock, patient returns, and expired stock awaiting destruction — and any Schedule 9 poison held lawfully. Only pharmacists keep the register and hold the safe key or code. S8 deliveries go straight to a pharmacist.
Legal requirement VPA Standard 1.1.3 · VPA Standard 1.3.3 · DPCS Regulations 2017 · VPA Guidelines G1.1.3
Where S8 is kept
All S8 stock is kept in the S8 safe. Nothing else goes in it except other drugs of dependence. The safe is fixed to the floor or wall and gives no less security than a 10 mm mild steel drug cabinet. It is big enough to hold everything on hand — including returns and expired stock awaiting destruction — and laid out so the right product can be picked accurately.
Legal requirement DPCS Regulations 2017 r 74 (per DH guide) · VPA Standard 2.4.2(f) · VPA Guidelines G1.1.3 and G2.4.2
Keys and codes
Only pharmacists hold the S8 safe key or code. During trading, the pharmacist on duty keeps the key on their person, or locked in a key safe of equal security that only pharmacists can open. The key is never left in the door or in a "hidden" spot another person could find. The key is not left on the premises overnight unless it is locked in a separate safe of at least equal security, which only pharmacists can open.
Legal requirement DPCS Regulations 2017 r 74 (per DH guide) · VPA Guidelines G2.4.2 · VPA self-audit 1.1.3
Receiving S8 stock
S8 deliveries should be handed straight to a pharmacist, not left with other stock. The pharmacist should put them in the safe and record the receipt in the register as soon as practicable.
Regulator guidance VPA Guidelines G1.1.3
Recording in the register
Which S8 register we use, and where it's kept: not yet recorded. Every S8 transaction — receipt, supply, return, destruction — is recorded in the register as soon as practicable after it happens, by the pharmacist involved. Each entry shows the balance left after the transaction. That balance comes from counting the stock on hand, not from subtracting on paper. One way to show a balance was counted is to tick it or add a separate line.
Legal requirement DPCS Regulations 2017 r 108 (per DH guide) · VPA Guidelines G1.3.3
Full reconciliation
How often the whole register is reconciled: weekly. A pharmacist checks every S8 line against the recorded balance, orders received and prescriptions supplied, then records the result — including the number of discrepancies found, even when it is zero.
Pharmacy's own choice VPA Guidelines G1.3.3
When the count doesn't match
Act without delay. 1. Record the true balance you counted. 2. Mark the discrepancy clearly in the register. 3. Investigate it: recheck the count, orders, prescriptions and earlier entries. 4. If you resolve it, record the explanation in the register. 5. If you can't resolve it, notify the Department of Health, Medicines and Poisons Regulation, without delay (dpcs@health.vic.gov.au, 1300 364 545). Also tell the licensee. 6. Log it as an incident.
Legal requirement DPCS Regulations 2017 r 112 (per DH pharmacists page) · VPA Guidelines G1.3.3 · VPA self-audit 1.3.3
Returned and expired S8
S8 returned by patients, and S8 stock that has expired or is unwanted, stays in the S8 safe until destroyed. It is recorded in the register when it comes in.
Legal requirement VPA Guidelines G2.4.2 · VPA self-audit 1.3.3
Destroying S8
A pharmacist destroys S8 in front of a witness who is a pharmacist, medical practitioner, dentist, veterinary practitioner, nurse or midwife. Before it goes into a returned-medicines (RUM) bin, it is made unidentifiable and unrecoverable. The register records the date, drug and strength, quantity, reason, and the names of the pharmacist and the witness.
Legal requirement DPCS Regulations 2017 r 115 (per DH guide) · DH guide Managing Schedule 8 poisons
Keeping the register
S8 registers and records are kept for at least 3 years.
Legal requirement DPCS Regulations 2017 r 108 (per DH guide)
Pharmacotherapy stock in use
Bulk methadone and buprenorphine in use for dosing should be kept where patients cannot reach it and, where possible, cannot see it. The total quantity used each day should be recorded in the register.
Regulator guidance VPA Guidelines G1.3.3 and G2.4.2
Checks that go with this policy
- S8 awaiting destruction — Monthly
- S8 register reconciliation — Weekly
Earlier versions kept for the record: v1.
PharmPolicy supports compliance. It is not legal advice, and it does not replace the licensee's own judgement or obligations under the Pharmacy Regulation Act 2010 and other laws.