Vikas Thakur / / 8 min readA five-star Google review is not an AHPRA problem on its own. Liking, sharing, or replying to one with outcome language can turn it into a breach worth up to $120,000 for a clinic, under AHPRA's own testimonial guidance.
Vikas Thakur / / 9 min readA 2022 amendment to the Health Practitioner Regulation National Law lifted the maximum testimonial-breach penalty twelvefold, to $60,000 for an individual and $120,000 for a body corporate. AHPRA's cosmetic procedure guidelines, effective 2 September 2025, then tightened the rule further for social media influencers.
Vikas Thakur / / 9 min readThe TGA's Advertising Code consultation confirms Section 24's paid testimonial ban stays, with a sunscreen influencer exception explicitly declined, while new SaMD/AI disclosure and ARTG display proposals target the exact software clinics run on their websites.
Vikas Thakur / / 12 min readA live Instagram or Facebook feed widget on a clinic website pulls in captions, tagged photos and comment threads automatically, and any of those can carry a patient's clinical statement. Section 133 of the National Law bans testimonials in advertising a regulated health service, and AHPRA's cosmetic guidelines treat that republished content the same as a testimonial the clinic wrote.
Vikas Thakur / / 8 min readA Google reviews widget pulls whatever patients wrote, including clinical outcomes. Section 133 of the National Law bans testimonials in advertising a regulated health service. An automated widget cannot filter for that, which is the whole problem.