Two Ahpra guideline documents were issued on 2 September 2025, and they answer different questions. One sets expectations for registered practitioners providing non surgical cosmetic procedures, while the other covers advertising of higher risk procedures. Neither expands a practitioner’s scope. For patients, the practical change is greater clarity about who assesses, prescribes where relevant, performs care and provides follow up, plus the consent and aftercare records you should receive.
Start with the right document
There was not one all-purpose cosmetic rule change. The documents have different jobs, and knowing the difference makes clinic claims easier to assess.
| Your question | Where to look | What it helps you check |
|---|---|---|
| How should care be assessed, consented, provided and followed up? | Ahpra performing guideline | The responsibilities of registered practitioners covered by that guideline. Medical practitioners use separate Medical Board guidance. |
| How may a higher risk procedure be advertised? | Ahpra advertising guideline | The responsibilities of practitioners, business owners and others who authorise or control advertising. |
| How may therapeutic goods be advertised publicly? | TGA law and guidance | Whether health service advertising also promotes a therapeutic good. |
The rules can overlap, but one does not prove the other has been met. A careful advertisement is not evidence of suitable care, and practitioner registration does not make every public claim acceptable.
Registration is the first check, not the final answer
The performing guideline does not, by itself, authorise a practitioner to provide every cosmetic service or expand any profession’s scope. Registration lets you confirm identity and accountability, while scope still depends on profession, education, competence, authorisations, law, workplace arrangements and relevant National Board material.
Medical practitioners are directed to separate Medical Board guidance. For every clinic, the useful next question is not simply, ‘Are you registered?’ It is, ‘Who is responsible for my assessment and care, and what is their role?’
Four names make responsibility visible
Ask who is responsible for each part of the pathway. One person may hold more than one role, but none of the roles should disappear.
- Assessor: who considers your history, reasons for seeking care, expectations and suitability?
- Prescriber, where relevant: who conducts the required consultation and remains responsible for prescribing decisions?
- Performer: who provides the procedure and manages care during and afterwards?
- Follow-up or backup practitioner: who can respond if the usual practitioner is unavailable?
Names, professions, registration details and contact arrangements are more useful than a general claim that a clinic follows the guidelines.
A prescribing conversation must be a real consultation
Where relevant care requires a prescription, the authorised prescriber must have an in person or video consultation each time. Text, email or an online form alone is not acceptable practice, and one prescription cannot cover multiple people.
A video call does not guarantee a prescription or replace the wider suitability assessment. Ask who conducted it, when it occurred and how that prescriber remains involved if another practitioner provides the care.
Suitability comes before a treatment plan
More than the visible concern
A useful assessment considers relevant health history, motivations, expectations and psychological, social or cultural factors.
Alternatives stay visible
The conversation includes other options, waiting and choosing no cosmetic procedure.
Referral can be the right next step
When a significant condition or concern needs independent assessment, another appropriate practitioner may be recommended before any decision.
Consent is more than one signature
| Record | What it should establish | What you should receive |
|---|---|---|
| Clinical consent | Verbal discussion plus plain language written information about the procedure, material risks, benefits, alternatives and personal factors | A copy of the signed consent |
| Financial consent | Total cost, deposits, payment dates, maintenance costs, follow-up charges and possible further costs | A copy of the documented financial consent |
| Image consent, if photographs or video are taken | Purpose, use, storage, access and whether advertising use is proposed | A separate signed record and a genuine choice to refuse advertising use |
| Advertising image consent, if relevant | Where and for how long an image may appear, reuse by another party and the withdrawal process | An opportunity to view the image before agreeing |
Agreement to care is not automatic agreement to marketing. The guidance separates advertising image consent from consent to the procedure.
What to expect if you visit Corey
You will meet directly with Corey for a calm, private conversation about your concern, your health history and what you want to understand.
Corey assesses suitability and explains the available choices. If care is appropriate, material risks, costs, consent, aftercare contacts and follow-up planning are discussed before you decide. You can also use the visit for information and questions only.
Complaint information belongs before care
Before a procedure, the guideline expects information about complaint options. These include raising the issue with the practitioner, using the clinic process, contacting the relevant state or territory health complaints body, and contacting Ahpra or the applicable co-regulatory body.
A non-disclosure agreement cannot remove the ability to make a regulatory complaint. You do not need to wait for a dispute before asking where the clinic’s complaint process is documented.
Advertising reaches beyond a clinic website
Ahpra describes advertising broadly. It can include websites, social media, private groups, comments, signs, business cards, public documents, directories and other communications that promote a provider or service. Responsibility may rest with the owner, the person controlling the advertising and the practitioner whose services are promoted.
That matters when a clinic blames an agency, influencer or platform. Outsourcing production does not make the content ownerless. A practitioner who becomes aware of non-compliant advertising is expected to take reasonably practicable steps to have it corrected.
Five advertising checks you can make
- Identity: if an individual practitioner is named as providing higher risk procedures, are profession and registration details clear?
- Overall impression: are risks, recovery and individual variation visible, or buried beneath transformation language?
- Positive clinical endorsements: does the provider publish, link to, reshare or interact with favourable statements about clinical care?
