Protecting Nurse-Led Clinics in Queensland: ABIC's National Advocacy for Fair, Consistent Reform

Join the Fight for the Future of Cosmetic Nursing in Australia

The Aesthetic and Beauty Industry Council (ABIC) is leading a strong, strategic national campaign to restore legal rights, clinical autonomy, and business viability for cosmetic nurses in Queensland.

Hundreds of highly trained nurse injectors, and the clinics and small businesses they operate, are under threat due to regulatory enforcement changes in Queensland that now prevent them from possessing or managing Schedule 4 (S4) medications, even under the oversight of prescribing practitioners.

The Situation in Queensland

In late 2024, Queensland Health issued a new enforcement interpretation of the Medicines and Poisons Act 2019, which effectively banned registered nurses from purchasing, holding, or managing cosmetic S4 medications, even when working under valid prescriptions and established collaborative protocols.

This sudden change:

Shuttered clinics overnight
Displaced experienced professionals
Forced patients to manage their own medications through unsafe and impractical delivery models
Created a deep rift between Queensland and other states like Victoria, where nurse-led models operate safely and legally under a permit system

Now, nurse-led clinics that were once operating compliantly and ethically have been thrown into legal and operational limbo—many unable to continue without dramatically increasing costs, changing their business model, or shutting down altogether.

The Scripting Company Dilemma

While some scripting companies are promoting alternative pathways and claiming compliance under the new rules, many Queensland nurses are reporting that these models are neither practical nor sustainable.

Nurses are experiencing:

Excessive administrative and financial burdens
Logistical chaos with scheduling, cold-chain management, and product delays
Increased reliance on non-clinical third parties
Loss of clinical oversight and continuity of care
But more than that, it has become an issue of professional rights and identity - Nurses, registered health professionals with years of training and prescribing partnerships, are being stripped of their ability to manage medication within their scope, even under supervision. This undermines their autonomy, dignity, and pride in their role. It sends a dangerous message: that nurses can no longer be trusted to practise to their full capability in aesthetic medicine.

What ABIC Is Doing

ABIC has been actively advocating for urgent and lasting change. We are:

1. Leading National Advocacy Through the ABIC Aesthetic Nurses QLD (AANQ) Committee

The ABIC Aesthetic Nurses Queensland Committee (AANQ) is a formal advocacy and policy unit under our Medical Aesthetic Division. AANQ Committee works alongside, and includes key leadership members of QANU - Queensland Nurses United - a group of QLD nurses who are representing the "on-the-ground" reality and challenges of the situation, clinic owners, independent aesthetic nurses, and independent industry professionals. It exists to drive state-level reform within a robust governance framework.

2. Delivering Expert Government Submissions

We’ve submitted a comprehensive policy proposal to the Queensland Government that recommends a dual pathway forward:

A review of the current interpretation of the pertinent legalisation by the Health Minister
A Queensland-specific permit model, similar to Victoria’s successful framework

3. Lobbying Across Government and Health Authorities

ABIC has engaged with Queensland Health, regulators, advocacy groups, MPs, and senior political figures. We’re presenting evidence, case studies, economic data, and real-world impacts from nurses, clinics, and patients.

4. Advocating for National Consistency

This is not just a Queensland issue. We are pushing for a nationally consistent regulatory framework that recognises the role of nurses in aesthetic practice, protects patient safety, and preserves access, fairness, and clinical dignity.

5. Championing Small Business and Women in Practice

This isn’t just about regulation. It’s about protecting hundreds of women-led, nurse-owned small businesses from unjust collapse. ABIC is raising this issue not just as a health matter—but as a gendered economic crisis affecting one of the fastest-growing sectors in health and wellbeing.

Our Goals

• Reinstate legal access for nurse-led clinics to manage S4 cosmetic medications under supervision

• Introduce a permit or pathway to restore independent business viability and compliance

• Eliminate problematic scripting workarounds and third-party dependency models

• Empower nurses to work to the full extent of their qualifications and professional scope

• Push for regulatory alignment across all states and territories

We Are Now Calling for Committee & Working Group Members

We are expanding the AANQ committee and calling for new contributors to help us drive change.

If you're a:

• Cosmetic nurse or nurse practitioner

• Doctor or prescribing practitioner

• Clinic owner

• Supplier, educator, or regulatory advisor

…your voice matters.

👉 Apply to Join the ABIC Aesthetic Nurses QLD Committee (Scroll to bottom of webpage)

Bring your expertise, leadership and passion to the table. Help shape the next stage of national policy and professional protection.

We Need Numbers – Join ABIC Today

👉 Become a Member Now - Click HERE

This fight requires strength in numbers. If you’re not already a member of ABIC, we need you with us now.

Queensland Nurses: 50% Off ABIC Membership

Use Code QLDNURSE at checkout to access your exclusive discount and full member benefits.

👉 Want to Learn More?

• Read the Full ABIC Government Submission

> Full Submission Aesthetic Beauty Industry Council (ABIC) Submission on Nurse-Led Cosmetic Clinic Reforms in Queensland.pdf

• Understand the Committee Structure and Purpose

> ABIC Aesthetic Nurses Queensland Committee (AANQ) Scope, Structure & Purpose Document.pdf

> ABIC AESTHETIC NURSES QUEENSLAND COMMITTEE.pdf

This is about more than regulation. It’s about restoring trust, safety, and professional autonomy.

Nurses deserve better. Patients deserve safer options. Our industry deserves unity.

Stand with us. Join the working group. Join ABIC. Together, we’ll make change happen.

AANQ Committee Meeting Dates for 2025 are as follows:

(Future Dates to be confirmed at the first committee meeting)

Tuesday 15th July 2025 | 3:30pm - 5.00pm AEST