Media release

20 May 2014

Updated Advertising guidelines published today by National Boards.

Advertising guidelines have been updated to make them clearer

National Boards have acted on the feedback they received about the Guidelines for advertising regulated health services (Advertising guidelines) that were released in March and have today published an update.

Anyone who advertises a regulated health service must meet the requirements of the National Law. This includes registered health practitioners, individuals who are not health practitioners and businesses.

No requirements have been added from the previous version, and the update comes in to effect today.

The updated Advertising guidelines were edited to make them clearer, particularly about that:

• under the National Law, testimonials are not allowed when advertising a regulated health service
• the obligations of the National Law about advertising only apply when a regulated health service is being advertised, and
• the National Law is not intended to stop members of the community and patients from discussing their experiences online or in person.

National Boards would like to thank everyone who provided feedback on the guidelines. Whenever possible, this feedback was taken in to account and used to update the guidelines.

Much of the feedback that was received was about the ban on using testimonials in advertising a regulated health service. This is a requirement of the National Law, which is something National Boards are required to implement. The Terms of reference for a scheduled review of the National Registration and Accreditation Scheme (the scheme regulating registered health practitioners in Australia) include a point relating to advertising, and interested members of the public and health practitioners are able to provide feedback about the legislation. More information is available on the AHMAC website.

For more information

• Read section 133 of the Health Practitioner Regulation National Law, as in force in each state and territory, which relates to advertising
• Read frequently asked questions (FAQ) on the revised advertising guidelines
• A fact sheet on advertising is published on the AHPRA website
• For registration enquiries: 1300 419 495 (within Australia) +61 3 8708 9001 (overseas callers)
• For media enquiries: (03) 8708 9200

Download a PDF of this Media release - Advertising guidelines have been updated to make them clearer - 20 May 2014 (160 KB,PDF)