Customer Testimonials and the Australian Consumer Law: What's Allowed
Published:
Reading time:
Category:
Content
You can use customer testimonials on your website, as long as they're genuine, from real customers, and don't give a misleading picture. The ACCC says businesses shouldn't write fake reviews, offer incentives for positive-only reviews without disclosure, or hide negative ones to look better. Registered health practitioners have stricter rules: Ahpra's advertising rules restrict testimonials about clinical care.
What does the ACCC say?
The ACCC's guidance on online reviews says businesses must not post fake reviews, must not mislead by selectively publishing or removing reviews, and should disclose any incentive or connection behind a review (ACCC). False or misleading claims in any advertising, including testimonials, can breach the Australian Consumer Law (ACCC).
What's allowed and what isn't?
| Allowed | Not allowed |
|---|---|
| Real quotes from real customers, with permission | Reviews written by you, staff or family posing as customers |
| Choosing a few representative testimonials to feature | Hiding all negative feedback to suggest everyone is happy |
| Asking every customer for honest feedback | Paying or rewarding only positive reviews without disclosure |
| Light edits for spelling, keeping the meaning | Changing words so the testimonial says something new |
| Linking to your full Google reviews | Copying other businesses' reviews or stock testimonials |
This table summarises the ACCC's guidance in plain words; read the source for the detail.
How do you collect testimonials properly?
- Ask after a finished job, by text or email. See how to get more Google reviews
- Ask permission to use their words and first name or suburb on your website
- Keep the original message as a record
- Use their real words; fix typos only
- Remove a testimonial if the customer asks
Can you show your Google reviews on your website?
Yes. Embedding or linking to your Google reviews is a good option because readers can see the full, unfiltered set. Avoid showing only five-star reviews through a widget that hides the rest if that would mislead. If you get a fake or abusive review, see how to remove a fake Google review.
Extra rules for health practitioners
Ahpra's advertising rules restrict the use of testimonials about clinical aspects of care for regulated health services (Ahpra). Clinics, physios, dentists and other registered practitioners should check Ahpra's guidance before publishing any patient feedback. See Ahpra advertising on your website.
What do Google's own review rules say?
Google has its own rules on top of the law. Its policy for Maps contributions treats reviews that aren't based on a real experience as fake engagement, and it doesn't allow businesses to offer rewards in exchange for reviews (Google). In practice that means:
- No reviews from you, your staff or family posing as customers
- No discounts, freebies or prize draws for leaving a review
- No offering a refund or discount to change or remove a review
- No buying reviews or swapping reviews with other businesses
Breaking Google's rules can lead to reviews being removed or your profile being restricted, which is far more costly than one bad review.
Can friends, family or staff give testimonials?
They can share genuine experiences, but the connection matters. The ACCC's guidance says businesses should disclose any incentive or connection behind a review (ACCC). A glowing testimonial from your brother-in-law, presented as an ordinary customer, gives a misleading picture.
- If a relative or friend genuinely used your service, say so: "Jo, family friend and customer"
- Don't use staff testimonials as customer reviews; use them for a "working with us" or careers page instead
- If a supplier or business partner recommends you, label it as a business reference
- When in doubt, leave it out and ask more ordinary customers
What about case studies and before-and-after stories?
Case studies are some of the most persuasive content on a trade website: the problem, what you did, the result and a quote from the customer. They're also advertising, so the ACCC's rules on false or misleading claims apply (ACCC).
| Do | Don't |
|---|---|
| Use real jobs, with the customer's permission | Combine several jobs into one "typical" story without saying so |
| Show real before-and-after photos from the same angle | Use stock photos or another business's work |
| State results you can back up | Claim savings or outcomes you can't show |
| Say if the job was unusual | Present a best-ever result as normal |
A short case study with two photos and three honest sentences beats a long one full of claims.
How do you ask for a testimonial you can use?
The best testimonials come from a simple, specific request soon after a job. Something like:
"Hi [Name], thanks again for having us do [job] in [suburb]. Would you mind writing a sentence or two about how it went? If you're happy for us to share it on our website with your first name and suburb, just say so. No pressure either way. [Your name], [Business]."
- Ask every customer the same way, not only the ones you think loved it
- Don't suggest what they should write
- Keep their reply, including the permission, in your records
- If they'd rather leave a Google review, that's fine too; you can link to it from your site
Can you use customers' names and photos?
Only with permission. A first name and suburb is usually enough to make a testimonial feel real without exposing more than the customer wants. Photos of people, their homes or their cars need extra care.
- Ask before using a full name, a face, a street number or a number plate
- Note what they agreed to, such as "first name and suburb only"
- Remove the testimonial or photo quickly if they change their mind
- If your business is covered by the Privacy Act, testimonials with personal details are part of the personal information you handle (OAIC). See do you need a privacy policy
What should you do with critical feedback?
Every business gets some. How you handle it says more about you than a page of five-star quotes.
- Don't delete or hide genuine negative reviews to make your rating look better; the ACCC treats selective removal as potentially misleading (ACCC)
- Reply calmly and briefly, offer to fix the problem, and take the details offline
- If a review breaks the platform's rules, such as abuse or a review from someone who was never a customer, report it through the platform
- Learn from patterns: three complaints about the same thing is a process problem, not bad luck
For replies that work, see how to reply to negative Google reviews.
A quick testimonial health check
Go through your website's reviews and testimonials section once a year and ask:
- Is every testimonial from a real customer, and do you still have their permission?
- Are any of them from friends, family or staff without saying so?
- Does the selection give a fair picture, or only the very best?
- Have any been edited beyond spelling fixes?
- Are the photos real jobs, and are you allowed to show them?
- Does the section link to your full Google reviews?
Fix anything that fails, and you'll have a reviews section customers trust.
Widgets that pull in your Google reviews save time and look current. Set them up carefully:
- Check whether the widget filters reviews by star rating. Showing only five-star reviews can give a misleading picture of your overall rating
- Show your overall rating and the total number of reviews, not just a handful of quotes
- Link to your full Google profile so people can read everything
- Make sure the widget loads quickly and doesn't slow your page on mobile
- Check it still works every few months; widgets often break when the provider changes something
If a widget can't show an honest mix, a simple link to your Google reviews is better than a filtered carousel.
Morphic builds review and testimonial sections that are honest, easy to update and linked to your Google profile. We're not lawyers; check specifics with an adviser or the ACCC. Get a free quote, or book a 30-minute call.
Related services: web design and Google Business Profile management.
Related reading: How to reply to negative Google reviews and What must an Australian business website show.
Title 15 and Main Content 15: leave empty.
Key Takeaways
Testimonials must be genuine and from real customers.
Don't hide negatives to create a misleading picture.
Disclose incentives and never reward only positive reviews.
Ask permission and keep the customer's original words.
Health practitioners face extra Ahpra restrictions on testimonials.
Emon Datta
Founder, Morphic Agency
Morphic Agency is a Melbourne-based UX design agency. We've shipped 50+ products across 15+ countries.
