TGA and Ahpra rules for cosmetic clinic advertising

The TGA’s health-service guidance distinguishes promotion of a service from advertising the goods used to provide it. Ahpra’s advertising guidelines explain the duties of anyone advertising a regulated health service. One advertisement can raise both issues.

Registration of a practitioner, regulation of a product and compliance of an advertisement are separate checks. None is a guarantee of suitability or a particular outcome.

The TGA asks advertisers to look at the whole message. A picture, description of an effect, treatment category, price or booking option can indirectly promote a therapeutic good even if a brand is not named. A label such as “education” does not, by itself, change promotional content into non-advertising content. The TGA cosmetic-injection FAQ also discusses publicly available booking systems and product-linked prices.

Core Aesthetics therefore describes the concern and consultation process rather than inviting visitors to self-select a prescription product. This is a clinic editorial policy, not proof that every page is compliant.

TGA guidance gives a general example of promoting a practitioner consultation without referring directly or indirectly to therapeutic goods. A clinic can explain where it is, who provides the service, what an assessment involves, and that suitability, risks, alternatives, cost and consent are discussed individually. Booking cannot determine suitability.

Consultation comes first. If treatment is suitable and appropriate on the day, Corey can discuss it after assessment, informed consent and any required clinical arrangements. The patient can also take time, seek another opinion or choose no cosmetic care. A public page cannot settle that decision.

Images are not a blanket exception or a blanket ban

The TGA’s prescription-medicine guidance explains that an image implying an appearance change from a prescription medicine may advertise that medicine. Ahpra’s cosmetic advertising guidelines also require realistic presentation: altered images and models must not misleadingly appear to show procedure outcomes. Patient image use has separate consent and privacy requirements. Neither document says every before-and-after image is automatically prohibited.

Core Aesthetics chooses not to use public appearance galleries as sales proof. That is a clinic policy, not the legal rule for every image.

Consultation fees and medicine-linked prices are different

TGA guidance on price information says listing prices for treatments or services involving or referring to prescription medicines is generally likely to advertise those medicines. Limited price-list exceptions are not a general permission for cosmetic clinics. This is different from saying every clinic fee is legally unmentionable. Ask what a consultation fee covers and obtain the full individual cost before consenting to care.

A booking choice can also be advertising

The TGA’s cosmetic-injection FAQ includes publicly accessible booking systems in its guidance. Product names, prices and choices can promote a prescription medicine through the booking route. An appointment selection cannot establish whether a person is suitable for treatment.

Ahpra’s testimonial tool distinguishes positive comments about clinical care from comments limited to customer service or communication. Recommendations about the reason for treatment, the care provided, results, or a practitioner’s clinical skills can be testimonials. Using clinical testimonials or purported testimonials in regulated health-service advertising is prohibited.

A comment about customer service alone is not automatically a testimonial under that rule. It still must not make the advertising misleading. The rule concerns use in advertising; it does not generally prevent patients from sharing their own views. Ahpra’s cosmetic guidelines also explain that linking to, reposting or interacting with clinical testimonials can amount to using them in advertising.

For practical questions when reading a clinic’s marketing, use the advertising reader’s guide. A patient checklist cannot certify legal compliance.

The TGA’s guidance on practitioner and patient information distinguishes publicly accessible promotion from information a practitioner gives an established patient directly in the course of care. That is where a practitioner can explain clinically relevant treatment options and their risks for the individual. Merely hiding public content behind a login does not create that relationship. An individual consultation should address health history, expectations, alternatives, material risks, aftercare and full cost before consent.

If you want to discuss your own concern, start with the consultation choices. You do not need to choose a product in advance. Booking does not guarantee treatment.

A direct message is not automatically a clinical consultation, and a login does not by itself make an advertisement exempt. The relationship, purpose and content of the communication matter. Public information should help you ask questions, not choose a prescription product.

This guide is for adults checking advertising rules, not deciding what care they need. For an individual health or post-procedure concern, use the patient safety information and appropriate medical care rather than advertising claims to decide what to do.

Core Aesthetics consults inside BeautyTHEQUE at 12A Atherton Road, Oakleigh VIC 3166. Corey Anderson is a Registered Nurse, Ahpra registration NMW0001047575. Use practitioner verification to check the current register details and clinic contact information to ask questions. Phone 0491 706 705. Clear identity does not certify an advertisement as compliant.

For a personal cosmetic concern, read what a consultation can cover. You do not need to select a product or commit to treatment. This advertising guide is general information, not legal advice or an audit of another clinic.

Public Information Should Leave The Answer Open

Corey Anderson RN: I use public information to explain assessment, suitability, risk and how a decision gets made. It should leave room for history, examination and an individual discussion, rather than settling the clinical answer in advance. When a page steers attention towards a therapeutic good, or defines a service by access to that good, that’s my cue to step back to the consultation question. The TGA remains the source for where the legal boundary on public advertising actually sits.

Judge The Message As A Whole

Corey Anderson RN: I judge an educational page by the whole message its headline, images, prices, links and booking prompt create together. Calling something education doesn’t neutralise promotional framing. If those elements collectively push a predetermined answer, the fix is to remove that focus and return the page to consultation, suitability and decision making. Current TGA guidance or qualified advice should resolve the legal question, not a clinic’s preferred interpretation of it.

Answer Direct Questions In Clinical Context

Corey Anderson RN: In a genuine clinical consultation, I answer relevant questions factually and in the context of individual assessment. But a direct question through a private channel is not automatically a clinical consultation, and the communication still has to be assessed in context. Current TGA guidance treats information shared during a private consultation between a practitioner and patient differently from public advertising. I still separate general education from individual advice, and I refer advertising questions back to current TGA guidance.

Updated 21 October 2026. Editorial content: Core Aesthetics. These regulator documents support the general boundaries explained above; they do not endorse this clinic or certify its advertising. Guidance can change, so check the current document before relying on an example.

• TGA: advertising health services that involve therapeutic goods
• TGA: restrictions on advertising prescription medicines to the public
• TGA: health services and cosmetic injections FAQ
• Ahpra: advertising a regulated health service
• Ahpra: testimonials and reviews in advertising
• Ahpra: advertising higher risk non-surgical cosmetic procedures

This page explains advertising responsibilities. For regulation of products rather than advertisements, read how to check a treatment product’s regulatory status. Individual clinical decisions remain separate from either check.