AHPRA 2025 Cosmetic Guidelines, Melbourne

In September 2025, AHPRA and the National Boards introduced the most significant regulatory changes to nonsurgical cosmetic procedures in Australia in years. The new guidelines came into effect on 2 September 2025 and apply to every registered health practitioner who performs or advertises aesthetic treatment procedures. For patients considering treatment, understanding what changed and what it means for your experience at any clinic is worthwhile.

At Core Aesthetics in Oakleigh, these guidelines align directly with how the clinic has always operated. This article explains the key changes in plain English from a patient perspective.

“Good information changes the quality of the decision.”

What the New Guidelines Changed

The September 2025 guidelines introduced several patient facing changes that are directly relevant to anyone seeking aesthetic treatment in Australia.

Real time consultations are now required before every prescription

Under the new guidelines, every injectable prescription must be based on a real time consultation with the patient. This means in person or via video, conducted at the time of assessment. Asynchronous prescribing where a prescription is issued based on a text message, email, online questionnaire or photograph is no longer acceptable practice for registered health practitioners. This change was introduced because of well documented safety concerns about patients receiving injectable treatment without any direct clinical assessment of their suitability.

At Core Aesthetics, every appointment begins with an individual consultation. This has always been the standard. Nothing is prescribed or administered without Corey assessing your individual circumstances in person.

Stricter training and experience requirements for practitioners

The guidelines now require registered health practitioners to have appropriate, procedure specific education, training and experience before performing cosmetic procedures. For registered nurses wanting to expand their scope of practice into aesthetic treatments, a minimum of 12 months of full time general nursing practice is now required before they can perform these procedures. Ongoing continuing professional development in cosmetic procedures is also mandatory.

This is significant context when choosing a practitioner. Experience and clinical background matter. Corey Anderson has been AHPRA registered since January 1996, bringing nearly three decades of registered nursing experience to every consultation. You can verify his registration at any time on the AHPRA public register.

Stricter advertising standards

The new guidelines introduced significant changes to how cosmetic procedures can be advertised. The use of endorsements from social media influencers in advertising cosmetic procedures is now banned. Advertising cosmetic procedures to individuals under 18 is prohibited. Advertisements for higher risk cosmetic procedures must now include information about the practitioner performing them, including their qualifications and registration. The trivialisation or sexualisation of cosmetic procedures in advertising is expressly prohibited.

For patients, this means advertising you see from compliant clinics should be noticeably more clinical and less aspirational in tone. If you encounter a clinic whose advertising makes dramatic claims, uses influencer content or implies clinically assessed $1, these are now not just poor practice signals but non compliant under the new guidelines.

A 7-day cooling off period for under-18s

The new guidelines introduced a mandatory 7-day cooling off period between the initial consultation and any procedure for clients under the age of 18. This means that even if a consultation has been conducted and treatment has been deemed appropriate, no procedure can be performed within 7 days of that first appointment for clients under 18.

Read more about what the cooling off period means in our dedicated article on AHPRA’s 7-day cooling off period for cosmetic procedures.

Patient suitability assessment requirements

The guidelines now specifically require practitioners to discuss a patient’s motivations and reasons for requesting a cosmetic procedure as part of the assessment process. This includes an obligation to identify any psychological factors, unrealistic expectations or vulnerability that might affect whether treatment is appropriate. Practitioners must ensure that patients have access to information about complaint mechanisms available to them, including the right to make a complaint to AHPRA.

What Has Not Changed

The fundamental regulatory framework has not changed. Aesthetic treatment products remain prescription only medicines regulated by the TGA. They may only be prescribed and administered by registered health practitioners following a clinical assessment. The requirement to obtain informed consent before any procedure remains in place. The principles of patient safety, practitioner accountability and ethical practice that underpin the entire framework have not changed. The September 2025 guidelines strengthened and clarified these principles rather than replacing them.

Why These Changes Matter for Your Choice of Clinic

The regulatory changes are, at their core, a response to documented concerns about inconsistent standards across the industry. Between September 2022 and March 2025, AHPRA received approximately 360 complaints and over 1,500 calls to its cosmetic surgery hotline. The new guidelines exist because patient safety was not consistently being prioritised.

For patients, the practical implication is that the guidelines make the consultation process more important than ever as a quality filter. A clinic that operates a genuine consultation first model, employs a practitioner with verified AHPRA registration, and advertises in a measured and clinically appropriate way is more likely to be operating at the standard the guidelines intend. Our guide to choosing a cosmetic clinic in Melbourne covers what to look for in more detail, and our patient safety page explains how Core Aesthetics approaches informed consent and clinical decision making.

For clients wanting to verify a practitioner’s AHPRA registration before booking, see our article on questions to ask your cosmetic injector before any treatment.

Core Aesthetics and the New Guidelines

Core Aesthetics in Oakleigh has always operated within the framework the new guidelines now require of all clinics. Every appointment begins with an individual in person consultation. Nothing is prescribed or administered without a direct clinical assessment. Advertising is conservative and clinical in tone. Corey Anderson’s AHPRA registration is publicly verifiable, his credentials are displayed on the site and his approach to informed consent and patient wellbeing is documented in our patient safety and consent guide.

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General Information Only. This article is general in nature and does not replace a consultation with a qualified health practitioner. Treatment outcomes, suitability and risks vary by individual. Any medical or prescription treatment options can only be discussed and provided where clinically appropriate following an individual assessment.

