Physio and Allied Health Marketing Within AHPRA Rules: Reviews, Testimonials and Your Website
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If you are a registered health practitioner, your website, social media and other promotional content count as advertising, and they must follow the advertising rules in section 133 of the National Law. The rule that catches most practices is about testimonials: you can't use patient comments about clinical matters, such as symptoms, treatment or outcomes, to promote your service. Reviews about customer service, such as friendliness or punctuality, are generally fine.
This guide explains what that means for your website in practice. It is general information, not legal advice: Ahpra doesn't approve advertising, and its guidelines recommend getting independent advice from a lawyer or your indemnity insurer if you are unsure.
What counts as advertising
Ahpra's advertising guidelines cover "all forms of verbal, printed and electronic communication that promotes" a regulated health service, including websites and social media (Ahpra advertising guidelines). The person or business that controls the content is responsible for it, including content written by a marketing agency or web designer on their behalf.
The current guidelines took effect on 14 December 2020.
What section 133 prohibits
Under section 133 of the National Law, advertising a regulated health service must not:
Be false, misleading or deceptive, or likely to be
Offer gifts, discounts or other inducements without stating the terms and conditions
Use testimonials or purported testimonials about the service or business
Create an unreasonable expectation of beneficial treatment
Encourage indiscriminate or unnecessary use of health services
Ahpra states the maximum penalty is $60,000 per offence for an individual and $120,000 for a body corporate (Ahpra).
Testimonials versus reviews
Ahpra treats comments about the clinical aspects of a service as testimonials. A review is clinical if it mentions:
The symptom or reason the patient sought treatment
The diagnosis or treatment
The outcome, or the practitioner's skill or experience
Review text | Clinical? | Can you use it in advertising? |
"Friendly reception and always on time." | No | Generally yes |
"Easy online booking and plenty of parking." | No | Generally yes |
"My back pain was gone after three sessions." | Yes | No |
"Best physio in Melbourne for sports injuries." | Yes (skill and treatment) | No |
Source: Ahpra testimonial tool.
Reviews on your own website and social media
Reviews shown on your own website or business social media are your responsibility. If you embed or quote reviews, only use non-clinical ones, show them complete and unedited, and never edit a negative review to make it read positively. Ahpra says selectively editing reviews can be misleading.
If your website or social platform shows reviews automatically and you can't control which appear, Ahpra suggests the issue may be dealt with by disabling the reviews or testimonials function.
Google and other review sites you don't control
Ahpra says that where a practice has no control over a review platform, the platform owner is responsible for compliance, and you don't have to remove or try to remove reviews there. The prohibition applies when an advertiser uses testimonials to promote a service, not to patients posting their own reviews.
Ahpra also cautions that advertisers should take care if they choose to engage with reviews on third-party websites. Keep replies short, professional and free of clinical detail.
Other website content to check
Before-and-after photos and outcome claims. Avoid anything that creates an unreasonable expectation of results.
Offers and discounts. State the terms and conditions clearly.
Titles and qualifications. Use protected titles correctly; misusing them carries separate penalties.
Blog posts and FAQs. Information is helpful; promises of outcomes are not.
A quick website check
Search your website for patient quotes and remove any that mention symptoms, treatment or outcomes.
Check any review widget: can you control what it shows? If not, consider turning it off.
Read your home and service pages for claims about results.
Check every offer states its terms.
Make sure your marketing provider knows the rules, because you remain responsible for what they publish.
Next step
Morphic designs websites for clinics and professional services. If you are planning a new site or a content review, book a free 15-minute call. Morphic doesn't provide legal advice; for compliance questions, speak to your indemnity insurer or a lawyer.
Also see Google Business Profile optimisation in Ardeer.
Related reading: How to Get More Google Reviews (Without Breaking ACCC or Google Rules) and How to Reply to Negative Google Reviews (With Templates).
Key Takeaways
Your website, social media and other promotional content count as advertising under Ahpra's guidelines.
Section 133 of the National Law prohibits using testimonials, meaning comments about clinical aspects of a service.
Reviews about customer service, such as friendliness or punctuality, can generally be used, complete and unedited.
You don't have to remove reviews on platforms you don't control, but take care when replying.
You remain responsible for content your web designer or marketing agency publishes for you.
Emon Datta
Founder, Morphic Agency
Morphic Agency is a Melbourne-based UX design agency. We've shipped 50+ products across 15+ countries.
