Do influencers need to disclose paid partnerships when promoting health products in Australia?
CompliGUARD reviews this compliance area against TGA · AHPRA · FSANZ · ACCC frameworks for Australian health brands — here's what the regulations say.
CompliGUARD reviews influencer disclosure on health products against the ACCC-enforced Australian Consumer Law. Yes. The ACCC requires that influencer content promoting health products discloses the commercial relationship where the influencer received payment, free products, or other consideration — failure to disclose constitutes misleading conduct under s.18 of the Australian Consumer Law.
The rule: Australian Consumer Law, Competition and Consumer Act 2010, Schedule 2, s.18; ACCC Influencer Marketing Guidance
Section 18 of the Australian Consumer Law prohibits conduct that is misleading or deceptive. The ACCC's influencer marketing guidance confirms that where an influencer receives payment, free products, or other commercial consideration in exchange for content, that content must be clearly identified as advertising. Presenting paid promotional content as an organic personal recommendation creates a false impression about the nature of the recommendation — this is misleading conduct regardless of whether the health claims in the content are accurate. Both the influencer and the brand can be held responsible for non-disclosure.
What this means in practice
- Require all paid and gifted influencer content to include a clear disclosure — '#ad', '#sponsored', or 'Paid partnership with [Brand]' are acceptable formats.
- Disclosure must be prominent — a single hashtag buried among twenty others at the end of a caption is not adequate disclosure.
- For video content, verbal disclosure at the start of the video ('this video is sponsored by...') satisfies the requirement — disclosure at the end does not.
- Product gifting without payment still requires disclosure where the gift was given with an expectation of content — the test is the commercial relationship, not whether money changed hands.
- As the brand, include disclosure requirements in your influencer brief and make them a contractual condition of the arrangement.
Common mistakes
Burying '#ad' among unrelated hashtags
The ACCC requires disclosure to be clear and prominent. A disclosure hashtag placed at the end of a long caption after many unrelated hashtags is not prominent — a consumer scrolling quickly would not register it as a disclosure of the commercial relationship.
Place the disclosure at the start of the caption or immediately following the opening sentence — before the consumer has read the health claim content.
Treating gifted products as not requiring disclosure
Free products given with an expectation of content — even informally communicated — constitute commercial consideration. The ACCC does not distinguish between cash payment and product gifting for the purposes of the disclosure obligation.
Require disclosure for all gifted product arrangements where content is expected or encouraged. Document the arrangement in writing.
Assuming platforms' native 'paid partnership' labels satisfy all obligations
Instagram and TikTok's native paid partnership labels satisfy the platform's own policies but do not automatically satisfy the ACCC's disclosure requirements — the ACCC assesses whether the disclosure is clear and prominent to Australian consumers in the specific context.
Use platform native labels and add explicit caption disclosure — do not rely on platform labels alone to satisfy ACL obligations.
Compliant vs non-compliant example
❌ NON-COMPLIANT
Burying '#ad' among unrelated hashtags
✅ COMPLIANT
Place the disclosure at the start of the caption or immediately following the opening sentence — before the consumer has read the health claim content.
The enforcement context
The ACCC has issued warnings and taken enforcement action against brands and influencers for non-disclosure of commercial relationships in social media content, including health product promotions. In 2022, the ACCC investigated influencer marketing practices across multiple sectors including health and wellness. Non-disclosure enforcement is increasing as influencer marketing volumes grow.
Before you publish, check it.
CompliGUARD reviews influencer content for ACCC disclosure compliance alongside TGA and AHPRA advertising rule compliance.
Start free reviewRelated questions
Regulatory references
- Australian Consumer Law (Competition and Consumer Act 2010, Schedule 2), s.18
- ACCC Influencer Marketing Guidance (2022)
- ACCC Advertising and Selling Guide, July 2021