Is Nimetazepam legal in Australia?

Legal status

Controlled as a prescription only benzodiazepine and a prohibited import; not a Criminal Code drug. Nimetazepam is not named in the Schedules of F2026L01327 as in force on 2 October 2026, but it is a 1,4-benzodiazepin-2-one (1-methyl-7-nitro-5-phenyl), squarely a benzodiazepine derivative, so the Schedule 4 class entry «# BENZODIAZEPINE derivatives except when separately specified in these Schedules.» places it in Schedule 4 with the Appendix D clause 5 possession control. Customs (Prohibited Imports) Regulations 1956 Schedule 4 item 164 names it («164 Nimetazepam»). It is not listed in Schedule 1 or Schedule 2 of the Criminal Code Regulations 2019 (Compilation No. 6). Nearest listed drug: bromazolam (Schedule 1 item 36A, Schedule 2 item 31A), the one benzodiazepine the Regulations list. Limb (a) of s301.9(1) does not reach it because it is not a stereoisomer, a structural isomer or an alkaloid of bromazolam; its molecular formula differs; limb (c) does not, because reaching it from bromazolam would remove the whole fused triazole ring with its methyl group, add a ring carbonyl and an N-methyl group and replace bromine with a nitro group, and removing a ring is none of the s301.9(1)(c) modifications; and on the method stated next limb (d) does not, because removing a whole ring puts it outside s301.9 on that method, whatever view is taken of the remaining swaps. The method used for every row is a reading, not a rule the Act states: a modification that limb (a) or limb (c) plainly describes is treated as making a drug analogue; one contestable modification (a swap within one paragraph of s301.9(2), or a core ring replaced), a single limb (d) change from the listed drug, or an express exclusion or different listing in the Regulations is treated as making the exposure conditional; anything more, including adding or removing a ring, is treated as outside s301.9. Because s301.9(1)(c) allows a modification «obtained in one or more of the following ways», the tier this gives can depend on how a change is described, and nothing read settles which description governs. No court decision applying s301.9 to nimetazepam was read, so this is a reading of the text. The Poisons Standard read is the Poisons Standard October 2026 (Federal Register of Legislation F2026L01327, made 28 September 2026, registered 30 September 2026, in force from 1 October 2026 under its s2, replacing the June 2026 issue; no later issue was registered when it was read). This cell states Commonwealth law only. The Poisons Standard has effect through adoption by each state and territory: its Reader's guide, which s5(1) of the instrument says is not part of it, states «The scheduling of poisons is implemented through relevant State and Territory legislation.» Most personal possession and use offences are state and territory law, which differs by jurisdiction, and Criminal Code s300.4 keeps those laws running concurrently with Part 9.1. Read as in force on 2 October 2026 against F2026L01327, the Criminal Code Act 1995 at Compilation No. 174 (compilation date 30 June 2026, C2026C00243), the Criminal Code Regulations 2019 at Compilation No. 6 (compilation date 13 December 2025, F2025C01260) and the Customs (Prohibited Imports) Regulations 1956 at Compilation No. 147 (compilation date 13 July 2026, F2026C00751). The Criminal Code Regulations schedules are made by the Governor-General and the Poisons Standard by a delegate of the Secretary under Therapeutic Goods Act 1989 s52D, so a later instrument can change any of this, and this reading does not rule out a later amendment.

Consequences if caught

Capital exposure: none. The highest penalty anywhere in Part 9.1 of the Criminal Code is imprisonment for life, and Death Penalty Abolition Act 1973 s6 provides «The punishment of death must not be imposed as the penalty for any offence referred to in subsection 3(2) or (3).» No Commonwealth offence reaches possession, sale, supply or manufacture of nimetazepam; those are state and territory poisons offences built on Schedule 4 and Appendix D. At the border it is a prohibited import under regulation 5 of the Customs (Prohibited Imports) Regulations 1956, which names nimetazepam at Schedule 4 item 164. Importing it without a licence and permission, or outside the traveller exemption, contravenes Customs Act 1901 s233(1)(b), and having unlawfully imported goods in possession contravenes s233(1)(d); both are strict liability (s233(1AB)) and are punishable under s233AB(2) by a fine only, not exceeding 3 times the value of the goods or 1,000 penalty units ($364,000), whichever is greater. Customs Act s233(5) takes narcotic goods, meaning border controlled drugs and plants, out of s233, which is why Division 307 and not s233 governs a border controlled drug. Part 9.2 does not apply because s320.2(2)(k) excludes a prohibited import. There is no Commonwealth offence of using or consuming a drug; use is left to state and territory law. A penalty unit is $364 for an offence committed on or after 1 July 2026 under the Crimes (Amount of a Penalty Unit) Instrument 2026 (F2026N00424), made under Crimes Act 1914 s4AA, so 400 penalty units is $145,600, 2,000 is $728,000 and 7,500 is $2,730,000; «or both» in each penalty means the prison term and the fine are available alternatively or together.

If prescribed or medical

Schedule 4 makes it a prescription only medicine wherever a state or territory adopts the class entry, and Appendix D clause 5 adds that it «must not be possessed by a person without authority». No Australian approved nimetazepam product appears in anything read for this cell, so a local prescription route is not shown.

Documentation

Traveller rule, Commonwealth: regulation 5(2)(b) of the Customs (Prohibited Imports) Regulations 1956 lifts the import prohibition for a drug carried by a passenger on a ship or aircraft that «is required for the medical treatment of the person or of another passenger under the care of the person», «was prescribed by a medical practitioner for the purposes of that treatment» and «was supplied to the person in accordance with the prescription of the medical practitioner referred to in subparagraph (ii)». Therapeutic Goods Regulations 1990 Schedule 5 item 1 (Compilation No. 130, compilation date 8 September 2026) covers «therapeutic goods that are imported for therapeutic use in the treatment of the importer or the importer’s immediate family» and limits the personal import to «not more than 3 months’ supply at the maximum dose recommended by the manufacturer» in one importation and, for goods in Schedule 4 or Schedule 8 of the current Poisons Standard, requires a written authority from a medical practitioner, or an overseas medical practitioner where the goods are carried by a passenger. The Australian Border Force traveller guidance (abf.gov.au, read 2 October 2026) asks the traveller to «carry a letter or copy of your prescription (written in English) from your doctor to certify that the medicine has been prescribed to you to treat a medical condition», to keep the medicine in its original packaging and to declare it on arrival. Anything outside that exemption needs an import licence and permission from the Office of Drug Control under regulation 5(1). Where the medicine is also a border controlled drug, Division 307 of the Criminal Code has no traveller exception of its own; the traveller relies on Criminal Code s10.5, «A person is not criminally responsible for an offence if the conduct constituting the offence is justified or excused by or under a law.», on the footing that an import within regulation 5(2)(b) is so excused. That footing is this cell's reading of the provisions; no decision applying it was read. The Therapeutic Goods Administration and Office of Drug Control traveller pages (tga.gov.au, odc.gov.au) did not respond from this network on 2 October 2026 (curl timeout after 60 seconds, twice, and a second fetcher timed out), so nothing in this cell rests on them.

Drug laws and enforcement change and vary within a country. This is not legal advice. Always confirm with Australia’s embassy or official drug authority before traveling; penalties can be severe, including imprisonment.