What free tools do the TGA and AHPRA provide for advertising compliance?

Advertising Compliance Self-Assessment Checklist
A structured PDF checklist covering whether a product can be advertised, mandatory statement requirements, testimonial rules, restricted representation checks, and ARTG consistency. Updated November 2023. Available at tga.gov.au — search "advertising compliance self-assessment checklist." Useful for periodic internal audits; not designed for high-volume content review.

Applying the Advertising Code
Step-by-step TGA guidance on how to read and apply the Therapeutic Goods Advertising Code 2021. Covers who the Code applies to, what constitutes an advertisement, and how to assess a claim. Available at tga.gov.au/advertising.

TGA Decision Tools
The TGA offers three online decision tools relevant to compliance:

• Is my product a therapeutic good? — determines whether a product falls under TGA jurisdiction
• Food-Medicine Interface Guidance Tool (FMIGT) — assesses whether a product sits in the food/medicine grey zone, which determines which advertising rules apply
• Sports supplement decision tool — categorises sports supplement products under TGA or FSANZ

Australian Register of Therapeutic Goods (ARTG) Public Search
Search artg.tga.gov.au to verify a product's ARTG listing, sponsor name, approved indications, and registration status. A product's advertising must not exceed the indications recorded on its ARTG entry. This is the primary reference for checking whether a product claim is within scope.

Permitted Indications Database
The TGA's published list of pre-approved indications for Listed Medicines (AUST L products). If an indication on a product page or advertisement does not appear in this list, it requires a higher standard of substantiation or may be a prohibited representation.

AHPRA Advertising Guidelines
The primary reference document for registered health practitioners advertising regulated health services. Covers the testimonial ban, misleading claims, outcome guarantees, use of qualifications, pricing and inducements, and social media. Last updated December 2020. Available at ahpra.gov.au/Resources/Advertising-hub.

AHPRA Advertising Hub
AHPRA's central resource for advertising compliance, including:

• Self-assessment guidance
• Common advertising mistakes by practitioner category
• Profession-specific examples (chiropractors, physiotherapists, GPs, nurses, pharmacists, and others)
• Fact sheets on specific issues including testimonials, before/after images, and practitioner endorsements

Profession-Specific Advertising Examples
AHPRA publishes example-based guidance for individual practitioner categories. Chiropractor examples, physiotherapy examples, dental board guidance, and nursing examples are each published separately — each illustrating compliant and non-compliant approaches specific to that profession's scope and evidence base.

The TGA checklist and AHPRA self-assessment guides are framework references. They explain the rules. They do not:

• Review your draft Instagram caption, product page copy, or email subject line against the rules
• Verify whether your specific product's claims match the approved indications on your ARTG listing
• Flag the client testimonial buried in your website's case studies section
• Generate a compliant rewrite when copy is flagged
• Produce a timestamped record of the compliance review decision for audit purposes

The gap between understanding the rules and applying them to a high-volume marketing calendar is where most compliance failures occur. A marketing team that has read the TGA checklist still needs a process for applying it to every piece of content before publication.