AHPRA-compliant clinic team pages: what to include

Updated 29 October 2026 to reflect the latest rules and guidance.

Your team page is probably one of the most visited pages on your website. Patients want to know who they will see, and they want to feel comfortable with them before they walk in.

It is also advertising, which means every title, qualification and description on it falls under the National Law and Ahpra’s advertising guidelines. Some of it is now criminal law rather than guidance: since 20 September 2023 ‘surgeon’ has been a protected title, and from 5 October 2026 ‘podiatric surgeon’ can no longer be used. The good news is that a team page is straightforward to get right once you know what to check.

The rules that apply to a team page

Section 133 of the National Law says advertising a regulated health service must not be false, misleading or deceptive, must not use testimonials and must not create an unreasonable expectation of beneficial treatment. Ahpra’s Guidelines for advertising a regulated health service, in effect since 14 December 2020, include specific guidance on titles, qualifications and claims about registration and competence. The maximum penalty has been $60,000 per offence for an individual and $120,000 for a body corporate since 21 October 2022.

On top of that, protected titles are set by the National Law itself. Misusing them is an offence in its own right.

Start with accurate titles

Titles are where most team pages go wrong.

Specialist

Ahpra’s guidelines say words like ‘specialist’, ‘specialises in’, ‘specialty’ or ‘specialised’ are likely to be misleading if the practitioner doesn’t hold specialist registration. A GP with a special interest in skin is not a skin specialist, and a dentist who mostly does orthodontics is not a specialist orthodontist unless they are registered as one. ‘Special interest in’ or ‘areas of interest include’ are safer ways to describe focus areas.

Surgeon

Since 20 September 2023 in most states and territories, section 115A of the National Law restricts the title ‘surgeon’, alone or in combinations such as ‘cosmetic surgeon’, to medical practitioners with specialist registration in surgery, obstetrics and gynaecology, or ophthalmology. The Medical Board’s FAQ says NSW, SA and WA have also made the change. Misuse carries a maximum penalty of $60,000, three years’ imprisonment, or both, and the Medical Board says references must be removed from advertising, websites, social media, letterheads, business cards and clinic windows. A doctor without the relevant specialist registration can still say they perform a procedure, just not call themselves a surgeon. Dental surgical titles are not affected.

Podiatric surgeon

Health Ministers approved replacing the specialist title ‘podiatric surgeon’ with ‘surgical podiatrist’. After a 12-month transition, the old title can’t be used after 5 October 2026, so update team pages, Google Business Profiles, directories and signage.

Dr

‘Dr’ is fine when it is accurate and not misleading about the kind of practitioner someone is. Ahpra’s guidelines say that if a practitioner who isn’t a medical practitioner uses ‘Dr’, their profession should be clear, for example ‘Dr Lee (Osteopath)’.

Registration

Describe each person by the profession they are actually registered in, not by the work they would like to be known for. Since 1 July 2024 a practitioner’s alternative practising name can appear on the public register, so the name on your website should match the one patients will find there.

Cosmetic surgery endorsement

Cosmetic surgery became an area of practice that can be endorsed on a doctor’s registration from 1 July 2023, but the Medical Board’s endorsement page says there are no approved programs of study yet. Check the public register before describing anyone as endorsed. Endorsement wouldn’t permit ‘cosmetic surgeon’ without specialist surgical registration.

Show registration details where required

For cosmetic procedures, registration details are a requirement, not a nice extra:

The Medical Board’s guidelines for doctors who advertise cosmetic surgery, in effect since 1 July 2023, require clear information about the doctor’s qualifications and type of medical registration.
Ahpra and the National Boards’ guidelines for advertising higher risk non-surgical cosmetic procedures, in effect since 2 September 2025, say advertising must include the practitioner’s registration details, including their registration number.

It is a good habit for every practitioner on the page, because it builds trust and patients can check it on the public register.

Describe experience factually

Say what someone does and how long they have done it, not how good they are. Compare:

‘Dr Lee has worked in general practice for twelve years and has a special interest in women’s health.’
‘Dr Lee is the region’s most trusted women’s health doctor.’

The first is accurate and useful. The second is a claim you can’t support, and it could be read as misleading.

For cosmetic procedures, the 2025 guidelines list terms such as ‘doll-maker’, ‘magic hands’, ‘sculptor’ and ‘artist’ as trivialising, and say practitioners must not be advertised in a way that may mislead about their abilities.

Qualifications and memberships

Ahpra’s guidelines say it is acceptable to advertise qualifications in an accurate and factual manner, but post-nominals or memberships must not mislead, for example by implying qualifications the practitioner doesn’t hold. List the qualification and the awarding institution, and explain acronyms patients won’t recognise.

Leave out outcome claims and testimonials

A bio should not include patient praise, success rates or promises. Ahpra defines testimonials as recommendations or positive statements about the clinical aspects of a regulated health service, which includes comments about a practitioner’s clinical skill. Quotes from patients about care or results shouldn’t appear anywhere on the page, even if they are real and the patient agreed.

