The 57-year-old former world number one bogeyed the first two of his opening round at the Palmer Coolum resort in southern Queensland state before deciding he could not continue.
"He's had a bad night," Australian PGA chief Brian Thorburn told reporters. "He tried to soldier on through the tournament but after a couple of holes it just wasn't possible for him.
"He's under medical attention at the moment."
Norman was one of the A$1.25 million ($1.3 million)tournament's main drawcards along with fellow former British Open winner Darren Clarke and 2006 U.S. Open winner Geoff Ogilvy.
($1 = 0.9485 Australian dollars) (Reporting by Ian Ransom in Melbourne; Editing by Peter Rutherford)