TGA and Social Media: What Your Clinic Can Actually Post

Yes, the TGA advertising code applies to your clinic's social media. The TGA is the body that looks after medicines and health products. A post on Instagram, Facebook or TikTok counts as an ad if it promotes a medicine, device or supplement. So you cannot name prescription medicines, share patient stories about treatment, or promise results, even in a caption or a reel. You can post plain facts about your consultation, your team, your hours and how to book. You also answer for the comments on your posts. If a follower posts a testimonial or names a product, you need to remove it. The risk sits with whoever runs the ad, and that includes your clinic and the person who runs the account.

Do the TGA rules apply to social media?

Yes, they do. Most clinic marketers get this part wrong, so let me make it plain. The TGA advertising code applies to your social media in the same way it applies to your website.

The code is the Therapeutic Goods Advertising Code 2021. It sits under the Therapeutic Goods Act 1989, the law for health products. The Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) runs it. Under the code, an ad is anything that promotes the use or sale of a medicine, device or supplement. Where you post it makes no difference.

So a caption, a reel, a story, a carousel, a pinned comment and a paid ad all count as ads if they promote a product. The TGA has written its own guidance on advertising therapeutic goods on social media, so the rule is clear. Saying you were only teaching people will not get you off the hook. Saying it was only an unpaid post will not help either.

What can your clinic actually post?

The code limits what you claim. You can still post often and be seen. You can run a busy, active account that brings in real enquiries. Here is what stays on the safe side.

• The consultation. You can post that your clinic offers appointments to talk about health concerns. You can say who runs them and what happens at a visit. A service is not a health product, so the product rules do not cover it. Just make sure the post does not name or hint at a prescription medicine.
• Your team and your practice. Introduce a clinician by name and qualification. Show your rooms. Share your opening hours, your location and how to book.
• General health education. You can talk about a health topic in plain words. The post must not promote a product or nudge readers toward getting one.
• Behind the scenes. Team days, community work and clinic news are all fine, because none of it promotes a product.

Notice the pattern. Every safe post is about the service and the people. None of them sell a product or a result. If you plan your posts around the consultation, most of your risk goes away before you hit publish.

What can your clinic never post?

This list is what turns a normal account into a breach of the rules. None of these are allowed, on any app, in any format.

• The name of a prescription medicine. You cannot advertise prescription-only (Schedule 4) or Schedule 8 medicines to the public. That covers the brand name, the active ingredient, a nickname and a hashtag. My post on advertising prescription medicines in Australia walks you through this rule in full.
• Testimonials about care. You cannot use a patient quote about symptoms, treatment or results. That holds even when a happy follower posts it for free.
• Before-and-after content. Side-by-side photos, makeover reels and carousels that show results are all out.
• Promised results. Do not write "you will feel better" or give timelines. Avoid big boasts like "best" or "leading". Never claim a product treats a serious condition.
• Pressure and deals. Skip "limited spots", countdowns and "book this week and save". These push people toward a product, and they breach the code.

If a post does any of these, it puts you at risk, whatever your bio says. A "general information only" line in your profile does not fix a caption that breaks the rules.

Are you responsible for comments and DMs?

Yes, and this trap catches even careful clinics. You answer for what sits on a page you control. That includes the comments on your own posts.

The reason is simple. The TGA and AHPRA treat you, the page owner, as the one running the ad for anything on your page. AHPRA is the body behind the health ad rules for practitioners. Say a follower names a prescription product in a comment. Or they write a glowing review of their treatment. That comment now sits on your ad. If you leave it up, it can look like your clinic is promoting the product.

So you need a routine. Check your comments. Hide or delete any comment that names a prescription medicine or tells a treatment story. If you want to help that person book, reply to them away from the post. You cannot control what a stranger types. You can control what stays on your page.

Direct messages are private, so they do not count as ads in the same way. The caution there is different. Do not use a DM to do what you cannot do in public, like naming a product or promising a result. The app may change, but the rules stay the same.

What about testimonials and tagged posts?

This is where social media gets its own headache. The AHPRA advertising guidelines ban testimonials about care. The ban follows that content wherever it ends up.

That means each of these counts as a testimonial you cannot use:

• A patient review you reshare to your story or feed.
• A post a happy patient tags you in, if you then share, pin, or feature it.
• A reel where a patient talks about their symptoms or results.
• An influencer or creator post you arranged, because a post you organise is your ad.

The line sits at anything about care. Some reviews only mention the booking, the staff or the rooms. If they say nothing about symptoms, treatment or results, they are usually fine to share. The moment a review talks about care, it becomes a testimonial you cannot publish.

One more catch. Say a patient tags you in a post about their result. If you do nothing, you are usually safer than if you reshare it. Sharing it makes it yours. So here is the rule for tagged posts. Leave the real ones where they are, and never share a treatment story yourself.

Say this, not that: five social rewrites

Here are 5 common social posts that break the code, each with a safe version. Every "say this" line meets the full standard, so it works for the TGA and for AHPRA at the same time.

Who is liable when a post breaches the code?

A breach on social media counts the same as a breach anywhere else. The TGA can send warnings and fines, and it can take you to court. As of 2026, a single fine for an unlawful ad can run to tens of thousands of dollars per breach. Court penalties for serious or repeated offences reach into the millions. The TGA lists the figures in its guidance on what can and cannot be advertised.

If you are a marketer, the detail that matters is who carries the risk. The person running the ad does, and the law reads "advertiser" broadly. It includes the agency and the person who writes and schedules the posts. The clinic that owns the account is on the hook too. If you run the account, you share the risk with your client.

If you are a registered practitioner, there is a second worry. A breach can also turn into a complaint to AHPRA, and that can affect your registration. So one reel that breaks the rules can cause two separate problems at once. To see how the two systems overlap, read my guide to the TGA advertising code in 2026.

You do not need to go quiet. Build your social plan around the consultation from the first draft. Check your comments every week. Never reshare a treatment story. Do that, and your account stays busy and keeps bringing in patients without putting your clinic at risk.