Health marketing
Ahpra advertising
rules, made plain.
If you advertise a regulated health service, section 133 of the National Law applies, and Ahpra's advertising guidelines explain how. Five things are banned: misleading ads, offers without their terms, testimonials, unreasonable expectations of benefit, and encouraging unnecessary use. This page covers offers, urgency, photos, who's responsible and what happens next.
Written by Dan Picken, a marketer who checks the sources. Last checked 2 November 2026.The five bans,
one line each.
From section 133. Advertising a regulated health service can't:
- Be false, misleading or deceptive, or likely to be.
- Offer a gift, discount or other inducement without stating its terms.
- Use testimonials, or things that look like them.
- Create an unreasonable expectation of beneficial treatment.
- Directly or indirectly encourage the indiscriminate or unnecessary use of health services.
Offers and
the word 'free'.
Ahpra's guidelines say an offer isn't free if the cost is recovered elsewhere, including through Medicare. 'Buy one, get one free' with a raised first price is a likely breach, and so is showing an instalment amount without the total cost.
The terms must be easy to find: in the ad, or a link away where space is short. The reader shouldn't have to search or ring you. State any age, expiry and location limits.
Ahpra's own example: a $20 referral discount with no terms breaches the rules. Adding the terms, such as 'new clients only', fixes it.
Build an offer
that holds up.
Fill in your offer. It drafts the line with its terms and flags the usual problems.
Offer terms builder
Write the offer
with its terms.
Fill in the details and it drafts the offer line with the terms Ahpra's guidelines expect, and flags what usually goes wrong. It's a drafting aid, not legal advice.
Draft offer line
Check before it runs
Urgency, prizes
and repeat visits.
The guidelines list urgency linked to claims that someone's health will suffer if they wait, prizes worth far more than the cost and risk of the treatment, and encouraging regular visits without clinical need as ways to breach the ban on encouraging unnecessary use. One example given: a chance to win a car with each injection visit.
Retail habits don't carry over well. 'Limited spots this week' is normal in a shop window. In a clinic ad, it's a problem when it suggests someone's health will suffer if they wait.
Before and
after photos.
Allowed, with care. The photos must match in angle, lighting, posture and make-up, with any changes to the image explained, so the treatment is the only visible difference.
Non-surgical cosmetic procedures, like injectables, have stricter rules. Since 2 September 2025, influencer testimonials are banned, ads for higher-risk procedures can't target under-18s, and images must be real, with a warning that results may vary.
Who's
responsible.
The advertiser is whoever authorises or directs the content, including when a staff member or a marketing agency writes it. If an agency runs your social media, you still need to check what it posts.
Ask any agency you use how they check health ads against the guidelines. If they have no answer, check the ads yourself.
What happens
after a complaint.
Most matters start with a letter asking for the ad to be corrected or removed, usually within 30 days. If that doesn't happen, a registered practitioner can have conditions placed on their registration, and others can be prosecuted. Very serious breaches that put the public at significant risk can be prosecuted even after the ad is fixed, and Ahpra can refer matters to the ACCC or the TGA.
Selling products as well? Therapeutic goods have their own advertising code from the TGA.
What I see most often
What I see
most often.
- 1
'Free consult' that's bulk billed
Free to the patient because Medicare pays. Under the guidelines, that isn't free.
- 2
Offers with no end date
'$50 off your first visit' running for years, with the terms nowhere to be found.
- 3
Posts nobody checked
Social posts scheduled weeks ahead by someone who's never read the guidelines.
- 4
Treatment as a prize
Competitions where the prize is treatment, which sits badly with the ban on encouraging unnecessary use.
The honest bit. This is a marketing summary, not legal advice, and I'm not a lawyer. For anything borderline, read the guidelines themselves, or ask your professional association or indemnity insurer.
Questions
people ask.
Can a physio offer a free first consultation?
Only if it's genuinely free. Ahpra's guidelines say it isn't free if the cost is recovered elsewhere, including through Medicare, and the terms must be stated.
Can dentists advertise discounts?
Yes, if the ad sets out the terms of the offer, such as who it's for, what's included and when it ends, and the offer doesn't encourage unnecessary treatment.
Are before and after photos allowed in health ads?
Yes, with care. Angle, lighting, posture and make-up must match, and any changes to the image must be explained. Cosmetic procedures have extra rules.
Am I responsible for ads my marketing agency writes?
Yes. The advertiser is whoever authorises or directs the content, so check what's published in your name.
Related
Keep
going.
Get a free
Google Ads audit.
Takes a minute. Audits come back within 1 to 2 business days. For anything else, I'll get back to you as soon as possible.
What happens next
- 1I'll ask for read-only access, or just your website for a search audit.
- 2I go through it and write up the 3 biggest fixes.
- 3A 20-minute call to walk you through it. No pitch unless you ask.