What you can and can't say: AHPRA and TGA rules for health websites
The five things SEO advice tells health practices to do that break the rules, and what to do instead.
Last updated September 2026. Not legal advice.
Introduction
If you're registered with AHPRA, your website is advertising, and the National Law has rules for it. If you mention a medicine or a device, the TGA has more. Most SEO checklists were written for plumbers and ignore both.
This guide covers the rules that come up when building a health website for search. It's written from marketing experience under both regulators, not from a law degree. Check the edge cases with your practice manager or a lawyer.
01 - The two regulators, briefly
AHPRA and the TGA.
AHPRA regulates registered practitioners and, through the National Law, their advertising. The TGA regulates therapeutic goods, so anything that names a medicine, an injectable or a device.
AHPRA's advertising guidelines apply to every registered profession: dental, medical, nursing, physiotherapy, psychology, chiropractic, osteopathy, podiatry, optometry, pharmacy, Chinese medicine, occupational therapy and more. The core rules: no false or misleading claims, no testimonials about clinical care, no offers that encourage unnecessary treatment, no claims of superiority you can't substantiate.
The TGA advertising code applies whenever a therapeutic good is mentioned to the public. The one that catches cosmetic clinics: you can't advertise prescription-only medicines to the public at all, which includes naming the brand of an anti-wrinkle injectable. A dental practice hits it less often, but whitening agents, sedation and some devices can trigger it.
02 - The five things that break the rules
The five things that break the rules.
01Testimonials on your site
Every SEO guide says "add testimonials for trust." Under AHPRA, a testimonial about clinical care on your own site or in your ads is not allowed. Compliant alternative: a link to your Google Business Profile, where patient reviews live on a platform you don't control, and the review count and rating still influence the map pack.02Naming the injectable
People search "Botox Brisbane", and you can't target it. Prescription-only medicines can't be advertised to the public, including by brand. Compliant alternative: pages built around "anti-wrinkle injections" and the concern (frown lines, crow's feet), which is also how most people search once they're past the brand name.03"Best dentist", "pain-free", "guaranteed"
Superlatives and outcome promises need substantiation you almost never have. Compliant alternative: specific, verifiable statements. "Open Saturdays." "Same-day emergency appointments." "Sedation available." These rank for the searches that matter more than "best" does.04Before-and-after galleries
Allowed, but with conditions: real patients, consent, no editing, comparable lighting and angles, and no implication of guaranteed results. Cosmetic procedures have extra requirements. Compliant alternative: keep the gallery, add the disclosures, and describe the treatment factually next to it.05Time-limited offers on treatment
"20% off implants this month" encourages treatment for the wrong reason. Compliant alternative: publish the price. Price transparency is allowed, patients want it, and "implant cost" is a bigger search than any discount.
03 - Reviews, properly
The compliant way to get reviews.
Ask every patient, at reception, with a link to your Google profile. Don't ask for specific content, don't offer anything for it, don't cherry-pick who you ask.
Google reviews are the biggest map-pack lever a practice has, and they're allowed because they sit on Google, not on your site. What you control is the asking, and AHPRA cares about the asking: no incentives, no scripted reviews, no asking only the happy patients.
Reply to every review, including the difficult ones, without confirming that the person was a patient or discussing their care. "Thanks for the feedback, please call us to discuss" is the whole reply.
04 - The AI angle
Why this matters for AI search.
Google AI Overviews and ChatGPT pull health answers from pages that are specific, factual and non-promotional, which is the compliant style. The practices that overclaim are the ones AI tools skip.
Ask ChatGPT "who's a good dentist in [suburb]" and look at what it cites: Google profiles, HealthEngine, HotDoc, the practitioner's own service pages when they're clear. It doesn't cite the site that says it's the best.
So the compliance pass and the AI visibility pass are the same job: plain language, accurate details, consistent listings.
05 - FAQ
Questions people ask.
Can dentists use Google reviews?
Yes. They sit on Google, not your site. Ask compliantly and reply carefully.
Can I embed Google reviews on my website?
Not if they discuss clinical care. Most practices link out instead.
Can I name the anti-wrinkle brand?
No. Prescription-only medicines can't be advertised to the public. Use the treatment category.
Can I show before-and-after photos?
Yes, with consent, no editing, comparable images and no implied guarantee. Cosmetic work has extra conditions.
Can I publish my prices?
Yes. It's allowed and it ranks.
Does this apply to allied health?
If you're AHPRA-registered, yes.
Is this legal advice?
No. Marketing experience, not law. Check edge cases with your practice manager or a lawyer.
06 - A note at the end
Where this comes from.
SEO for a dermatology clinic, under both regulators, with every page reviewed before it went live.
If you want your practice's site checked against these rules as part of a proper SEO audit and plan, that's what the health practitioners page is for.
07 - Contact
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