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    What are the advertising rules for psychologists 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 psychologist advertising against AHPRA's advertising rules under the National Law. Psychologists are registered with AHPRA and must comply with s.133 of the Health Practitioner Regulation National Law — prohibiting patient testimonials, unrealistic expectations of psychological treatment outcomes, unsubstantiated superiority claims, and inducements — with particular care required around mental health outcome claims.

    The rule: Health Practitioner Regulation National Law, s.133; AHPRA Guidelines for Advertising a Regulated Health Service, December 2020

    Psychology is one of 15 professions regulated by AHPRA. All psychologist advertising — including private practice websites, social media, psychology directory listings, and any promotional content — is subject to s.133 and the AHPRA Guidelines for Advertising a Regulated Health Service. The Psychology Board of Australia has published specific guidance on advertising that highlights the particular sensitivity of mental health outcome claims — given the vulnerability of the population seeking psychological services and the complexity of mental health treatment outcomes.

    What this means in practice

    • Do not publish client testimonials — the testimonial prohibition under s.133(1)(c) applies with particular force in psychology given the confidential nature of the therapeutic relationship.
    • Do not make claims that psychological treatment will resolve specific mental health conditions — 'overcome anxiety', 'cure depression', 'eliminate PTSD' are unrealistic outcome claims under s.133(1)(c).
    • Exercise caution with claims about treatment modalities — claiming a specific therapeutic approach (CBT, EMDR, DBT) is definitively superior to others for a specific condition requires substantiation.
    • Do not offer discounts or reduced-fee promotions that could encourage people to seek psychological treatment they may not need — apply the inducement test to all promotional offers.
    • Bulk billing and Medicare rebate information is factual and permissible — framing it as a promotional incentive to seek treatment is higher risk.

    Common mistakes

    Mistake

    Publishing client success stories on a psychology practice website

    Problem

    Client success stories — even anonymised and with client consent — constitute testimonials under s.133(1)(c). The prohibition applies regardless of consent, anonymisation, or positive framing. The confidential nature of the therapeutic relationship makes this prohibition especially strictly applied in psychology.

    Fix

    Replace client stories with educational content about the conditions you work with, the approaches you use, and what clients can expect from the therapeutic process — without attributing outcomes to specific clients.

    Mistake

    Making claims about treatment duration ('resolved in 6 sessions')

    Problem

    Claims implying a specific treatment duration for a psychological condition imply a predictable outcome that mental health treatment cannot guarantee — this creates an unrealistic expectation of benefit under s.133(1)(c).

    Fix

    Describe treatment approaches and typical evidence-based session ranges without implying a specific outcome within a defined timeframe.

    Mistake

    Using specialisation claims without credentials to support them

    Problem

    Claiming to specialise in a specific area — trauma, eating disorders, complex PTSD — implies a level of expertise that must be substantiated by qualifications, training, or clinical experience. Unsubstantiated specialisation claims are superiority claims under s.133(1)(d).

    Fix

    Support specialisation claims with specific credentials — training, supervision, years of experience in the area. State the credential, not just the specialisation claim.

    Compliant vs non-compliant example

    ❌ NON-COMPLIANT

    Publishing client success stories on a psychology practice website

    ✅ COMPLIANT

    Replace client stories with educational content about the conditions you work with, the approaches you use, and what clients can expect from the therapeutic process — without attributing outcomes to specific clients.

    The enforcement context

    The Psychology Board of Australia has been active in advertising compliance monitoring, and psychology is consistently represented in AHPRA advertising complaint data. Mental health advertising attracts particular scrutiny given the vulnerability of the audience — AHPRA applies the advertising prohibitions with this context in mind.

    Before you publish, check it.

    CompliGUARD reviews psychologist advertising against AHPRA Guidelines s.133 — with specific attention to mental health outcome claims and testimonial detection.

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    Related questions

    Regulatory references

    • Health Practitioner Regulation National Law, s.133
    • AHPRA Guidelines for Advertising a Regulated Health Service, December 2020
    • Psychology Board of Australia — Advertising Guidance