Is Psilocybin Legal in Australia? State-by-State (2026)

Psilocybin and psilocin are controlled in every Australian jurisdiction. The differences are in where they are listed, how possession is penalised, whether any diversion option exists, and how mushrooms themselves are treated. This guide summarises those differences from the primary legislation, so Australians researching overseas retreats understand the law at home. It does not suggest that any use or supply is legal in Australia, and nothing here is legal advice.

Penalties are recorded as the legislation states them (penalty units, dollars, years) and are not converted. They are maximums, not what a person would usually receive. The legislation was read on the official registers on 27 October 2026 and re-checked against them on 10 November 2026. Laws change, so check the linked register for the current version.

The national picture

Three layers apply together.

The Poisons Standard (Commonwealth). Schedule 9 lists psilocybine “except when included in Schedule 8”. Schedule 8 covers psilocybine only in preparations for human therapeutic use for treatment-resistant depression. Psilocin is listed in Schedule 9 under its chemical name, with no Schedule 8 entry. The Poisons Standard does not itself create offences. States and territories apply it through their own laws.

State and territory drug laws. These create the possession, supply and cultivation offences. Each is covered below.

Commonwealth border controls. The Criminal Code (Part 9.1, Division 307) makes importing or exporting border controlled drugs and plants an offence. The Criminal Code Regulations list psilocine and psilocybine as border controlled drugs and “any plant of the species Psilocybe” as a border controlled plant. Maximum penalties include life imprisonment or 7,500 penalty units for a commercial quantity (s 307.1), and 10 years or 2,000 penalty units for any quantity (s 307.3). Section 307.7, possessing unlawfully imported border controlled drugs or plants, carries 2 years or 400 penalty units, or both. Never bring any psilocybin product into Australia. See our legal guide for Australians for what applies after an overseas retreat.

The medical exception. Under the TGA scheme, a specialist psychiatrist with Authorised Prescriber approval can prescribe psilocybine for treatment-resistant depression, subject to ethics committee approval of a treatment protocol and reporting requirements. Clinical trials are the other route. This is covered in our guide to psychedelic-assisted therapy in Australia.

Possession at a glance

Jurisdiction	Main possession provision	Maximum penalty as written	Diversion or caution option found
Commonwealth	Criminal Code s 307.7 (unlawfully imported drugs or plants)	2 years or 400 penalty units, or both	None found in these instruments
NSW	DMTA s 10(1), penalty under s 21	20 penalty units or 2 years, or both	Not in the Act; NSW Government describes a $400 on-the-spot fine for some first or second low-level offences
Victoria	DPCSA s 73(1)(b) and (c)	30 penalty units or 1 year, or both (not trafficking); 400 penalty units or 5 years, or both (other cases)	No current official program reached
Queensland	Drugs Misuse Act s 9(1)	15 years; 20 years at or above the scheduled quantity	Court and police drug diversion options exist for minor offences
Western Australia	Misuse of Drugs Act s 6(2), penalty s 34(1)(e)	$2,000 or 2 years, or both	None found for non-cannabis drugs
South Australia	Controlled Substances Act s 33L(1)	$2,000 or 2 years, or both	Police must refer a simple possession offence to an assessment service, with limits (ss 34–37)
Tasmania	Misuse of Drugs Act s 24	50 penalty units or 2 years	None in the Act
ACT	Drugs of Dependence Act s 171	1 penalty unit (up to a small quantity); otherwise 50 penalty units, 6 months, or both	Offence notice with an approved drug diversion program option (s 171A)
Northern Territory	Misuse of Drugs Act s 7B	50 penalty units (less than a traffickable quantity)	None found for non-cannabis drugs

Commonwealth

The Poisons Standard (October 2026 edition, registered 30 September 2026) and the Criminal Code framework above apply nationally. No diversion option appears in these instruments. The Criminal Code provision about concurrent state and territory laws (s 300.4) means Part 9.1 does not displace state law.

New South Wales

Schedule 1 of the Drug Misuse and Trafficking Act 1985 lists psilocin and psilocybin and their derivatives (those with hallucinogenic properties) as prohibited drugs. The traffickable quantity for each is 0.15 g (15 discrete dosage units), and the small quantity is 0.04 g.

