Australia's New South Wales (NSW) Government has initiated the first phase of its attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) care reforms.

With the reform in place, trained general practitioners (GPs) will be allowed to prescribe ongoing treatments for previously diagnosed individuals.

This marks a step in making ADHD treatment more accessible across the state.

Since the expression of interest process began in July, approximately 1,330 GPs have shown interest in the reforms, with 62 having completed the necessary training to become continuation prescribers.

The reforms aim to alleviate the burden on specialist services, which often involve high fees and long wait times, potentially delaying critical treatment, especially for children.

Further information on the second stage of the reforms, which will authorise GPs to initiate psychostimulant medications, is expected to be announced later in the year.

The changes are designed to free up paediatricians and psychiatrists to focus on new patients by allowing stable patients to receive ongoing management and medication from their GPs.

This approach of general practice, addressing patients' emotional, physical and social wellbeing, is a key aspect of these reforms.

Through NSW Health, the government is funding the training and resource access for GPs to maximise the impact of these changes.

NSW Premier Chris Minns said: “This is a really important milestone in our work to build a fairer system by reducing the cost of treatment and removing red tape for thousands of families.

“This reform is a commonsense change, which we hope can help break the cycle of people having to wait years for what can be a life-altering diagnosis.”

Last month saw the expansion of NSW's safe staffing levels initiative to an additional 27 regional and rural hospitals.