Safety, Suitability and Clinical Assessment

All aesthetic treatment procedures carry risk. The suitability assessment at consultation identifies any contraindications or relative risk factors specific to your circumstances, including medical history, current medications, previous procedures, and anatomical features that may affect the risk profile for a given treatment area. This information is reviewed before any treatment is planned.

For certain conditions and medications, injectable treatments are not appropriate, or require modification of technique or timing. For others, the treating practitioner may recommend that you consult with your primary healthcare provider before proceeding. These are clinical judgements that can only be made with accurate, complete medical history information, which is why the consultation history taking process is thorough.

Complication recognition and initial management are part of the clinical competency required of practitioners performing injectable treatments under AHPRA’s September 2025 guidelines for nonsurgical cosmetic procedures. The practitioner at Core Aesthetics holds current training in this area and maintains the relevant management supplies on site. Understanding that risk exists and is actively managed is more useful than assuming risk does not exist.

What the Assessment Covers

The assessment at the consultation appointment is a face wide evaluation, not a focused review of only the area you have identified as a concern. This full face approach is deliberate: anatomical features interact with each other, and addressing one area in isolation, without understanding the broader facial context, can produce results that look disproportionate even when the individual area was technically treated well.

The practitioner evaluates facial symmetry, bone structure, soft tissue distribution, skin quality, and the dynamic movement patterns associated with each treatment area. The history taking covers your current medications, any previous injectable or surgical procedures, relevant health conditions, and any prior reactions or complications. From this assessment, the practitioner develops a treatment plan that reflects your specific anatomy and circumstances.

Results vary between individuals. What the assessment finds in one patient may be different from what it finds in another patient with a similar presenting concern, which is why templated treatment protocols are not used here. All treatments at Core Aesthetics are consultation based and individually assessed.

About This Information

The information on this page is provided for general educational purposes. It is not a substitute for clinical advice and does not constitute a recommendation that you proceed with any particular treatment. Aesthetic treatments are prescription medical procedures. They carry risks that vary between individuals and that must be assessed and discussed in a clinical context before any treatment decision is made.

At Core Aesthetics, Corey Anderson assesses every patient individually. The consultation is the point at which your specific anatomy, medical history, and goals are evaluated together. No treatment is offered at a first appointment, and no treatment is appropriate for everyone. This page is a starting point, a way to understand what is involved before you decide whether a consultation is the right next step for you.

If you have questions about anything on this page or about whether treatment might be appropriate for your situation, you are welcome to call the clinic or book a consultation at no obligation.

This page provides clinical information about New AHPRA Cosmetic Guidelines 2025: What Patients in Melbourne Need to Know. It is intended for adults aged 18 and over who are considering aesthetic treatment and want to understand the clinical process, suitability factors, and what to expect from a consultation based practice. All treatment decisions at Core Aesthetics follow individual assessment, no treatment is offered at a first appointment without a separate consultation. Results vary between individuals and are reviewed at follow up.

Clinical accountability and regulatory framework

The regulatory and patient safety content in “AHPRA 2025 Cosmetic Guidelines, Melbourne” reflects current AHPRA and TGA requirements as Corey Anderson, AHPRA registered nurse (NMW0001047575), interprets them in clinical practice at Core Aesthetics. AHPRA and TGA guidance changes, the September 2025 cosmetic procedures guidelines were a substantial revision, and further guidance is expected. Where this page references a specific rule or a specific date, the intent is to describe what the rule actually says rather than what marketing copy sometimes suggests it says. Results vary between individuals on the clinical side; on the regulatory side, the rules are the rules.

Specific to ahpra cosmetic guidelines 2025: this page does not constitute legal or regulatory advice. AHPRA practitioners are accountable to AHPRA; TGA-regulated products are regulated by the TGA; patient complaints have specific channels (AHPRA, the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency notification process; HCCC for service level complaints in NSW; HCC for Victoria). Where the content on this page summarises a rule, the original rule on the AHPRA or TGA website is the authoritative source. The injectables vs surgery Melbourne page covers a related patient safety topic in more detail.

Patients reading this page who want to verify Corey Anderson’s AHPRA registration can do so directly on the AHPRA public register at ahpra.gov.au using registration number NMW0001047575. The Core Aesthetics clinic operates from 12A Atherton Road, Oakleigh VIC 3166, Tuesday to Saturday, by consultation appointment. All new patient treatment at Core Aesthetics follows a structured clinical consultation, consistent with the September 2025 AHPRA cosmetic procedures guidelines. Treatment may be scheduled for the same day as consultation or at a subsequent appointment, depending on clinical assessment and individual circumstances. Patients with questions about the content on this page can raise them at consultation; the practitioner is happy to walk through any clinical reasoning that the written content does not fully capture. Results vary between individuals, and the consultation is the appropriate place to discuss what those individual variations mean for a specific person’s treatment plan.

One additional regulatory note: the clinic operates under both AHPRA and TGA regulatory frameworks, with AHPRA covering practitioner conduct and TGA covering the advertising and supply of aesthetic treatment products. Where the two frameworks intersect, the more conservative requirement applies. The clinic prefers to err on the side of caution in any ambiguous regulatory situation rather than test the boundaries. Patients researching this topic in more depth may find the how to choose cosmetic injector melbourne page and the consultation guide melbourne page useful as further reading; both reflect the same clinical accountability framework as this page.