- Hon Casey Costello
The Government has taken further steps to providing better regulation for medicines, medical devices, and natural health products with the first reading of a bill to repeal the Therapeutic Products Act 2023.
Repealing the Therapeutic Products Act (TPA) shows the Government is listening to the concerns of industry and consumers, says Associate Health Minister Casey Costello.
"The TPA would have led to the overregulation of low-risk products, imposed unnecessary costs and created more barriers to access to medicines and medical products," Ms Costello says.
The TPA was not due to take effect until September 2026 and the regulatory regime required to support it, including the creation of a new regulatory agency and IT systems, had still to be developed. Repealing the Act now means that industry and practitioners will not have to change their businesses or the way they operate, and there will be no disruption to consumers or the health system.
"There is no question that the current Medicines Act is outdated, and we are already working on a modern, fit-for-purpose regulatory system for medicines and medical devices and what will be a separate system for natural health products," Ms Costello says.
"We can replace the TPA with legislation that protects consumers without creating unnecessary red tape for industry and I will take proposals to cabinet later this year."
Repealing the TPA is a commitment in the National-New Zealand First and National-ACT coalition agreements.
Until new legislation is passed the Medicines Act and Dietary Supplement Regulations, which are currently in place, will continue to apply.
