Buying medicines online

Medsafe strictly warns against purchasing medicines or medical devices via social media platforms. Such sales are usually unauthorised and illegal.

Prescription medicines

A medicine or supplement you can buy over the counter in other countries might be classified as a prescription medicine in Aotearoa New Zealand, eg, antibiotics, melatonin, medicinal cannabis.

It’s illegal to import and have prescription medicines in Aotearoa New Zealand unless they’ve been prescribed for you by a New Zealand prescriber. If you’re having a prescription medicine sent to you from overseas, you’ll need to have a letter or a prescription for the medicine from a New Zealand prescriber. Customs might ask for this, and you could get a penalty if you don’t have it.

Read more about importing medicines for your personal use(external link) and travelling with medicinal cannabis products(external link).

Pharmacy-only or pharmacist-only medicines

Pharmacy-only medicines can only be supplied by a licensed pharmacy.

Pharmacist-only medicines require you to have a consultation with a pharmacist before they can be sold. This is to check that the medicine is appropriate for your health, safe for you to use and that you know how to take it.  

Selling pharmacy-only or pharmacist-only medicines privately or via social media is illegal.

To check the classification of a medicine in Aotearoa New Zealand you can got to classification of medicines in New Zealand(external link). The name of the medicine must be entered as its active ingredient and not its brand name. Medicines used overseas often have different brand names from those used in Aotearoa New Zealand. If you’re unsure, ask a pharmacist.

Bringing medicines with you into Aotearoa New Zealand

If you’re bringing prescription medicines into Aotearoa New Zealand with you in your luggage, you can bring up to 3 months’ supply as long as:

• you have a copy of the prescription or a letter from your prescriber
• the medicines are in their original containers, and
• you declare the medicines on your passenger arrival card.

You can bring in 6 months of oral contraceptive medicine or 1 month of controlled drugs. 

Medicines and health products purchased from overseas websites can have serious health risks, including:

• Fake or substandard products: Medicines sold online may not meet Aotearoa New Zealand’s strict standards. Some products contain too much, too little, or none of the stated active ingredient, while others have been found to contain dangerous substances.
• No regulation: Overseas websites are not required to meet Aotearoa New Zealand’s legal standards. There’s no guarantee that the company follows proper storage, handling, or labelling rules. Products may be contaminated, expired, or not suitable for your needs.
• Scams and identity theft: There's a significant risk of exposure to scam websites, fake advertisements, and the theft of your personal or payment information. No advertisements or products claiming Medsafe approval online are authentic, these are all fake.

• Buy only from legitimate New Zealand pharmacies: Don’t purchase medicines and other products from internet sites where you can’t check if the business is real. If the website claims to be a New Zealand pharmacy, check that the pharmacy is real. All legal pharmacies in Aotearoa New Zealand are listed on Medsafe’s Pharmacy Licence Register(external link).
• Be suspicious of any online store not requiring a New Zealand prescription for a prescription medicine: Legal pharmacies will always ask you for your prescription before they supply a prescription medicine.
• Ignore online advertisements or social media posts claiming a medicine has been approved by Medsafe: These are always fake.
• Check with your healthcare provider, or pharmacist before purchasing any medicine online.
• Check the Medsafe website(external link) for lists of high-risk medicines and current warnings.

If you think you’ve received a counterfeit (fake) or unsafe medicine, don’t use it. Contact the Medsafe compliance team(external link) to let them know.

You can report scam advertisements or suspicious online pharmacies(external link) to Medsafe.

If you've taken the product and think you're having a side effect, read more about medicines and side effects and reporting a reaction that you think might be a side effect.