Free tool
Does your website breach AHPRA's advertising rules?
Every practitioner website is advertising under the National Law, and since July 2024 the maximum penalty is $60,000 per offence for an individual. Submit your site and get a report flagging content worth reviewing: testimonials, misleading claims, inducements, title misuse.
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Example finding
This automated review is general information only, not legal advice or an AHPRA determination. Findings are potential issues for your review.
What the check looks for
Section 133 of the National Law sets five prohibitions for anyone advertising a regulated health service. The checker reads up to five pages of your site, including the pages where breaches most often live (testimonials, services, fees), and flags content against each.
Testimonials
Patient reviews or stories about clinical aspects of your care: the symptom, the treatment, the outcome, or your skill. Embedded Google reviews count. Comments about friendliness or service quality do not.
False or misleading claims
Effectiveness claims without acceptable evidence, lists of conditions a treatment can "assist with", claimed superiority over other providers, or understated risk.
Inducements without terms
A gift, discount, or "free" offer with no plain-language terms and conditions. "Free" has to mean absolutely free.
Unreasonable expectation of benefit
Words like "safe", "pain-free", "guaranteed", or "cure" without acknowledging risk. Before-and-after images presented as typical results.
Encouraging unnecessary use
Urgency tied to health suffering ("don't delay", "limited time only"), or encouraging regular attendance with no clinical indication.
It also checks title use: "specialist" without specialist registration, the protected title "surgeon", and "Dr" without the profession made clear. It does not see social media, Google Business Profiles, paid ads, or printed material; those carry the same obligations.
Questions practitioners ask
Is my website really "advertising" under the National Law?
Yes. The AHPRA advertising guidelines define advertising to include websites and social media that promote a regulated health service. If your site seeks to attract patients, the advertising requirements in section 133 of the National Law apply to it.
Who is responsible if my web agency wrote the content?
You are, if you control the content. AHPRA holds the advertiser responsible: whoever publishes, authorises, or can modify the content. Advertisers need to check content produced by others on their behalf.
Are patient reviews banned entirely?
No. The prohibition covers testimonials used in advertising that refer to clinical aspects: the symptom, diagnosis or treatment, the outcome, or the practitioner's skill. Reviews that only praise customer service or communication style are not testimonials, and reviews on platforms you do not control are not your responsibility.
What are the penalties for a breach?
Breaching an advertising requirement is a criminal offence. Since July 2024 the maximum penalty in all jurisdictions, including Western Australia, is $60,000 per offence for an individual and $120,000 for a body corporate. Registered practitioners can also face disciplinary action.
Is this check legal advice?
No. It is an automated review that flags potential issues for you to look at. It is general information only, not legal advice or an AHPRA determination, and a clean result is not a compliance guarantee. For advice on your obligations, consult your legal adviser or professional indemnity insurer.
Why do you need my work email?
The full report is delivered by email, and the tool costs us real money to run per scan, so we limit it to practice owners with a work email address. We email your report and may follow up once about it. No list, no spam.
PAC builds AI systems for professional practices, including the privacy-first clinical documentation work behind this checker. If your practice is thinking about AI beyond compliance, see how we work with professional services, or start with a conversation.