The Therapeutic Goods Administration's interim ruling means people may no longer need a prescription to obtain naloxone from February 2016.

When naloxone is given to someone who has overdosed on heroin or opioid painkillers such as oxycodone, it helps get them breathing again.

The TGA ruling stated that making naloxone easier to obtain would cut down on fatal overdoses, dismissing arguments that having an antidote at hand would lead to drug users taking more risks.

It stated naloxone does not have serious effects if injected incorrectly and there is little risk it will be abused.

"The benefits outweigh the risks," the ruling states.

In Victoria, the Penington Institute and Harm Reduction Victoria are currently running education campaigns on naloxone.

The drug is currently sold under the brand name Narcan and has been subsidised under the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme since 2012.

Burnet Institute head of alcohol and other drug research Paul Dietze​ said making naloxone available over the counter would be a "game-changing" decision.

He said there were 1000 opioid drug overdoses in Australia last year, which could have been reversed if naloxone was at hand. "All of those deaths were preventable," he said.

A trial in the ACT, in which drug users, their friends and families were trained in how to administer naloxone, was found to have reversed 57 potentially fatal overdoses.

Professor Dietze said after naloxone was injected into the shoulder or the buttocks of someone who had overdosed, an ambulance still needed to be called.

Victorian Alcohol and Drug Association executive officer Sam Biondo​ welcomed the change. "Anything that can reduce harm or death is a good idea," he said.

But he said naloxone should be monitored to ensure it was being used correctly. He likened the drug to a defibrillator, in that people need proper training before they are able to use it on others.

Penington Institute chief executive John Ryan said doctors and pharmacists needed to be more proactive in informing patients about overdose risk and recommending naloxone. He said the onus was currently on the drug user to get the prescription from their doctor.

Mr Ryan said some drug users either did not know about naloxone or did not think they would need it. "They don't think it will happen to them," he said.

In Victoria, a total of 384 people died of fatal overdoses last year, with the number of deaths exceeding the state's road toll.

It is possible to make submissions on the TGA's interim ruling before the final decision is made in late November.

The drug regulator is also pushing to make codeine-containing medications such as Nurofen Plus prescription-only from next year