• Possession: s 10(1) makes possession an offence. Section 21 sets the summary penalty at 20 penalty units or 2 years, or both. Possessing at least the traffickable quantity is deemed possession for supply unless the person proves otherwise (s 29).
• Supply: s 25(1), with a maximum on indictment of 2,000 penalty units or 15 years, or both (s 32(1)(g)). Commercial-quantity supply carries 3,500 penalty units or 20 years, or both (s 33(2)(a)).
• Diversion: the Act has no caution or diversion provision for these drugs. The NSW Government’s Early Drug Diversion Initiative page describes a $400 on-the-spot fine for adults for a first or second low-level offence, excluding more than small quantities and more than one drug type. It says this is not decriminalisation, and police keep discretion to charge.
• Exemptions: s 10(2) covers people authorised under the Medicines, Poisons and Therapeutic Goods Act 2022, people for whom the drug has been lawfully prescribed or supplied, and people caring for them.
• Mushrooms: no fungus entry was found, and the definition of “prohibited plant” does not mention fungi.

Victoria

Schedule Eleven, Part 1 of the Drugs, Poisons and Controlled Substances Act 1981 lists psilocin and psilocybin. The commercial quantity is 0.1 kg and the traffickable quantity is 0.1 g for each.

• Possession: s 73(1)(b), where not for any purpose relating to trafficking, is 30 penalty units or level 8 imprisonment (1 year maximum), or both. Section 73(1)(c), in any other case, is 400 penalty units or level 6 imprisonment (5 years maximum), or both. Possessing at least the traffickable quantity is prima facie evidence of trafficking (s 73(2)). Use is covered by s 75, at 30 penalty units or 1 year, or both.
• Trafficking: s 71AC is level 4 imprisonment (15 years maximum). Commercial-quantity trafficking (s 71AA) is level 2 (25 years maximum).
• Cultivation: the cultivation offences apply to “narcotic plants” listed in Part 2 of Schedule Eleven. No psilocybin or fungus entry was found there.
• Diversion: the adjourned-bond provision (s 76) refers to Part 3 of Schedule Eleven for non-cannabis drugs, and psilocin and psilocybin were found only in Part 1. No current official diversion program was confirmed.

Queensland

The Drugs Misuse Regulation 1987 (schedule 2) lists psilocin and psilocybin as dangerous drugs, with a schedule 3 quantity of 0.10 g each.

• Possession: s 9(1) of the Drugs Misuse Act 1986 carries 15 years for a schedule 2 drug in most cases, and 20 years at or above the schedule 3 quantity (s 9(1)(c)–(d)).
• Supply and trafficking: supply of a schedule 2 drug is 15 years (s 6(1)(f)), with 20 or 25 years if aggravated. Trafficking (s 5) carries life imprisonment. Producing, which includes cultivating, is 15 years, or 20 years at or above the schedule 3 quantity (s 8).
• Diversion: section 122A allows a court to order a drug diversion assessment program for an eligible person. The Queensland Police Service describes three lifetime police diversion tiers for a “minor drugs offence”, including simple possession up to a prescribed quantity of a schedule 1 or 2 drug, from 3 May 2024. A completed diversion is not on a person’s reportable criminal history. Note: the Queensland register shows amendments to these diversion provisions (ss 122A–122C and related definitions) made by Act No. 7 of 2026 that had not commenced when checked on 11 November 2026, so the diversion options may change. Check the current register and Queensland Police Service information before relying on them.
• Mushrooms: no fungus entry was found in the regulation schedules. The definition of “dangerous drug” includes any part of a plant that is a scheduled thing.

Western Australia

The Misuse of Drugs Act 1981 applies to “drugs of addiction”, defined by reference to Schedule 8 and 9 poisons under the Medicines and Poisons Act 2014. Schedule III also lists psilocin and psilocybin, at 0.3 g each, for determining the court of trial.

• Possession: s 6(2) makes possessing or using a prohibited drug an offence. Section 34(1)(e) sets $2,000 or 2 years, or both.
• Supply: possession with intent to sell or supply, or sale or supply, is a crime under s 6(1). The maximum is $100,000 or 25 years, or both (s 34(1)(aa)), and $5,000 or 4 years if dealt with by a summary court.
• Plants: prohibited plants are those from which a drug of addiction may be obtained, plus Schedule II plants (only opium poppy species and cannabis). The Act does not say whether Psilocybe fungi are covered.
• Diversion: Part IIIA applies to cannabis only. No diversion provision for other drugs was found.
• Exemptions: ss 6(3) and 7(3) provide that a person authorised under the Medicines and Poisons Act 2014 is not guilty, if they prove it.

