This Bill is an omnibus Bill. It is proposed that the Bill be divided into two separate Bills. One of these will establish a joint trans-Tasman regulatory scheme for the regulation of therapeutic products. The other will repeal and replace the Medicines Act 1981 with updated legislation for controls on medicines, such as the scheduling of medicines.

This bill is an omnibus Bill amending 7 statutes to increase the range of functions that can be performed by health practitioners under those statutes by changing certain references to medical practitioners to references to health practitioners.

This bill establishes a system for the regulation of low-risk natural health products in New Zealand.