The hidden underbelly of Australia's weight-loss drug boom

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For Kansasin Darwan, living in Bajool in central Queensland, the weight-loss injection was supposed to be a solution. Instead, she says, it left her barely able to function.

The 48-year-old says she had gained weight during perimenopause and believed her Australian GP was unlikely to prescribe a weight-management medicine because she did not meet the relevant clinical criteria.

In Australia, GLP-1 weight loss drugs are generally prescribed for chronic weight management in adults with a body mass index (BMI) of 30 or higher, or a BMI of 27 to under 30 with at least one weight-related health condition.

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So, while on holiday in her home country of Thailand, Darwan went to a beauty clinic in outer Bangkok and bought an injectable medicine branded as Mounjaro.

Beauty clinics in Thailand are generally supervised by doctors. However, the screening process for GLP-1 use can be less extensive than the assessment typically conducted by GPs in Australia. For example, some customers at beauty clinics may be prescribed GLP-1 drugs even if they do not have diabetes or are within a healthy weight range.

Darwan brought the drugs back to Australia and began using them to lose weight.

"I couldn't concentrate while driving. I wasn't feeling like myself. I couldn't sleep. Even my children noticed that I was different," she tells SBS Thai.

Eighteen out of every 1,000 Australians, or almost 2 per cent of the population, are now taking GLP-1s regularly, according to a study by scientists at the University of New South Wales (UNSW) published in November 2025.

Darwan's experience offers a glimpse into a fast-growing market for weight-loss injections, where some Australians are seeking access overseas, while others are obtaining medicines through social-media sellers and informal supply channels.

An investigation by SBS Thai found weight-loss medicines being offered without a doctor's prescription in Australian community groups, reports of products entering the country through informal channels, and unapproved peptides being marketed as weight-loss products.

But access to these medicines is not uniformly occurring outside the established medical system. Many Australians obtain weight-loss drugs through registered health professionals and pharmacies.

For consumers navigating this market, the distinction between an approved prescription medicine, an experimental drug and an unapproved product can be difficult to see — with experts and authorities warning that using medicines outside approved pathways can carry serious risks.