The so-called abortion drug RU486 will be widely available to Australian women after the Therapeutic Goods Administration approved an application to import the drug by a company set up by the reproductive health group Marie Stopes International.

A ministerial veto over the drug was lifted by Parliament in 2006 but the drug has had only very limited availability because just a handful of individual general practitioners were granted permission to import and prescribe the drug.

"In line with its global objective of ensuring choice and access to sexual and reproductive health services for women Marie Stopes International has established a not-for-profit health subsidiary, MS Health, to market and distribute reproductive health products," a spokeswoman for Marie Stopes International said.

"MS Health will be marketing and distributing mifepristone and misoprostol in Australia for medical termination of early pregnancy."