Skip to content
safelaunch
← All professional rules

Doctor or surgeon · Australia

Website advertising rules for doctors and surgeons in Australia

Doctors and surgeons answer to their regulator's advertising and conduct rules as well as to privacy law. This is what Health Practitioner Regulation National Law s 133 and Ahpra advertising guidelines (doctors) means for your website: testimonials, claims, fees, titles and the details you must show. It applies only to sites of that profession, and only where you are licensed. For the general laws every site in Australia must follow, see Australia's laws.

How a SafeLaunch audit checks each one
  • CheckedChecked automatically on every scan
  • AI reviewLooked for by the AI analysis, reported only with evidence
  • Your answersDecided from your answers to the audit questions
  • PreparedPrepared for you in the report's compliance pack
  • You confirmA scan can't see this; you need to confirm it

Health Practitioner Regulation National Law s 133 and Ahpra advertising guidelines (doctors)

Guidelines effective 14 Dec 2020; higher maximum penalties apply in all jurisdictions from July 2024.

Who it covers: Registered health practitioners and anyone advertising a regulated health service, including corporate owners. Whether a foreign advertiser aimed at Australians is covered was not confirmed. Set by Ahpra and the National Boards.

What it requires of a website or app (7)

  • No testimonials about the clinical aspects of a service (symptoms, diagnosis, treatment, outcome); patient reviews on third-party platforms may exist but the advertiser must not use them to promoteAI reviews 133(1)(c); Guidelines 4.3, 4.3.1, 4.3.2
  • Advertising is not false, misleading or deceptive, directly or by implication (emphasis, omission, comparison)AI reviews 133(1)(a); Guidelines 4.1
  • Claims of effectiveness are backed by acceptable evidence; before-and-after studies with few or no controls are not enoughAI reviewGuidelines 4.1.1, 4.1.2
  • Comparative claims are clear, accurate and evidence-backedAI reviewGuidelines 4.1.3
  • No protected or specialist title ("specialist", "specialises in") without specialist registration; "Dr" makes the profession clear if not a medical practitionerAI reviews 113, 115; Guidelines 4.1.4(a)-(g)
  • Offers, gifts and discounts state their terms in plain language, "free" is genuinely free, and instalment offers state the total costAI reviews 133(1)(b); Guidelines 4.2
  • No unreasonable expectation of beneficial treatment and no encouragement of unnecessary use of servicesAI reviews 133(1)(d), (e)

Sources:Ahpra: Guidelines for advertising a regulated health service

Rules for doctors and surgeons in other markets

Check your practice's site against Australia's rules

A free scan checks your website or app against these rules in about a minute and shows what applies, with evidence from your pages. The full report gives the exact fix for each finding.

Check my site free

One free fix in your inbox each week

A new copy-paste prompt for Lovable, Cursor or Claude Code every week, with the rule behind it and how to check it worked, plus the Monday briefing on new laws and deadlines. No spam, unsubscribe in one click.

By signing up you agree to get these weekly emails. We send it with Kit, and you can unsubscribe at any time. What we share with Kit is in our privacy notice.

A plain-language summary of what each law requires of a website or app, from the SafeLaunch rulebook, with the provision and official sources. It is not legal advice and not every duty in each law is listed.