AHPRA Occupational Therapy Advertising: 82 Sites Checked

AHPRA occupational therapy advertising rules apply to every OT website, whoever pays for the therapy. On 29 September 2026 I read 82 Australian OT practice websites. 18 call their OTs or services specialist, a title no OT can hold. 11 show client or parent quotes about therapy progress. 8 use NDIS wording that promises a funding result or says “NDIS approved”. Only 4 say plainly that funding is not guaranteed. Below is each line, the rule behind it, and what you can write instead.

What did 82 occupational therapy websites say?

Most of them were careful. A large minority were not.

I read the websites of 82 OT practices in Australia. That came to 369 pages and 276,388 words. I found the sites through plain searches in big cities and regional towns, from Darwin to Hobart. I looked for four things: titles, NDIS wording, patient quotes and outcome claims.

35 of the 82 sites tripped at least one flag. The other 47 were clean on everything I checked. So you can fix this, and most OT practices already get it right.

The NDIS runs through nearly all of it. 69 of the 82 sites mention the scheme. That matters, because two sets of rules meet on your site. Ahpra's rules cover the therapy. Consumer law covers what you say about NDIS money. My post on NDIS providers and AHPRA explains why NDIS funding does not switch Ahpra's rules off. This post shows where OT sites actually slip.

Can an occupational therapist call themselves a specialist?

No. This was the most common flag, on 18 of the 82 sites.

Ahpra has an FAQ for OTs on titles. It answers the question head on: "No, as an occupational therapist you cannot call yourself a specialist practitioner, or hold yourself out to be one." It also explains why. "To date, Ministerial Council has approved specialties for the medical, dental and podiatry professions only." It adds that you cannot "advertise specialist occupational therapy services."

Ahpra's advertising guidelines say this covers "the name of the business or other advertising to the public". So your practice name counts too. One site in the sample used the word in its business name.

Here are some lines from the other sites, word for word:

• "Our team of NDIS OT specialists".
• "Specialist Occupational Therapy Support Services".
• "get more from life with the expert care of a specialist OT".
• "We're a small, specialist, occupational therapy practice".

Only 3 of those 18 sites named Ahpra or the OT Board anywhere on the pages I read. Across all 82 sites, 17 did.

The fix is simple. You are allowed to say what you focus on. Ahpra's guidance on titles says a describing word can help "So long as the descriptive term does not imply a specialist registration or endorsement". So I didn't count "specialises in" or "specialised equipment". "Our OTs work mainly with children" is a fact. "Specialist paediatric OT" sounds like a list of experts that OTs don't have.

Why does “NDIS approved” cross the line?

Nothing in the NDIS is "approved" in that sense.

The NDIA runs the NDIS. It said so in December 2025: "The NDIA does not endorse or approve any products or services." It went on: "However, there are businesses that promote their offerings as 'NDIS approved', 'NDIS permitted' or '100% NDIS funded'. Those who do so are likely breaching Australian Consumer Law."

Two sites in the sample used that exact phrase about their own staff:

• "NDIS Approved Occupational Therapist".
• "NDIS Approved Occupational Therapists".

A third used it about the suppliers it works with.

The ACCC is the consumer watchdog. Its advice for NDIS clients says: "It's illegal under consumer law to make false or misleading claims about a product or service, including claims a product or service is approved or endorsed by a third party."

There is a right way to say it. The NDIA's news release says: "Registered NDIS providers are permitted to use the 'I/we heart NDIS' and 'I/we support NDIS' logos with the tagline, 'Registered Provider'." If you are registered, say you are a registered NDIS provider. If you are not, say you see self-managed and plan-managed clients.

Can an OT report promise NDIS funding?

No. The NDIA decides what a plan funds. Your report is evidence for that decision.

The NDIA's page on functional capacity assessments puts it this way: "We use the information from your functional capacity assessment to determine what kinds of NDIS supports you need in your plan." The ACCC adds: "No product or service is automatically NDIS approved or funded for all participants. Whether products and services will be funded generally depends on the needs and goals in a participant's plan."

Six sites promised a funding result anyway. Here are some lines, word for word:

• "reports are guaranteed to address the reasonable and necessary criteria required by the NDIA when they are making decisions about funding".
• "offers NDIS therapy services nationwide to maximise funding".
• "ensuring accurate documentation and successful funding applications".
• "help you secure funding tailored to your specific needs".

A promise of "successful" funding is a promise you can't keep. You don't make the call. The ACCC names the harm: "The NDIA can reject claims for non-eligible products and services. This can leave NDIS participants with debts they can't afford to repay."

