AHPRA Section 133: What Healthcare Providers Can and Cannot Advertise

Quick Answer: AHPRA Section 133 of the Health Practitioner Regulation National Law prohibits healthcare providers from using testimonials, superlatives, outcome guarantees, and misleading claims in advertising. Penalties reach up to $60,000 for individuals and $120,000 for organisations per offence. Providers can advertise factual services, qualifications, and pricing without issue.

What Is AHPRA Section 133?

Section 133 of the Health Practitioner Regulation National Law sets out the advertising restrictions for all registered health practitioners in Australia. Administered by the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA), this section determines what healthcare providers can and cannot say in their marketing materials, websites, social media, and any other form of advertising.

As of February 2026, Section 133 applies to over 800,000 registered health practitioners across 16 regulated professions, including doctors, nurses, dentists, physiotherapists, psychologists, and pharmacists. The rules apply equally to in-person and telehealth services.

What Section 133 Prohibits

Testimonials

The most well-known prohibition under Section 133 is the ban on testimonials. Healthcare providers cannot use patient testimonials, success stories, or endorsements in their advertising. This includes:

• Patient quotes on websites
• Video testimonials
• Case studies that identify patients (even with consent)
• Before-and-after stories
• Curated reviews from third-party platforms

According to AHPRA’s advertising guidelines, the testimonial prohibition exists because patients cannot objectively assess the quality of clinical care they received, and testimonials may create unrealistic expectations for other patients.

Superlatives and Comparative Claims

Providers cannot use superlatives or make unsubstantiated comparative claims. Prohibited language includes:

• “Best doctor in Sydney”
• “Leading telehealth provider”
• “Most experienced GP”
• “Superior treatment outcomes”
• “Number one rated clinic”

The restriction also covers implied superlatives. Phrases like “unmatched expertise” or “unrivalled care” breach Section 133 even though they do not use the word “best.”

Outcome Guarantees

Healthcare providers cannot guarantee clinical outcomes. Prohibited claims include:

• “Guaranteed results”
• “100% success rate”
• “We will cure your condition”
• “Proven to eliminate pain”

Clinical outcomes vary between patients, and guaranteeing results is both misleading and potentially dangerous. This applies to all services, including telehealth consultations, prescriptions, and referrals.

Misleading or Deceptive Claims

Section 133 prohibits any advertising that is false, misleading, or deceptive. This broad category covers:

• Inflated qualifications or experience
• Misleading pricing (advertising a price that does not reflect actual costs)
• Implying endorsement by AHPRA or a National Board
• Creating unreasonable expectations about treatment effectiveness

What Section 133 Allows

Despite the restrictions, there is plenty that healthcare providers can legally advertise. Understanding what is permitted is just as important as knowing what is prohibited.

Factual Service Descriptions

Providers can describe the services they offer in factual terms. For example:

• “We offer telehealth consultations via video call”
• “Our clinic provides bulk-billed GP appointments”
• “Medical certificates available through our platform”

Qualifications and Registration

Providers can state their qualifications, areas of practice, and registration details. This includes:

• Medical degrees and specialisations
• Years of experience (factual, not superlative)
• Registration numbers
• Professional memberships

Pricing Information

Factual pricing is permitted. Providers can state:

• Consultation fees
• Medicare rebate amounts
• Out-of-pocket costs
• Bulk billing availability

Availability and Access

Providers can advertise practical information:

• Operating hours
• Locations (physical and telehealth)
• Appointment availability
• Wait times (if factual)

Penalties for Non-Compliance

The penalties under Section 133 are significant. As of February 2026, the maximum penalties are:

• Individuals: Up to $60,000 per offence
• Organisations: Up to $120,000 per offence

Each non-compliant advertisement is considered a separate offence. A website with multiple breaching statements could result in multiple penalties. AHPRA actively monitors healthcare advertising and accepts complaints from the public.

Beyond financial penalties, AHPRA can take regulatory action including:

• Placing conditions on a practitioner’s registration
• Suspending registration
• Issuing formal cautions
• Requiring the practitioner to complete education or training

Compliance Checklist for Healthcare Providers

Here is a practical checklist for ensuring your healthcare advertising complies with Section 133:

1. Remove all patient testimonials from your website, social media, and printed materials
2. Remove superlatives like “best,” “leading,” “top,” or “number one”
3. Remove outcome guarantees including success rates and cure claims
4. Verify all pricing is accurate and reflects actual costs
5. Check qualifications listed are current and verifiable
6. Review social media for user-generated testimonials you have solicited or curated
7. Check Google Business reviews. You cannot solicit them, but you do not need to remove unsolicited ones
8. Review third-party listings on directories and comparison sites for compliance
9. Add disclaimers where appropriate, such as “Individual results may vary”
10. Schedule regular audits of all advertising materials at least quarterly

The Grey Area: Third-Party Reviews

One of the most common questions about Section 133 concerns patient reviews on platforms like Google, Healthshare, and HotDoc. The current position is nuanced:

• Unsolicited reviews left independently by patients on third-party platforms are generally outside the practitioner’s control and are not considered advertising by the practitioner
• Soliciting reviews is prohibited. Sending patients a link to leave a Google review, offering incentives for reviews, or displaying QR codes for review platforms breaches Section 133
• Curating reviews by selectively displaying positive reviews on your own website constitutes testimonial advertising and is prohibited

The safest approach is to let reviews happen organically without prompting, soliciting, or incentivising patients in any way.

Section 133 and Telehealth

Section 133 applies to telehealth services in exactly the same way it applies to in-person healthcare. Telehealth platforms, apps, and websites must comply with all advertising restrictions. Common telehealth-specific compliance issues include:

• App store descriptions containing superlatives
• Landing pages with patient testimonials
• Social media ads promising guaranteed outcomes
• Comparison pages making unsubstantiated “better than” claims

For telehealth providers operating comparison websites or running digital marketing campaigns, compliance requires careful review of all content, including automated marketing emails, retargeting ads, and affiliate content.