GLP-1 Weight Loss Drugs for Kids: What Australian Parents Should Know

GLP-1 medications, such as semaglutide (Wegovy) are TGA-approved for some adolescents aged 12 and over in Australia, but they are not subsidised for young people; they are never a first step, and whether one is right for your child is a decision only your child's doctor, preferably a paediatric endocrinologist, can make with you.

If you've seen the overseas headlines about teenagers being prescribed semaglutide and quietly wondered whether it's an option for your own child, you deserve a straight, factual answer.

Here's where things actually stand in Australia right now.

Key takeaways

• Wegovy (semaglutide) is TGA-approved for adolescents aged 12 and over who meet specific clinical criteria.
• No GLP-1 medication is PBS-subsidised for children or adolescents, so access is by private prescription only, at a high out-of-pocket cost.
• The most common side effects in young people are gastrointestinal (nausea, vomiting and diarrhea), and long-term evidence in growing bodies remains limited.
• These medications are only approved for use alongside lifestyle and behavioural support, never instead of it.
• In addition, in adolescents with documented insulin resistance, a trial of metformin therapy (e.g. Diabex XR), is a cheap and generally well-tolerated medication. Metformin with healthy lifestyle changes can improve a child's metabolism, weight and reduces risk of T2D, so should be trialled before GLP1 agonist therapy.
• The right starting point is a calm conversation with your GP or paediatric specialist, not an online weight loss clinic.

What GLP-1 medications actually are

GLP-1 receptor agonists are a class of medicines that mimic a natural gut hormone called glucagon-like peptide-1. They slow the rate of stomach emptying and act on appetite centres in the brain, so a person feels full sooner and stays full for longer. They are given as a weekly injection, though oral forms are being trialled presently.

In my experience dealing with adolescents using these medications, they can benefit many whose "food noise" or constant hunger and lack of satiety they feel is overwhelming. Reducing this "food noise" and constant hunger can teach the adolescent how to start making healthier dietary choices, while some initial weight loss can motivate them to be more physically active and improve their emotional state.

These medications weren't originally invented for weight loss. Semaglutide, the active ingredient in both Ozempic and Wegovy, was originally developed to help manage type 2 diabetes, and in Australia, Ozempic remains approved only for type 2 diabetes in adults. Wegovy is a higher-dose version of the same ingredient, approved specifically for weight management.

One more thing worth knowing upfront: these medications work while they are being taken. They don't rewire habits, fix sleep, ease stress, or change a child's relationship with food. That matters more for children than for anyone else, and we'll come back to it.

Where Australia stands on access rights right now

This is the part most overseas headlines won't tell you, because the rules in Australia are quite different to the United States.

TGA approval

According to Healthdirect Australia, Wegovy is approved for adolescents aged 12 and over, but only as an add-on to a reduced-calorie diet and increased physical activity, and only for young people with obesity as defined on sex- and age-specific growth charts and a body weight above 60kg. It is a prescription-only medicine, and treatment is reviewed and stopped if it isn't working. There is no TGA approval for any GLP-1 medication in children under 12.

PBS subsidy

There is currently no PBS subsidy for GLP-1 weight loss medication for anyone under 18. The Australian Government has committed to listing Wegovy on the PBS following a recommendation in late 2025, but that listing applies to a narrow group of adults with severe obesity and established cardiovascular disease. It does not extend to children or adolescents.

What does that mean in practice?

If a specialist decides Wegovy is clinically appropriate for your teenager, it would be a private prescription. Families can expect to pay several hundred dollars a month, totalling thousands of dollars a year. That cost, and the fact that treatment may need to continue long-term to maintain results, are genuine parts of the decision.

What we know about side effects, and what we don't

The most common side effects reported in adolescents mirror those in adults: nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea and constipation, particularly in the early weeks of treatment. For most young people, these settle, but for some, they are significant enough to stop treatment.

There are also open questions. The TGA has the GLP-1 class under additional safety monitoring and has issued a product warning about a potential risk of harmful thoughts or behaviours, which is still being investigated. Any change in a young person's mood during treatment should be raised with their doctor straight away.

The bigger gap is time. These medications are new in adolescents, so we simply don't have decades of data on how they affect growth, development and long-term health in young bodies. We also know that when treatment stops, appetite returns, and weight often does too. None of this means the medication is unsafe for a carefully selected teenager under specialist care. It means the decision deserves more thought than a headline can give it.

Moreover, while semaglutide can be effective in helping adolescents lose weight, without an appropriate exercise program that includes some resistance training, any benefits of weight loss will be mitigated by skeletal muscle loss and a lowering of the adolescents' basal metabolic rate. This lowering of BMR may induce significant weight regain if the GLP1 agonist is stopped or the dose reduced.

Why medication is never the whole answer

Notice the wording in the approval itself: an add-on to diet and physical activity. That isn't fine print. It's the whole design.

Childhood obesity is rarely just about food and movement. Stress, sleep, emotional health, bullying, family routines and a child's relationship with food all play a role, and a weekly injection touches none of them. A medication can lower appetite, but it can't teach a family to enjoy mealtimes again or help a child feel confident in their own skin.

That's why paediatric specialists treat these medications as one possible tool within a broader plan, usually reserved for adolescents with significant obesity or weight-related health problems where lifestyle support alone hasn't been enough. The foundation, with or without medication, is the same: sustainable, manageable change the whole family can live with.

How to start the conversation with your child's doctor

If you think a GLP-1 medication might be worth exploring, start with your GP. They can assess your child properly and, where appropriate, refer you to a paediatrician or paediatric endocrinologist with experience in adolescent weight management.

The questions worth asking include:

• Does my child meet the clinical criteria, and is medication even on the table at their age?
• What should we try, or strengthen, before considering medication?
• What side effects would we watch for, and how often would my child be reviewed?
• What happens if and when the medication stops?
• What would this realistically cost our family over a year or more?

Be cautious about online prescribing services that advertise these medications directly. A teenager's growth, development and emotional well-being need proper specialist oversight, not a telehealth script and a courier.

And if you've been hesitant to even raise the question, please don't be. Asking about a medication doesn't make you a parent looking for a shortcut. It makes you a parent doing your homework.