The Australian Health Practitioner Health Regulation Agency (Ahpra) guidelines for advertising non-surgical cosmetic treatments officially came into effect on 2nd September 2025, and they clearly outline the stricter advertising controls expected of any entity advertising higher-risk cosmetic procedures. This guide will provide you with all the necessary information about these guidelines and practical compliance steps you can take. Before that, let’s discuss how these rules came to be and who must comply with them.

Why These Rules Were Needed

Before these guidelines, non-surgical cosmetic procedures were often perceived as low-risk, and misleading advertisements contributed to this misconception. Some of these procedures include dental veneers, the administration of cosmetic injectables such as botulinum toxin and dermal fillers, and fat lipolysis (fat-dissolving injections), which carry significant risks, including blindness, scarring, infection, or disfigurement. However, many people perceived them to be similar to getting a facial or a haircut, and the Ahpra decided to tighten the rules to reduce patient exploitation.

Furthermore, the Ahpra had to investigate over 360 cases related to non-surgical cosmetic procedures within three years (from September 2022 to March 2025), involving complaints about medical practitioners, nurses, dentists, psychologists, and Chinese medicine practitioners. These new guidelines align the standards expected of all registered health practitioners with those of medical practitioners, who already have their own guidelines to better protect the Australian public.

Beyond misleading ads, other concerns, such as unqualified or poorly qualified providers, unsafe practices, financial gain competing with patient safety, and the manipulation of the younger population, were instrumental in the decision to formulate these advertising rules. 

Who Must Comply? Broad Coverage Across Professions

Anyone advertising higher-risk cosmetic procedures performed by a registered health practitioner must comply with the guidelines, whether they’re a registered health practitioner or not. Businesses, partnerships, and corporate bodies are not left out either. These guidelines only apply to higher-risk cosmetic procedures, as there are other cosmetic procedures (of lower risk) that are lawfully provided by individuals who aren’t registered health practitioners. Generally, high-risk procedures require that the individual performing the procedure be a registered health practitioner or that an aspect of the cosmetic procedure involves a registered health practitioner. That’s because they’re the only ones who have the authorisation and the knowledge to perform these procedures.

What’s New—Key Highlights From the 2025 Advertising Rules

Here’s what you need to know about the new rules:

Mandatory Educational Prerequisites and Accurate Claims

Many practitioners must undergo further training and supervised practice before they can perform non-surgical cosmetic treatments. This ensures patient safety because practitioners will operate within the limits of their skill and experience.

Furthermore, practitioners can only list training, qualifications, and experience that are accurate when advertising, so as not to mislead the public. Advertisements must also avoid terms like hashtags or taglines that describe a registered practitioner in a way that creates unrealistic expectations. If advertising references a specific practitioner as performing the procedures, it must include their registration details and number:

• AB (NMW000123456) Registered nurse (Division 1), nurse practitioner
• Dr J (MED000678910) Registered medical practitioner, specialist plastic surgeon (specialist registration in surgery – plastic surgery).

Strictly No Testimonials 

The guidelines prohibit the use of testimonials, patient stories, or experiences in advertisements, whether real or fake. This also applies to interactions with testimonials posted on social media or third-party sites. Health practitioners can be proactive by disabling the tagging, reviews, and comment sections on their social media pages to prevent any interaction with testimonials.

The use of social media influencers or ambassadors in advertising non-surgical cosmetic treatments is not entirely prohibited, but the content must comply with all the applicable advertising guidelines. It is your responsibility as a registered health practitioner to ensure compliance with the relevant regulations.

Truthful Visual Standards

Imagery, including images and videos, is a core tool in advertising cosmetic procedures, and guidelines are stringent regarding its use. Any promotional image must be genuine and unedited, and it must clearly state that the outcomes are specific to the patient in the image and do not necessarily represent what other people will experience. Before-and-after images must be genuine and as similar as possible in terms of content, lighting, background, camera angle, and other relevant aspects. Patients must give informed consent before their images are used, and they must be aware of how the photos will be used. 

Youth Protections

Advertising should not target persons under 18. Advertisers should clearly label all content on social media as adult content and avoid publishing in media that is frequented by this demographic. Furthermore, images of persons under 18 cannot be used to advertise non-surgical cosmetic treatments.

Even when they come in, a 7-day cooling-off period must be observed between the consultation and the procedure for patients under 18 so that they can have enough time to consider their decision.

Legal and Regulatory Oversight

The National Boards developed these guidelines under section 39 of the national law. They are in addition to the existing Ahpra’s broader advertising guidelines, the guidelines for registered medical practitioners who advertise cosmetic surgery, the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) guidelines on advertising injectable treatments, and the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) advertising guidelines. 

Failure to comply with these guidelines may lead to disciplinary action by the boards, which may include suspension of registration and exclusion from performing specific procedures. Defaulters can also be prosecuted via the court system.

Practical Compliance Steps for Practitioners

Here are practical steps you can take to ensure compliance:

• Audit existing advertising (e.g., websites, social media, print) to remove non-compliant language, images, or claims.
• Ensure proper credentials and training. Don’t treat cosmetic procedures like a standard facial; these require higher clinical proficiency.
• Avoid targeting minors and respect the mandatory cooling-off period.
• Use authentic images only, include disclaimers that results may vary, and ensure all required disclosures are present.
• Stay informed by downloading Ahpra’s “dos and don’ts” PDF and visual guidance examples.

Patient Safety First

The most effective advertising for non-surgical cosmetic procedures is honest, balanced, realistic, and informative. Your first job is to educate and inform your audience so they can make the best decision for themselves without undue influence. Our team at Caffeinated Marketing can help you craft a marketing strategy that is compliant with AHPRA’s guidelines and connects you to your target audience simultaneously. Contact us now to get started.