Every healthcare ad on Google sits under two rulebooks. The first is AHPRA's, through section 133 of the Health Practitioner Regulation National Law. The second is Google's advertising policy, including its healthcare and medicines section, which sets its own conditions on who can advertise and what can be named. The two overlap in places and differ in others. A campaign has to pass both.
This page covers the Google side and where it meets the AHPRA side. For the AHPRA rules themselves, start with the AHPRA compliance hub.
Google updates its policies, so check the current version before acting on anything here.
Google's policy is written by location
Google's healthcare and medicines policy varies by country. A rule that applies to a business in one market may not apply in Australia, and the reverse is also true. For Australian advertisers, the requirements we could confirm on Google's policy page fall into three groups.
Online pharmacies. Google allows an online pharmacy to advertise if it is verified through LegitScript's Healthcare Merchant Certification Program, or if it meets a state or territory requirement. In New South Wales, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria and Western Australia, that means registration with the relevant authority. In Queensland, the Northern Territory and the Australian Capital Territory, the pharmacy must be owned or controlled by a pharmacist registered with the Pharmacy Board of Australia.
Telemedicine. Google allows telemedicine providers to advertise if they are verified through LegitScript's Healthcare Merchant Certification Program. This is a separate condition from the pharmacy route.
Prescription drug terms. Ads targeting Australia cannot use prescription drug terms in the ad or on the page it leads to. The destination page counts, so a landing page can break this rule even when the ad itself reads cleanly.
What the certification rules mean for your clinic
The certification routes we could confirm are written for online pharmacies and telemedicine services. If your clinic is a face-to-face practice with no online pharmacy or telehealth offer, those two routes are probably not the ones you need to check. Confirm which services each campaign promotes before you assume either way.
Certification is not the only question. Ask Google which requirements apply to your specific service before launch, and keep a written record of the answer. A clinic that relies on an assumption about its own category is taking a risk that a written answer removes.
Where Google and AHPRA part ways
They often agree, but they ask different questions.
Google asks whether the advertiser and the product are allowed on its platform. AHPRA asks whether the advertising is false or misleading, offers an inducement without its terms, uses a testimonial about clinical care, creates an unreasonable expectation of benefit, or encourages unnecessary use of a health service.
A clinic can pass one and fail the other. A "free consultation" ad may be accepted by Google while the consultation's terms sit on a page the patient cannot easily find, which leaves the offer unlawful under section 133. A headline reading "pain-free in one visit" is an AHPRA problem whether or not a platform review flags it.
Google approval is a necessary step, not a finish line.
Prescription medicines add a third layer
Therapeutic goods law restricts advertising some prescription-only medicines to the public. Google's Australian restriction on prescription drug terms sits alongside that. A treatment can be lawful to offer and still unsuitable to name in an ad, and the landing page counts toward that test.
Cosmetic injectables and prescription weight management medicines are examples where clinics often need to check the wording first. Review the TGA's current rules before naming any medicine in a campaign.
Who carries the risk
Google's policy governs the account. Section 133 governs the practice. AHPRA treats the registered practitioner and the business providing the service as the advertiser, whoever wrote the copy. A marketing agency, a franchise template or a platform's automated headline generator does not move that responsibility to someone else.
That is why the check belongs in the build, before an ad goes live, rather than in a review after a complaint arrives.
A three-step check before launch
1. Google policy. Can this account run the ad, and does the destination page meet the healthcare and medicines rules? 2. AHPRA. Can every claim be substantiated, are offer terms visible, and does anything promise an outcome or push unnecessary care? 3. Medicines. Does the ad or the landing page name a prescription-only medicine?
Passing step one says nothing about the other two. Run all three again whenever the copy changes.
Automated assets need the same check
Automatically generated headlines, dynamic keyword insertion and review assets all put text in front of patients that nobody read in the moment. Google's review does not replace reading that output against section 133. Treat every generated line as copy you have approved, or turn the feature off.
For how we set healthcare accounts up to keep that output under control, see AHPRA-compliant Google Ads.
What to check on your current account
- Which service each campaign promotes, and whether it is a pharmacy or telehealth service that needs certification.
- Whether any ad or landing page names a prescription-only medicine.
- Whether every offer shows its terms on the page the ad leads to.
- Whether any headline makes an outcome promise or a superlative you cannot back up.
- Whether automated assets are generating copy nobody has read.
Get your account reviewed
If you are running ads now, we will check the account against Google's healthcare policy and section 133, then give you a written list of what we would change and why. If you want the account itself examined in detail, the Google Ads compliance audit is the first step. The audit costs nothing and there is no obligation afterwards.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Google approving our ad mean it is lawful in Australia?
No. Google approval only shows the ad passed Google's rules, and a healthcare ad in Australia also has to pass section 133 of the National Law.
Does the landing page matter for Google's prescription drug rule?
Yes. Ads targeting Australia cannot use prescription drug terms in the ad or on the page it leads to, so a landing page can break the rule even when the ad itself reads cleanly.
Do Google's certification routes apply to a face-to-face clinic?
Probably not, because the routes the page covers are for online pharmacies and telemedicine services. The page still advises asking Google which requirements apply to your service and keeping a written record of the answer.
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General information only. It is not legal advice and does not replace the current guidelines published by AHPRA and the National Boards, or Google's own advertising policies. LHM is a digital marketing agency. We are not a regulator or a legal adviser.