More health professionals may be able to prescribe ADHD meds from the outset from today - but impacts are expected to be gradual. 

From this month, trained GPs and nurse practitioners can start a patients treatment without a specialist's recommendation. 

A specialist appointment can take up to a year to secure in some areas.

General Practice Owners' Association Chair Dr Angus Chambers says this ends a 'bureaucratic barrier', but it's unclear how long it'll take positive change to happen.

"We're generalists, not specialists, so we've got a good working knowledge of the condition...so people will need to take some extra time to train to get the right sort of skillset."

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