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Regulatory

Poisons Standard Schedule 4 Explained for Research Peptides

By the Pillar Research teamJuly 20267 min read

Part of the Australian Regulation topic cluster · editorial policy

Retatrutide, BPC-157, and most research peptides sold in Australia are classified under the Poisons Standard. Here's what that document actually is, what Schedule 4 means, and how it sits alongside the Research Use Only framework.

If you've searched "[compound name] poisons standard" while researching whether a peptide is legal to buy in Australia, you've run into a document most people have never heard of outside pharmacy and toxicology circles: the Poisons Standard, formally the Standard for the Uniform Scheduling of Medicines and Poisons (SUSMP). It's a separate legal mechanism from the one most people assume applies - the Australian Register of Therapeutic Goods (ARTG) - and understanding the difference matters if you're trying to work out what's actually being said about a compound's legal status.

What the Poisons Standard actually is

The Poisons Standard is a legislative instrument made under the Therapeutic Goods Act 1989 (Cth). It doesn't approve or register products - that's what ARTG listing does. Instead, it sorts every scheduled substance in Australia into one of several numbered Schedules based on the level of access control considered appropriate, from Schedule 2 (pharmacy medicine) up through Schedule 8 (controlled drug) and Schedule 9 (prohibited substance). A compound can sit in the Poisons Standard's schedules without ever having gone through ARTG registration - the two systems answer different questions. ARTG asks "has this been evaluated and approved for a specific therapeutic use?" The Poisons Standard asks "what level of supply and record-keeping control does this substance warrant?"

Schedule 4 and Appendix D, specifically

Most of the research peptides in this catalogue - Retatrutide, TB-500, GHK-Cu, CJC-1295, Melanotan II, Ipamorelin, and Semax among them - are classified as Schedule 4 substances: "prescription only" medicines, meaning supply is restricted regardless of whether an ARTG-registered product exists. BPC-157 carries an additional Appendix D listing on top of its Schedule 4 status, which layers on extra record-keeping and supply-control requirements specific to substances the Poisons Standard treats as warranting closer tracking.

  • Schedule 4 (S4) - prescription-only. Supply is restricted to specific authorised channels regardless of therapeutic registration status.
  • Appendix D - an additional layer applied to specific substances (BPC-157 among them) requiring extra record-keeping and supply documentation beyond the base Schedule 4 controls.
  • Not ARTG-listed - none of these compounds have been evaluated or approved for human therapeutic use. Scheduling and ARTG registration are independent; a Schedule 4 classification is not an approval.

How this sits alongside Research Use Only supply

Schedule 4 classification restricts human therapeutic supply - it doesn't prohibit lawful supply for in vitro laboratory research. Pillar Research supplies every compound in this catalogue under the Research Use Only (RUO) framework: sold exclusively for laboratory and analytical research, not for human or animal consumption, with purchasers confirming that intended use at checkout. The Schedule 4 (and, for BPC-157, Appendix D) classification is a fact about the substance's status under the Poisons Standard - it runs in parallel with, not instead of, the RUO research-supply framework.

Why the distinction actually matters

Conflating "not ARTG-listed" with "unregulated" is a common mistake. A compound can be simultaneously (a) not listed on the ARTG, (b) not approved for any therapeutic use, and (c) still subject to real, active scheduling controls under the Poisons Standard that constrain how it can lawfully be supplied. All three of those things are true for every compound Pillar Research sells. None of them describe an approved medicine - they describe a controlled research substance with defined legal boundaries around its supply.

Compound-by-compound classification

  • Retatrutide - Schedule 4 (prescription-only)
  • BPC-157 - Schedule 4, plus Appendix D
  • TB-500 - Schedule 4 (prescription-only)
  • GHK-Cu - Schedule 4 (prescription-only) for the copper-peptide complex
  • CJC-1295 - Schedule 4 (prescription-only)
  • Melanotan II - Schedule 4 (prescription-only)
  • Ipamorelin - Schedule 4 (prescription-only)
  • Semax - Schedule 4 (prescription-only)

Compliance reminder

All compounds referenced here are supplied by Pillar Research strictly for in vitro laboratory research use under the Research Use Only (RUO) framework. None is listed on the Australian Register of Therapeutic Goods (ARTG), none is a therapeutic good under the Therapeutic Goods Act 1989 (Cth), and none is intended for human or animal consumption, therapeutic use, or diagnostic procedures.

See the individual compound pages for full chemistry, research, and compliance detail: Retatrutide, BPC-157, TB-500, and the full catalogue.

Primary sources

Links lead to the original paper, DOI record, or open-access full text where available.

  1. TGA: Poisons Standard (SUSMP)
  2. TGA: introduction to the Poisons Standard

This compound is supplied for in vitro laboratory and educational research only. It is not listed on the Australian Register of Therapeutic Goods (ARTG) and is not a therapeutic good under the Therapeutic Goods Act 1989 (Cth). Not for human or animal consumption, therapeutic use, or diagnostic procedures. By purchasing, you confirm you are a qualified researcher or acting on behalf of a licensed research facility, and you assume full responsibility for the safe handling, storage, and lawful use of this compound.