- Images: do photographs create a false procedure result, use filters, idealise the service or turn the procedure into entertainment?
- Vulnerability: does the advertising target people under 18, exploit body image pressure or promise unsupported social or psychological benefit?
No single keyword proves compliance. The regulator looks at the overall impression and the responsibilities behind it.
Ahpra and the TGA have different jobs
Ahpra and the National Boards regulate registered practitioners and advertising of regulated health services under the National Law. The TGA regulates therapeutic goods and the advertising of those goods. Australian Consumer Law may also apply to misleading or deceptive conduct.
More than one obligation can apply to the same clinic communication. Product neutral wording is important in public advertising, but it does not replace private informed consent about what is proposed for an individual after assessment.
Keep the useful records together
Before deciding, keep a note of each practitioner’s registration check, the clinic’s written information, signed clinical and financial consent, any separate image consent, aftercare contacts, escalation points, follow-up plan and complaint pathway.
These records do not decide what is right for you, but they make responsibility easier to follow and give another practitioner more useful information if care needs to be transferred.
What you can verify at Core Aesthetics
Core Aesthetics identifies Corey Anderson as a Registered Nurse and publishes Ahpra registration NMW0001047575 for independent checking. At the Oakleigh clinic, Corey conducts the assessment, explains suitability and consent, provides care when appropriate and remains the contact for follow up.
This is a description of the clinic’s pathway, not Ahpra endorsement. Use the verification page, read how informed consent works and compare the linked official Ahpra and TGA documents yourself.
Read the official wording too
This page provides general patient education, not legal advice, advice for another clinic or personal medical advice. Regulator guidance can change, so use the linked official Ahpra performing guideline, Ahpra advertising guideline and TGA health service advertising guidance for current wording.
Bring your questions and meet the person responsible
Meet Corey, talk through what matters to you and leave with a clearer understanding of the choices, records and next step.
Is this for you?
Consider booking a consultation if
- Adults who want to understand the September 2025 Ahpra documents before choosing a clinic
- People comparing practitioner, consent, aftercare and advertising accountability
- Patients who want a practical list of records to keep
- Readers willing to verify current regulator wording directly
This may not be for you if
- Businesses seeking legal or regulatory advice about their own advertising
- Anyone treating a website summary as proof of personal suitability
- People seeking public product or prescription medicine recommendations
- Anyone needing urgent medical care after a previous procedure
Suitability is confirmed at consultation. This list is general guidance, not a substitute for clinical assessment.
Frequently asked questions
When were the Ahpra non surgical cosmetic guidelines issued?
The performing guideline and the higher risk advertising guideline both state a date of issue of 2 September 2025. Ahpra says they will be checked from time to time, so current regulator pages should be read.
Do the guidelines expand a nurse’s scope of practice?
No. The performing guideline expressly says it does not authorise procedures or expand any profession’s scope. Scope still depends on registration, education, competence, authorisations, law and relevant National Board requirements.
Do the performing guidelines apply to medical practitioners?
The Ahpra performing guideline applies to registered practitioners under the National Law except medical practitioners. Medical practitioners are directed to the Medical Board of Australia’s separate guidelines for cosmetic surgery and procedures.
Can a prescription consultation occur only by text or an online form?
No. Where the relevant cosmetic care requires a prescription, the authorised prescriber must have an in person or video consultation each time. The guideline says prescribing by text, email or online alone is not acceptable.
Is consent to treatment also consent to advertising photographs?
No. The guidance separates consent to the procedure from consent to use images in advertising. The person must be told the proposed use and storage, may refuse advertising use and may withdraw that consent.
Who remains responsible when the prescriber and performer are different?
The authorised prescriber remains responsible for management of the person receiving the prescription, while the practitioner performing the procedure has responsibilities for the administration and post-care communication. Formal backup arrangements must also be clear.
What written information should follow a procedure?
The guideline lists practitioner and backup contacts, procedure details, usual symptoms, escalation points, medicine and activity instructions, self-care guidance and follow-up information where applicable. Records should support transfer to another practitioner.
Can a clinic republish favourable clinical comments?
Ahpra’s advertising guideline prohibits positive patient endorsements about clinical care in regulated health service advertising. It also addresses publishing, linking to, resharing or interacting with those statements. Read the current regulator wording directly.
Does following Ahpra guidance also satisfy TGA rules?
Not automatically. Ahpra and National Boards regulate practitioners and regulated health service advertising, while the TGA regulates therapeutic goods and their advertising. Multiple frameworks can apply to the same communication.
Is Core Aesthetics endorsed by Ahpra?
No endorsement is claimed. Corey Anderson RN’s registration can be checked independently, and this page describes the clinic’s documented approach. Only Ahpra can state its regulatory position.
Clinical references
- Ahpra: Guidelines for registered health practitioners who perform non-surgical cosmetic procedures
- Ahpra: Guidelines for advertising higher risk non-surgical cosmetic procedures
- Ahpra: Public register of practitioners
- TGA: Advertising health services that involve therapeutic goods
- TGA: Advertising health services and cosmetic injections FAQ
- Medical Board of Australia: Guidelines for registered medical practitioners who perform cosmetic surgery and procedures