Ahpra advertising rules: Is your practice compliant?
Your practice website does more than help patients find your services. It shapes their expectations, communicates your practitioners’ qualifications and influences decisions about care.
That means the wording on your website matters. A practitioner profile, patient review, treatment description or special offer could fall under Australia’s health practitioner advertising laws, even if it was never intended to be a formal advertisement.
Section 133 of the Health Practitioner Regulation National Law sets out five requirements for advertising a regulated health service. These requirements are regulated by the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (Ahpra) and the National Boards, which also publish the advertising guidelines practices are expected to follow.
The rules extend across websites, social media and other promotional channels. They can also apply to content prepared by an external marketing agency, so engaging a third party does not remove your responsibility for what is published on your behalf.
Here are five areas to review, with examples of what to look for and practical ways to reduce the risk of non-compliant advertising.
The five core rules for healthcare advertising
Under section 133 of the National Law, advertising a regulated health service, or a business providing one, must not:
- Be false, misleading or deceptive.
- Offer a gift, discount or other inducement without stating the terms and conditions.
- Use testimonials or purported testimonials about the service or business.
- Create an unreasonable expectation of beneficial treatment.
- Directly or indirectly encourage the indiscriminate or unnecessary use of health services.
These requirements apply to anyone advertising a regulated health service, including practices, businesses and other advertisers, not only registered practitioners.
1. Patient reviews and testimonials
Online reviews can help prospective patients understand what to expect from a practice. However, using patient feedback in your marketing requires care. Under the National Law, testimonials about the clinical aspects of a regulated health service are prohibited in advertising. This includes comments about symptoms, diagnoses, treatment experiences and clinical outcomes.
The key distinction is what the review says.
A comment about the administrative experience of visiting a practice is different from a statement about the effectiveness of a treatment.
Example:
Generally acceptable
"Friendly reception team and easy to book."
Prohibited in advertising
“My back pain disappeared after two sessions.”
The second example describes a clinical outcome, making it a clinical testimonial.
The rules can apply when a practice republishes reviews from third-party platforms, even if the original review was genuine and unsolicited. Patient stories and case studies can also contain prohibited testimonials or create unrealistic expectations about treatment outcomes.
Editing reviews to retain positive comments while removing negative ones may create a misleading impression, too.
What to review: Check testimonials and patient feedback used on your website, social media and other channels you control. Avoid reusing clinical reviews as promotional content, and refer to Ahpra’s guidance if you are unsure whether particular feedback can be published.
2. Before-and-after images
Images can communicate the potential effects of a treatment quickly, but they can also shape expectations in ways that written claims do not.
Before-and-after images are not automatically prohibited. However, they may create an unreasonable expectation of beneficial treatment if they imply that a particular result is typical, guaranteed or solely attributable to the treatment.
Consider the overall impression the images create, including their captions and surrounding text. Before publishing, ask:
Are the images genuine?
Fabricated, enhanced or misleadingly edited images give a false impression.
Are the images presented consistently?
Lighting, angle, posture, makeup or framing can exaggerate a result. Keep conditions the same where possible.
Can the result reasonably be attributed to the treatment?
Could something else explain the change? Don’t imply the treatment caused it without a basis.
Could the images create unrealistic expectations?
One person's outcome does not necessarily reflect what another patient will experience. Avoid presenting an individual result as though it is assured.
Are the relevant requirements met?
Check consent, privacy and any extra rules for the procedure or profession.
These considerations are particularly important for cosmetic procedures, which may be subject to more specific requirements.
What to review: Assess images alongside their captions, claims and context. A technically genuine image can still create a misleading impression if the way it is presented overstates the likely benefits of treatment.
3. Practitioner titles, qualifications and specialist claims
Your practitioner profiles help patients understand who will be providing their care. They should accurately describe each person’s professional registration, qualifications and experience without implying credentials they do not hold.
Pay particular attention to three areas.
Protected professional and specialist titles
Some professional and specialist titles are restricted under the National Law. A practitioner should not claim to be a specialist in a recognised specialty unless they meet the relevant registration requirements.
Descriptions of additional training or clinical experience should also be worded carefully so they do not imply formal specialist registration where none exists.
Using the title “Dr”
The title “Dr” does not, by itself, establish that someone is a registered medical practitioner. Ahpra advises that practitioners who use the title in advertising but are not registered medical practitioners should make their registered profession clear.
For example, “Dr Lee (Osteopath)” identifies the practitioner's profession more clearly than “Dr Lee” alone.