Keep it human

None of this means your team page has to be dry. Patients respond to warmth, so include:

A real, recent photo of each person.
What they enjoy about their work, in their own words.
The areas and age groups they see.
Languages spoken and practical details like the days they work.
A line about their life outside work, if they are happy to share it.

An example bio, before and after

Here is the kind of bio we often see:

‘Dr Chen is a leading cosmetic surgeon and true artist, specialising in natural results. Patients love her gentle touch.’

Almost every phrase is a problem. ‘Leading’ can’t be substantiated, ‘cosmetic surgeon’ is a protected title unless she holds specialist surgical registration, ‘artist’ is listed as trivialising in the cosmetic guidelines, ‘specialising’ implies specialist registration, and ‘patients love her gentle touch’ reads as a purported testimonial. A compliant version might be:

‘Dr Chen is a general practitioner [registration type and number] who has performed non-surgical cosmetic procedures for eight years. She completed her medical degree at the University of Adelaide and has a special interest in skin health. Dr Chen consults on Tuesdays and Thursdays and speaks English and Mandarin.’

It is less flashy, but it tells patients what they actually want to know, and every statement can be checked.

How this fits with other rules

A misleading claim about qualifications or experience can also breach the Australian Consumer Law, which applies to every business. For cosmetic procedures, the Medical Board’s 2023 guidelines and the 2025 higher risk non-surgical guidelines add their own requirements on top of the general advertising guidelines. If a bio mentions treatments involving prescription medicines, the TGA’s restrictions on advertising those medicines apply too.

What it means beyond the team page

Google Business Profile

Individual practitioner profiles and the practice name itself are advertising. Check that titles like ‘surgeon’ or ‘specialist’ aren’t in profile names or descriptions.

Social media

Instagram and LinkedIn bios, handles and highlight covers often carry titles no one has checked. Apply the same rules.

Directories and booking platforms

Third-party listings often copy old bios. Update them when a title or scope changes.

Printed and in-clinic material

Business cards, letterheads, door signs and brochures all count. The Medical Board specifically lists letterheads, business cards and clinic windows for the surgeon title.

Practitioners who aren’t registered under the National Law

Some health professions aren’t part of the national registration scheme. The principle is the same: be accurate and don’t mislead. Several states have statutory codes of conduct for unregistered health workers that bar misinforming people about services or qualifications, including NSW (Public Health Regulation 2022, from 1 September 2022), Western Australia (from 27 July 2023) and Tasmania (from 24 June 2026). These codes generally also require the code and complaints information to be displayed. Check what applies in your state and any professional association code.

Common mistakes we see

‘Specialist’ used for a special interest.
‘Cosmetic surgeon’ for a doctor without specialist surgical registration.
‘Podiatric surgeon’ still on signage and directories after October 2026.
Cosmetic injectors listed without registration details.
Bios that call someone an ‘artist’ or ‘expert’.
Patient quotes embedded in practitioner profiles.
Former staff still listed months after they left.

A practical checklist

Check every title against the public register, including ‘specialist’, ‘surgeon’ and ‘Dr’.
Make the profession clear for any non-medical practitioner using ‘Dr’.
Show registration details for anyone advertised for cosmetic procedures, and consider it for everyone.
Describe qualifications accurately with the awarding institution.
Remove superlatives, comparisons with other practitioners and trivialising descriptors.
Remove patient quotes and outcome claims.
Check names match the public register.
Update Google Business Profile, social bios, directories and printed material at the same time.
Review the page whenever someone joins, leaves or changes their scope, plus a scheduled check twice a year.

Frequently asked questions

Can we list qualifications and memberships?

Yes, if they are accurate and current. List the qualification and the institution, and avoid letters or memberships that could be mistaken for registration or specialist status.

Can a GP who does skin surgery be called a skin cancer surgeon?

Not unless they hold specialist registration in surgery, obstetrics and gynaecology or ophthalmology. They can say they perform skin cancer procedures.

Can we say someone is experienced in a procedure?

You can state what they do and how long they have done it. Avoid superlatives and comparisons with other practitioners.

Do we have to show registration numbers for everyone?

They are required in cosmetic procedure advertising. For other services it isn’t a stated requirement, but it is a simple trust signal.

How often should we review the page?

Every time someone joins, leaves or changes their scope, plus a scheduled check twice a year.

Need a hand?

If you would like a second pair of eyes, our AHPRA compliance audit reviews team pages along with the rest of your site, and our content team can write profiles that are warm and compliant. We also work with plastic surgery practices and allied health clinics, where title rules come up often.

This article is general guidance based on the published rules, not legal advice. Final responsibility for advertising sits with the registered practitioner, and complex situations may need independent legal advice.

How to write a clinic team page that follows the AHPRA rules