What an AUST L number means (and what it doesn’t)

Written by Cassie, registered pharmacist
Founder of Clean Green Safe

If you’ve noticed the letters AUST L on a supplement and wondered what they mean, you’re in good company. It’s the most common number on Australian supplements, and it tells you something useful, as long as you know its limits.

What AUST L means

AUST L is the number given to a listed medicine on the TGA’s Australian Register of Therapeutic Goods (ARTG). Listed medicines are considered lower risk. To list a product, the sponsor must use ingredients from the TGA’s permitted list at permitted amounts, have it made by a manufacturer that meets Good Manufacturing Practice, and certify that the product meets the listing requirements.

What AUST L doesn’t mean

Listed medicines aren’t individually evaluated by the TGA before they go on the register. The sponsor certifies that the product meets the requirements, and the TGA reviews a selection of listed medicines after they’re on the market. So an AUST L number isn’t a TGA endorsement, and it isn’t confirmation that the product works or that it’s right for you.

How to check an AUST L number

You can look the number up yourself on the TGA’s ARTG public register. The entry shows the sponsor, the active ingredients and whether the listing is current. If the number on the label doesn’t match what you find, or you can’t find it at all, it’s worth asking your pharmacist or contacting the sponsor before you buy.

AUST L and AUST L(A)

You may occasionally see AUST L(A). This is an assessed listed medicine. For these products, the TGA assesses the sponsor’s evidence for the product’s claims before listing, which allows some claims that an ordinary listed medicine can’t make. Both are listed medicines and follow the same manufacturing standards.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Cassie, registered pharmacist

Cassie is a registered pharmacist, a parent and the founder of Clean Green Safe. With a background in Australian supplement regulation across the TGA, FSANZ and NHMRC, she built Clean Green Safe to help people understand what’s really in their supplements, and how it all adds up across everything they take.