South Australia

The Controlled Substances (Controlled Drugs, Precursors and Plants) Regulations 2014 list psilocin and psilocybine as controlled drugs (trafficable quantity 100 g, or 10 dosage units for psilocybine). Schedule 3 also lists “all fungi that contain” psilocin or psilocybine as controlled plants, with a trafficable quantity of 1,000 g. South Australia is the only jurisdiction read that lists the fungi in this way.

• Possession: s 33L(1) is $2,000 or 2 years, or both.
• Diversion: under ss 34–37, police must refer a person alleged to have committed a “simple possession offence” to an assessment service, which stays the proceedings. The Act excludes children, people also charged with a serious drug offence, and people referred twice or more in the preceding 4 years.
• Supply: trafficking (s 32(3)) is $50,000 or 10 years, or both, in the basic case ($75,000 or 15 years for a serious drug offender or an aggravated offence). Supply or administration (s 33I(1)) has the same maxima.
• Cultivation: s 33K(1)(a), for a controlled plant other than cannabis, is $2,000 or 2 years, or both, in the basic case.
• Prescribing: SA Health says only registered psychiatrists who are TGA Authorised Prescribers may prescribe psilocybine.

Tasmania

Schedule 1, Part 2 of the Misuse of Drugs Act 2001 lists psilocine (item 101), psilocin (item 248A, trafficable quantity 5 g or 20 units) and psilocybine (item 249).

• Possession: s 24 covers possessing, using or administering a controlled drug, with a fine up to 50 penalty units or imprisonment up to 2 years.
• Trafficking and supply: trafficking (s 12) carries imprisonment up to 21 years. Sale or supply (s 26) carries up to 100 penalty units or 4 years.
• Plants: Part 3 lists controlled plants. No fungus or Psilocybe entry was found.
• Diversion: the Act has no caution or diversion provision.

Australian Capital Territory

The ACT adopts the drug list in the Criminal Code Regulation 2005 and lists psilocine and psilocybine as prohibited substances. The same regulation lists “any plant of species Psilocybe” and Stropharia cubensis as controlled plants. The Drugs of Dependence Regulation 2009 sets the small quantity for psilocybine at 1.5 g.

• Possession: s 171(1) of the Drugs of Dependence Act 1989 sets 1 penalty unit for not more than a small quantity. Section 171(2) sets 50 penalty units, 6 months, or both, for more than a small quantity.
• Diversion: s 171A allows an offence notice for a simple drug offence. The person can pay the prescribed penalty or complete an approved drug diversion program within 60 days.
• Supply and trafficking: sale or supply is 500 penalty units, 5 years, or both (s 164(3)). Trafficking under the Criminal Code (s 603) is up to 10 years or 1,000 penalty units, and higher for commercial quantities.
• Cultivation: Criminal Code s 618(1) is 200 penalty units, 2 years, or both.

Northern Territory

Schedule 2 of the Misuse of Drugs Act 1990 lists psilocine and “psilocybin and its derivatives”, with a traffickable quantity of 0.10 g and a commercial quantity of 5.00 g.

• Possession: below the traffickable quantity, s 7B sets 50 penalty units for a Schedule 2 drug. At the traffickable quantity, s 7A sets 500 penalty units or 5 years. Commercial quantity is 14 years (s 7).
• Supply: commercial quantity is 14 years (s 5). Less than commercial is 500 penalty units or 5 years (s 5A).
• Plants: the cultivation sections apply to plants in Schedules 1 and 2. No fungus or Psilocybe entry was found.
• Diversion: the infringement notice schedule lists only cannabis. No diversion provision for other drugs was found.
• Exemptions: s 42 covers a dangerous drug supplied on the lawful prescription of an authorised prescriber.

How mushrooms are treated

Fungi are handled three ways. South Australia lists fungi that contain psilocin or psilocybine. The Commonwealth border-control regulations and the ACT list plants of the species Psilocybe (the ACT also lists Stropharia cubensis). New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, Western Australia, Tasmania and the Northern Territory list the chemicals, and the legislation read does not name mushrooms. No jurisdiction was found to have a separate rule for wild-growing mushrooms.

What this guide does not cover

Some provisions were not read, including most state medicines and poisons Acts (which set the prescribing rules for Schedule 8 psilocybine), some summary-disposal penalties and police diversion pages in Victoria, Tasmania and the Northern Territory. Where a point could not be confirmed from a primary source, the guide says so rather than filling the gap. This is a summary of legislation, not legal advice. Check the linked registers for the current text, and seek legal advice for a specific situation.