Healthcare websites don’t usually run into compliance issues due to a single obvious legal mistake. More often, the risk comes from the way the page is written, designed and presented.
A headline, image, layout choice or call to action can create unrealistic expectations or imply likely outcomes, even when the page doesn’t make a direct claim.
- AHPRA cares about the overall impression of a page, not just whether each sentence is technically correct.
- Even small things, like a headline, image or review, can imply more than the copy actually says.
- Claims need to be backed by accepted evidence and written in plain English, not stretched to sound stronger.
- Patients should be able to clearly see who they’re booking with, what they’re qualified to do and what the service involves.
- The best healthcare websites feel clear, balanced and useful, not pushy, vague or built purely to drive bookings.
1. False, misleading or deceptive content
This is really the umbrella that everything else in this checklist sits under, since AHPRA doesn’t just read the words on a page, it reads the impression the whole page leaves behind. A line can be technically true and still mislead someone once the layout, imagery or emphasis around it is factored in. Worth checking on any page:
- Is there anything false or misleading in the copy itself, even something small?
- Could the page mislead simply by what it chooses not to mention?
- Are any comparisons or contrasts fair, rather than framed to favour one side?
- Does the layout or visual emphasis unintentionally make a benefit look bigger than the text actually claims?
- Could a testimonial or review, even an honest one, be read as implying a clinical outcome?
This doesn’t mean the copy needs to sound flat or overly cautious. A claim can be accurate, compliant and still sound compelling. Readers will likely respond better to healthcare content that is clear and balanced, rather than vague or overly cautious.
2. Claims & evidence
Health claims need to hold up against accepted evidence and be written so someone without a clinical background can follow them safely. A few things worth checking on any page making a claim:
- Is it backed by evidence that's accepted, not just a single study or emerging research presented as settled fact?
- Has the study or statistic been represented fairly, without stretching what it actually found?
- Would someone outside the industry understand what's being claimed, or does it need plain-language qualifications added?
If a claim needs too much explaining to stay accurate, it may need to be rewritten, qualified, or removed altogether.
3. Titles, qualifications & scope of practice
This one is fairly simple. Patients should be able to clearly understand who is providing their care and what qualifications that person holds. So double-check the following:
- Are protected titles being used correctly, rather than loosely or for effect?
- Do the qualifications listed match what the practitioner holds?
- Does anything on the page imply specialist recognition that hasn't been achieved?
- Is the scope of each service explained clearly enough that a visitor understands what they're booking in for?
- Could any wording be read as suggesting endorsement by AHPRA or another regulator?
Getting this right isn’t just about avoiding a breach. Accuracy here tends to build more trust than confident-sounding copy ever will, and it takes a fair amount of risk off the page at the same time.
4. Promotions, discounts & calls to action
Good healthcare marketing should help people feel ready to make a decision, not push them into one before they’re actually sure. It’s a subtle line, and it’s easy to cross without realising, especially when a promotion is a great offer and the natural instinct is just to make sure people don’t miss it. Worth checking on any page:
- Are promotional offers backed by clear terms and conditions?
- Does the messaging create urgency around treatment that isn't actually urgent?
- Is a time-limited offer even the right fit for a healthcare context?
- Does any of the copy lean on a fear of missing out?
- Do booking prompts feel informative, or do they feel like they're nudging someone harder than they need to?
A few phrases are worth cutting the moment you spot them:
- Book before it's too late
- Limited appointments available
- Don't delay treatment
- Act now
A prompt like “Ready to book your first visit?” does the job just as well, without the undertone of urgency. Healthcare decisions should feel like someone’s own choice, made in their own time, not something they were talked into.
5. Testimonials & social proof
One of the most common compliance issues we see at Excite Media is the use of testimonials. It can seem harmless, but the advertising rules around testimonials are very strict.
A patient can leave a Google review, but once that review is republished, embedded on a treatment page, or turned into a case study that describes an outcome, it can become advertising under AHPRA’s definition, regardless of how genuine the review is.
The safest reviews to keep are the ones that talk about the experience of visiting the practice rather than the result of a service, things like:
- How friendly or welcoming the staff were
- How easy the booking process felt
- How comfortable the visit was overall
Where a review mentions both the experience and an outcome, it’s often worth trimming it back rather than removing it entirely, keeping the part about the staff or the visit and cutting anything that reads as a treatment result.
6. Risky or high-expectation language
Certain words create a level of certainty healthcare simply can’t promise, even when there’s no intention to mislead.
Avoid unqualified statements such as:
- Guaranteed results
- Safe treatment
- Pain-free
- Best treatment
- Permanent solution
- Cure
- Proven results
Instead, use measured language such as:
- May assist
- Can help
- Designed to support
- Appropriate for
- Individual results vary
Outcomes in healthcare are rarely absolute, and copy that reflects this usually reads as more credible, not less persuasive.
7. Imagery & visual representation
It’s easy to focus compliance checks on the words on a page and forget that images are doing just as much talking, sometimes more, since people tend to trust what they see before they’ve even read the headline next to it. Photos are assessed under the same advertising guidelines as copy, so they deserve the same level of scrutiny. Worth checking on any page:
- Do photographs exaggerate likely outcomes?
- Are before-and-after images used appropriately?
- Could imagery create unrealistic expectations?
- Are stock images representative of actual patients and services?
- Are models presented in a way that could mislead?
- Should a disclaimer clarify that images are illustrative?
8. Website UX & design
This one’s less about any single sentence and more about the overall feel of the site, since how a page is built and laid out influences someone’s understanding just as much as what it actually says. A website can tick every box on wording and still nudge people along faster than it should, just through the way it’s put together. Worth checking on any page:
- Is the purpose of each service clear from the way the page is laid out?
- Is important information, including risks or limitations, easy to find rather than tucked behind promotional content?
- Does navigation encourage someone to explore and understand a service, or does it funnel straight to booking?
- Are clinical services explained before pricing or promotions appear?
- Is the homepage balanced, or does it oversell what's on offer?
- Do calls to action feel proportionate to what's actually being offered?
- Do icons and illustrations genuinely reflect the services they represent?
- Does the colour and imagery on the page create a sense of reassurance rather than pressure?
- Does clinical content feel evidence-based, or does it lean more sales-driven than it should?
At the end of the day, good UX is really just about helping people feel informed rather than rushed. The healthcare websites that do best tend to be the ones that feel calm, clear and credible, rather than ones dressed up purely to convert.
Final review
Before a page goes live, read it as a stranger would.
Would someone with no prior knowledge of the practice come away with an accurate sense of who it helps, what it offers, and what they can realistically expect if they book in?
If yes, the page is probably striking the right balance between effective marketing and what AHPRA expects.
Compliance was never about making a website less compelling. Done properly, it makes the whole thing more trustworthy, and for a healthcare practice, that tends to be the thing doing more of the work anyway.
If your healthcare website needs a second set of eyes before it goes live, you know where to find us 👋
