Work with us

The Office of Drug Control is part of the Health Products Regulation Group in the Australian Government Department of Health and Aged Care - external site. Our head office is in Canberra.

Our vision is for effective regulation of controlled drugs to prevent illicit supply and use, while maintaining access to essential medications. As an Australian Government regulator we want to maintain the confidence of Australians and the international community in effective narcotic drug control.

We regulate controlled narcotic drugs using licences and permits. We assess applications and issue licences and permits for import, export and manufacture of controlled narcotic drugs and medicinal cannabis cultivation.

Roles at the ODC

Our work includes:

• liaising with the International Narcotic Control Board (INCB)
• applying amendments to international drug controls in Australia
• secretariat functions for the Australian Advisory Council on the Medicinal Use of Cannabis
• assessing licence and permit applications
• compliance inspections of licensed medicinal cannabis cultivation
• providing advice about travel with controlled drugs.

Job vacancies

Visit the Department of Health and Aged Care job vacancies page to see the Department’s current job vacancies - external site.

To find out if we have any vacant positions search ODC in the keywords section at the Job Search page - external site.

How to apply

To apply for a vacant ODC position, you will need to write an application. In the application you need to demonstrate your skills, knowledge, experience, and qualifications to perform the advertised role (or ability to quickly gain these). These requirements are in line with Australian Public Service Work Level Standards - external site.

More information

• Learn more about the ODC
• Lean more about working in the Australian Public Service - external site
• Read the Department of Health and Aged Care Enterprise Agreement - external site