Penicillin Allergy Awareness Program

Raising awareness about penicillin allergy and supporting general practitioners.

A reported penicillin allergy does not necessarily indicate true allergy. Studies suggest that up to 9 in 10 people with a reported penicillin allergy are not allergic when formally tested¹.

Penicillin allergy in general practice

Primary care is an important setting for identifying and addressing reported penicillin allergies. This may happen in two ways: a penicillin allergy may be identified or documented during a consultation for another health concern, or a patient may present specifically to discuss a penicillin allergy.

When a penicillin allergy is identified during a consultation for another health concern, GPs can take the opportunity to clarify the history and assess whether the reported allergy is likely to represent a true allergy. Where appropriate, this can include identifying patients who may be at low risk and could be suitable for testing, and ensuring the allergy record is updated with the outcome.

When a patient presents specifically to discuss their penicillin allergy, GPs can assess the reported reaction, discuss the potential benefits of allergy assessment and testing, and determine the most appropriate next step. Patients who are considered to be at higher risk of penicillin allergy should be referred to a specialist allergy service.

Access to specialist allergy services can be limited, making the role of primary care particularly important in identifying patients who may be suitable for assessment and helping ensure that penicillin allergy records accurately reflect the patient's current allergy status.

Low risk testing options are available to guide healthcare professionals in the community to undertake a safe assessment. Guidelines, training and other resources are available to support you.

Click on the links below to equip yourself and start having the conversation with your patients about their penicillin allergy.

Online training

ASCIA health professional e-training courses, and pass the quizzes to receive your certificates

Guidelines

ASCIA guidelines for the assessment and management of adults with penicillin allergy
ASCIA guidelines for the assessment and management of children with penicillin allergy

Allergy specialist support

Allergy specialist advice is available to support you through the free allergy assist® education and advice platform which is available to all GPs and Rural Generalists in Australia. Learn more about allergy assist®.

What to discuss with your patients

Before doing a penicillin allergy assessment, it is important to discuss the purpose, benefits and potential risks with your patients and obtain informed consent.
Your patients should understand what the assessment involves, including reviewing their allergy history and, where appropriate, undergoing an oral penicillin challenge.
Ensure that your patient has had the opportunity to ask questions, understands the information you have provided and agrees to proceed before you commence the assessment.
It is also important that they understand what the result of the assessment means for them. Some patients will be resistant to letting go of their penicillin allergy label, even if they have been confirmed not to be allergic. Therefore, it is important to communicate the benefits of being assessed and why their record will be updated to reflect the outcome of the assessment.

Update patient medical records

Accurate documentation and communication of your patient’s penicillin allergy status to other healthcare providers is essential to ensure your patient get the right treatment if and when needed.
Failure to clearly record assessment outcomes in electronic health records can result in patients unnecessarily avoiding first-line antibiotics, leading to delayed effectiveness of treatment and poorer health outcomes.
Healthcare professionals, particularly GPs, should ensure that their patient’s allergy status is clearly documented in their medical record and uploaded to My Health Record.

For further information on documenting and managing allergy information on electronic health records, refer to the Best practice guidelines for the recording, transfer and access of allergy information on electronic health records.

Health professional webinar

On September 9 2026, an information webinar was held for GPs. This was presented by Clinical Professor Michaela Lucas and covered:

Why confirming penicillin allergy matters
How to delabel patients in general practice
Taking an effective allergy history, identifying low-risk patients and knowing when to refer to a specialist
Accurately documenting drug allergy information in patient health records
Having confident conversations with patients about penicillin allergy
Where to find the ASCIA guidelines, e-training and supporting resources

Access the webinar recording: [link to be provided after September 9]

National penicillin allergy campaign

The National Allergy Council, the Australasian Society of Clinical Immunology and Allergy (ASCIA) and Allergy & Anaphylaxis Australia will be communicating about the importance of having a penicillin allergy confirmed via a national campaign.
The campaign is supported by new ASCIA guidelines for assessing and managing penicillin allergy.
The campaign aims to:
- Help consumers understand why confirming a penicillin allergy matters and give them the confidence to talk to their doctor about how to get their penicillin allergy assessed.
- Support GPs, pharmacists, nurses and other healthcare professionals to identify low-risk patients, initiate assessment where relevant, appropriately refer where required, and keep the patient’s penicillin allergy information up to date in medical records.

If you would like more information about the campaign, please contact the National Allergy Council.

Luintel A, Healy J, Blank M, et al. The global prevalence of reported penicillin allergy: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of Infection. 2025;90(2):106429