The rules
Ahpra judges what you say about your service. The TGA steps in when an ad promotes the herbs. We read 52 Chinese medicine clinic websites to see where the lines are crossed.
What we measured
Neutral searches for chinese medicine clinic plus a city, with no condition words. Fetched on 23 September 2026. Every scanner hit was then read by a person.
The main finding
Ahpra says there is insufficient evidence that Chinese medicine can treat infertility or improve fertility. 21 sites claimed it anyway. Acupuncture as an adjunct to IVF, with context, is the door Ahpra leaves open.
Significant medical events
5 sites offered acupuncture to induce labour. 2 offered to turn a breech baby. 1 listed miscarriage prevention. Ahpra marks all three as claims that are not supported for advertising.
Where the TGA comes in
Promoting a particular medicine to treat a condition would likely be advertising that product, the TGA says. Its advice is to leave the therapeutic goods out of the ad. Describe the consultation instead.
The word to drop
Ahpra says there are no recognised specialist categories in Chinese medicine. Describe experience instead: I have over 10 years of experience providing antenatal care.
The cheapest fix
Doctor is not a protected title. But if Dr does not mean a medical practitioner, name the profession every time.
Twenty minutes
Search for fertil. Search for herb. Search for special and safe. Search for Dr. 33 of the 52 sites we read tripped at least one of these rules.
Tap for the full measurement and the rewrite table