Advertising health services that involve therapeutic goods

Advertisers of health services should be aware that their advertisements may be regulated by several agencies:

Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA)

• We regulate advertisements for therapeutic goods, including medicines and medical devices. If an advertisement for a health service also advertises a therapeutic good, it will also be regulated by us.

Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC)

• The ACCC ensures that advertisements meet the Australian Consumer Law. This applies to advertising for health services and related products. More information on the Australian Consumer Law is available on the ACCC website.

Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (Ahpra)

• Ahpra regulates the conduct of registered healthcare practitioners, including the advertising of their services. For more information see Ahpra’s Advertising hub.

State and territory consumer laws

State and territory consumer protection laws may also apply to advertising for health services.

Advertisers are responsible for complying with all applicable regulatory requirements.

The distinction between the promotion of a health service and the promotion of a therapeutic good prescribed or used by that health service can be subtle.

Under the Act, advertising includes any statement, pictorial representation or design that is intended, directly or indirectly, to promote the use or supply of therapeutic goods.

In the context of a health service, this includes (but is not limited to) advertising that:

• refers to specific therapeutic goods, or a class of goods, used as part of a health service
  • this includes terms that can act as substitutes for direct references to prescription medicines such as ‘plant-based medicine’, ‘wrinkle reducing injections’ or ‘weight loss injections’
• represents to potential patients that they could obtain a prescription for the goods, purchase the goods or be treated with those goods through the health service.

Health service providers should assess their promotional materials carefully and seek independent advice to ensure that they do not directly or indirectly engage in prohibited advertising of therapeutic goods.

For more information, see Determining if your content is advertising.

How to advertise health services without advertising therapeutic goods

To ensure advertising for your health service does not also advertise therapeutic goods, avoid directly or indirectly referring to any therapeutic goods used in the delivery of the service, unless those goods can lawfully be advertised to the public.

As a general guide, promoting the type of health practitioner consultations offered by a health service, or the medical conditions a service can treat, without directly or indirectly referring to therapeutic goods, is unlikely to constitute advertising of therapeutic goods.

For example, ‘Call our clinic for a consultation to discuss treatment options for migraine’, does not refer to therapeutic goods.

By contrast, if a health service website promotes the availability or use of a particular medicine to treat migraines, this would likely be considered advertising of that product.

If you advertise therapeutic goods used in the delivery of a health service, you must comply with the requirements of the Act.

These requirements depend on the type of product being promoted, including its ingredients, how it works and the claims or representations made about it.

Some therapeutic goods, such as prescription medicines and biologicals cannot be advertised to the public.

Most medical devices, and most medicines available for over-the-counter sale can be advertised to the public provided the advertising complies with the Act and the Code.

For more information, see What can and cannot be advertised to the general public.

Advertising health services involving prescription medicines

When advertising a health service, you must not directly or indirectly refer to prescription medicines.

The same advertising rules apply to substances, and goods containing substances, included in Schedule 3 (pharmacist only medicines), Schedule 4 (prescription-only medicines) or Schedule 8 (controlled drugs) to the Poisons Standard, unless included in Appendix H. For simplicity, this guidance refers collectively to rules for advertising prescription medicines (and does not differentiate between the applicable schedules).

For more information, see Complying with the restrictions on advertising prescription medicines to the public.

For detailed examples and explanations see Promoting health services that supply or prescribe prescription medicines. Note that these examples are not exhaustive and should be considered alongside the examples in this guidance, many of which may also be relevant to health services that supply or prescribe prescription medicines.

It is not unlawful to advertise prescription medicines, where the reference to the prescription-only substance, or the goods containing that substance, was authorised or required by an Australian government authority (excluding a foreign government authority).

Advertising services involving biologicals, human cell therapies and platelet-rich plasma

• Human cell and tissue products (HCT), which consist of, contain, or are derived from human cells and/or tissues, are regulated as biologicals and cannot be advertised to the public.

To legally promote your services, focus on the services you provide and avoid mentioning directly or indirectly any HCT products.

For more information, see Advertising stem cell and other human cell or tissue (HCT) products.

It is not unlawful to advertise a biological where the reference to the biological is authorised or required by an Australian government authority (excluding a foreign government authority).

Telehealth services

Promoting a telehealth service as a way to obtain particular prescription medicines or a class of prescription medicines is likely to constitute prohibited advertising of those medicines.

For more information, see Complying with the restrictions on advertising prescription medicines to the public.

Information shared between a health practitioner and their patient

Information given by a health practitioner directly to a patient in the course of treating that patient is not subject to the advertising rules for therapeutic goods.

The exception only applies to information given to a patient by health practitioners and professionals identified in section 42AA of the Act.

This allows health practitioners to provide information and advice directly to their patients about treatment options, and to explain the benefits and risks of those options.

This exception does not apply where:

• the content is publicly accessible, including content available or disseminated online to people who are not patients
  • Mass communications to prospective customers are unlikely to be exempt.
• there is no established health practitioner / patient relationship, including where there is no direct contact between the practitioner and the customer
• the minimum standards required for a person to be a patient of the practitioner or professional giving the information are not met.
  • For example, where the person giving the information is a medical practitioner, relevant factors in determining whether the recipient is a patient include, but are not limited to, whether the practitioner has:
    • taken a full patient medical history 
    • informed the patient of the current treatment options and their risks and benefits 
    • followed up the management of the patient’s condition.

Ahpra and the National Boards provide guidance on their expectations of practitioners who have telehealth consultations with patients.

Compounding services

Extemporaneously compounded medicines are medicines that are prepared by pharmacists and certain other health professionals on an ad hoc basis (i.e. for a particular person at a particular time).