The careful sites said the opposite, in plain words. Only 4 of the 82 did:

• "It does not guarantee that the NDIA will approve a particular support or level of funding".
• "We cannot guarantee NDIS decisions or funding outcomes".
• "We cannot guarantee a particular outcome, but stronger, more specific evidence gives the NDIA a clearer basis for its decision".

That last line is the one to copy. It is honest about who decides. It still tells a family why a good report helps. Other sites added an "if" to each funding line, such as "The NDIS can fund occupational therapy when the supports are deemed reasonable and necessary". That works too.

Do Ahpra’s testimonial rules apply to NDIS clients?

Yes. The ban follows the service, whoever pays for it.

Section 133 of the National Law is the part that covers health ads. It bans any health ad that "uses testimonials or purported testimonials about the service or business". In plain words, you can't use client praise about your care in an ad. OT is a health service under this law. NDIS funding doesn't change that.

11 of the 82 sites showed a client or parent quote about therapy progress. 10 of those 11 also mention the NDIS. Here are some lines, word for word:

• "His development in such a short period of time was amazing to see".
• "we witnessed marked improvement in both his motor skills and sensory behaviour".
• "which has enabled me to attend to my self-care/ hygiene independently".
• "I have seen such an amazing change in my son since he started with this organisation".

These quotes are warm. They are almost surely real. Sadly, that doesn't help. Ahpra's testimonial guidance says: "Comments about clinical aspects of a regulated health service are considered a testimonial and cannot be used in advertising."

You can still show reviews. The same guidance says: "Comments that are not about clinical aspects (e.g. comments about customer service or communication style) are not considered testimonials and may be used in advertising." A parent who says the OT explained each step clearly is fine. A parent who says their son can now join in at the playground is not. My post on AHPRA and patient testimonials goes through the grey cases.

What about “life-changing” and “transform”?

Those words are promises. Six sites made them with nothing to soften them.

• "a long-standing reputation for delivering life-changing outcomes".
• "regain control of your life through the transformative power of Occupational Therapy".
• "solutions that transform the lives of children and youth in Tasmania".
• "Our proven 3-step process ensures you get the most from your NDIS occupational therapy journey".

Section 133 bans advertising that "creates an unreasonable expectation of beneficial treatment". In plain words, you can't make people expect more than you can show. Ahpra's guidelines also say an ad that "makes statements about the effectiveness of the treatment that are not supported by acceptable evidence" is likely to mislead.

OT works toward goals. Progress depends on the person, the goal and the time. So tell people how you work. Leave the result for the talk in the room.

What should an OT practice write instead?

Write plain facts about your team, how you work, and whether you are NDIS registered.

You can use each line on the right as it stands, once the facts are true for your practice.

Then check the pages people forget. Look at your FAQ, your team bios and any review widget. For a wider view of the rules, see allied health marketing. For the NDIS side of marketing, see the NDIS marketing guide.

How did I measure this, and what can it not tell you?

The method is short. I kept every page I read so you can check it.

Method. I found 99 OT practice websites through 18 plain searches on 29 September 2026. Examples were "occupational therapy clinic Sydney NDIS", "paediatric occupational therapist Melbourne" and "occupational therapist Hobart". No compliance, funding or testimonial words went into the searches. I left out directories, public hospitals, uni clinics, job ads and sites that were not OT. For each site I read the first page and up to five linked pages. I picked them by the same keyword rule. These were pages such as NDIS, about, FAQ and service pages. 82 sites could be read: 369 pages and 276,388 words. 17 could not. They blocked me, did not load or had too little text. None had a usable 2026 archive copy. For five sites that blocked me or timed out, I read their 2026 Internet Archive copy instead. Scripts found likely lines. Then I read each flag by hand and saved it word for word. No practice is named here.

Now the limits.

• This is 82 sites on one day. A site can change tomorrow.
• I read up to six pages per site. A practice may say more on a page I didn't read.
• I only counted a quote if it was about therapy progress or a result. I didn't count quotes about booking, friendliness or enjoyment.
• I didn't count "Specialises in" and "specialised equipment" as specialist claims.
• A flag is my reading of the law and the regulators' guidance. It is not a finding by a regulator.
• This is general information about advertising rules. It is not legal advice about your practice.

If you want a second reader on your whole site, that is what the All Clear Audit does. It quotes each flagged line, names the rule, and writes the new line. If you need the pages rewritten, see website copy for OT practices. If you would rather talk first, book a call.

Would you like the short version? The findings are in an eight-slide web story.

Related reading:

• NDIS providers and AHPRA advertising rules
• AHPRA and patient testimonials
• Allied health marketing
• NDIS marketing guide
• AHPRA advertising for physiotherapists
• Pelvic health clinic marketing
• View all services →