The title “surgeon”
Specific restrictions apply to medical practitioners using the title “surgeon” or representing themselves as belonging to a surgical class. Section 115A of the National Law addresses these restrictions for practitioners who are not members of a recognised surgical class.
Requirements vary depending on the title and profession, so check the applicable registration rules rather than relying on a general description of a practitioner's experience.
What to review: Compare each profile with the practitioner’s current registration details. Check titles, qualifications, specialist claims and descriptions of experience, particularly when staff join, change roles or update their biographies.
4. Discounts, special offers and pricing
Section 133 requires the terms and conditions of an advertised gift, discount or other inducement to be stated. Patients should be able to understand what the offer includes and what they need to do to access it.
For example, a consultation discount should clearly identify:
- The service covered by the offer.
- Who is eligible, including whether it applies to new or existing patients.
- When the offer expires.
- Any exclusions, conditions or additional costs.
An offer that omits important conditions or gives an inaccurate impression of the actual price may be misleading.
Consider the wider message, too. Ahpra warns against advertising that encourages the indiscriminate or unnecessary use of health services. Incentives linked to repeated treatments, for example, may encourage people to seek services regardless of clinical need.
Urgency-based messaging deserves similar care. Phrases such as “Act now before it’s too late” may create undue pressure if they suggest a patient’s health will suffer unless they book, without a sound clinical basis.
What to review: Check every advertised offer for clear terms and accurate pricing. Make sure the language informs patients about their options rather than pressuring them into treatment they may not need.
5. Treatment claims and supporting evidence
Describing your services and the conditions you treat is an important part of helping patients make informed decisions. However, claims about treatment benefits must not mislead patients or create unreasonable expectations.
Look closely at how your website describes outcomes, effectiveness and potential risks.
Promises about results
Avoid guarantees or statements suggesting a treatment will work for everyone. Outcomes can vary depending on the patient, their condition and other relevant factors.
Claims about effectiveness
Claims about the benefits of a treatment should be accurate and supported by appropriate evidence relevant to the service being advertised. A single patient's experience or a practitioner's observations may not be enough to support a broad claim about effectiveness.
Descriptions of risks
Words such as “risk-free”, “pain-free” and “guaranteed” can give patients an inaccurate impression if they overlook potential adverse effects, limitations or uncertainty.
For example, a statement that a treatment “guarantees permanent relief” may overstate what the service can reliably deliver. A more balanced description should reflect the evidence and avoid promising a particular outcome.
What can happen if advertising rules are breached?
Breaches of healthcare advertising requirements can have legal and professional consequences.
The penalties set out in the National Law include maximum fines of $60,000 per offence for an individual and $120,000 for a body corporate. Misuse of a protected title can also carry up to three years’ imprisonment for an individual. Registered practitioners may face further action from their National Board.
These are maximum penalties, not automatic fines for every breach. The consequences depend on the circumstances and the applicable legal provisions.
Keeping your website compliant
Healthcare advertising compliance is not a one-off task. Practitioner profiles change, new services are introduced and marketing campaigns come and go. Regular reviews can help your practice identify potential issues before they become a problem.
If you work with an external marketing agency or website developer, establish a clear review process so content is checked before publication and updated when circumstances change.
A practical website compliance checklist
Use this checklist when reviewing your website, social media profiles and other marketing materials.
- Patient reviews do not include prohibited clinical testimonials.
- Before-and-after images are genuine and do not create unreasonable expectations of treatment benefits.
- Practitioner titles, qualifications and specialist claims accurately reflect current registration.
- Discounts, gifts and other inducements include clear terms and conditions.
- Pricing is accurate and does not mislead patients about the cost of a service.
- Treatment claims are evidence-based and do not promise guaranteed results.
- External agencies and other third parties understand the requirements for content published on your behalf.
- Website content is reviewed regularly, including when services, practitioners or promotional offers change.
Sources
- Guidelines for advertising a regulated health service: Ahpra’s main guidelines, including the new restrictions on the title “surgeon”.
- Summary of the advertising requirements: a plain-language overview of testimonials, titles and claims.
- Titles in health advertising: how protected titles, “Dr” and specialist claims can be used in advertising.
- Acceptable evidence in health advertising: what evidence can support claims about treatment effectiveness.
- Health Practitioner Regulation National Law: the full legislation, including section 133.
- Ahpra advertising hub: all of Ahpra’s advertising resources in one place.
This post is general information, not legal advice. The main Ahpra guidelines date from December 2020, and Ahpra says they will be updated for recent changes at the next review, so check the advertising hub for the current version. For borderline cases, speak to your professional association, indemnity insurer or a health lawyer.
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