Although compounded medicines are exempt from some requirements under the Act, they are not exempt from the advertising requirements.

For more see Manufacturing, supplying and advertising compounded medicines.

Cosmetic injection services

Cosmetic injections are typically used to temporarily reduce wrinkles and lines on the face, around the eyes and forehead, add volume to lips or cheeks, or to improve the appearance of submental fat.

Most cosmetic injectables contain prescription-only substances, and they are therefore subject to the prohibition on advertising prescription medicines.

When advertising a cosmetic service, do not refer to prescription medicines or substances – even indirectly. This includes:

• brand names
• acronyms or abbreviations
• colloquial names or nicknames
• hashtags which may be taken as a reference to a specific prescription-only medicine or substance.

This restriction does not apply to advertisements for cosmetic injectables that do not contain prescription-only substances. However, advertisements for these products must comply with all other advertising requirements, including the Code.

• If your services involve the use of prescription medicines, for more information see:
• Complying with the restrictions on advertising prescription medicines to the public
• Advertising health services and cosmetic injections: frequently asked questions and answers.

Example

An advertisement for a cosmetic clinic states:

‘Achieve a youthful look with our dermal filler treatments! Our expert team can help you reduce wrinkles and add volume to your lips and cheeks. Book your treatment today!’

Reason why this is non-compliant

This advertisement refers to and promotes the use of ‘dermal filler treatments’, lip and cheek fillers which are prescription medicines and cannot be advertised to the public.

Medicinal cannabis prescribers

In Australia, medicinal cannabis is currently only available on prescription from a medical practitioner. If the product is not on the Australian Register of Therapeutic Goods (ARTG), it must be requested by the medical practitioner for the patient through special pathways for accessing unapproved therapeutic goods.

Prescription medicines and unapproved medicines are prohibited from being advertised to the public.

For more information, see Complying with the restrictions on advertising prescription medicines to the public.

Vaccination services

Vaccines for human use are prescription medicines and generally cannot be advertised to the public.

An exception applies where advertising for prescription medicines has been authorised or required by an Australian government or government authority.

We have however issued a permission that allows approved vaccination providers and certain other businesses, to indicate to consumers that they can provide vaccines, such as ‘influenza vaccines’ ‘Covid-19 vaccines’ and ‘meningococcal vaccines’.

These advertisements must comply with the conditions of the permission. They must not:

• be inconsistent with the vaccine’s indications in the ARTG
• be inconsistent with government health messaging in relation to the vaccine or its indications
• name specific vaccine brands, trade names or ingredients
• state or imply that the vaccine is safe, cannot cause harm or free from side effects
• contain any false or misleading statement.

Example

A pharmacy displays a poster stating:

‘Brand X influenza vaccinations available here. Book an appointment within the next 2 weeks and receive a 10% discount.’

Reason why this is non-compliant

This promotion identifies the trade name of a vaccine and is not merely a representation to the effect that the vaccine is available through the provider.

Government public health campaigns

We have also given permission for advertisements that are government public health campaigns.

This allows vaccination providers to use government campaign advertisements, provided they are displayed in full and unchanged.

If you choose to display such an advertisement, you must ensure that:

• the advertisement has been issued by the Australian Government or a state or territory government
• the advertisement is unaltered, except for permitted updates (for example, adding dates and times, or locations for vaccine availability)
• the take-out message of the advertisement is not changed, including by adding promotional content on or near the advertisement.

Example

A health provider displays an Australian Government health campaign poster in their clinic. Next to it, the provider displays their own poster stating:

'we use XYZ vaccines.'

Although the government campaign poster can be displayed, placing additional promotional material next to it changes the overall message.

Reason why this is non-compliant

The provider’s poster directly promotes the supply of a specific trade-named vaccine (XYZ). This is not authorised by a TGA advertising permission and is therefore not permitted.

Requirements for advertising vaping goods

Advertising of vaping goods is prohibited unless authorised by us. For more information see Vapes: advertising and promotion.

Disease education activities help raise awareness about health conditions, help people recognise symptoms and encourage them to seek professional advice.

Disease education becomes advertising when it promotes the use or supply of a specific therapeutic good or encourages consumers to obtain a prescription for a particular medicine.

For more information see Advertising requirements for disease education activities.

Influencers and content creators often promote health services using lifestyle‑based, visual or short‑form content on social media.

While this content may appear informal, it can still be considered advertising under the Act if it directly or indirectly promotes the use or supply of therapeutic goods used in the delivery of the service. See When does an advertisement for a health service also advertise therapeutic goods.

Creators and advertisers should be aware that: 

• Posts or videos that show or imply the use of therapeutic goods (for example use in clinical procedures, treatment progression or outcomes) may be considered advertising
  • indirect references to therapeutic goods, including acronyms, nicknames or abbreviations (such as “anti‑wrinkle”, “lip injections”, “weight‑loss shots”) may promote prescription medicines and are likely to be prohibited.
• Tags, links, discount codes or directions to book services involving therapeutic goods can cause content to be considered advertising of the goods.
• Content that implies the effect of the prescription medicines (for example, before and after images or treatment progress) is likely to be prohibited.

Creators promoting health services should focus their content on the services offered, such as consultations for ‘wellbeing support’ or ‘general skin health’, and should avoid any direct or indirect reference to therapeutic goods that cannot be advertised to the public.

Clinics that engage influencers or content creators should provide clear instructions and ensure all content complies with the advertising requirements.

Responsibility for compliance may extend to both the clinic and the content creator.

For more see Understanding social media advertising rules.