TGA rewrites its guidance on what counts as advertising

The TGA’s 7 April 2026 rewrite explains when health content becomes advertising. Educational blogs and posts can still be caught.

7 April 202611 min read

On 7 April 2026 the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) published a major update and rewrite of its guidance “Determining if your content is advertising”. The page history describes it as a rewrite to more clearly explain when content relating to therapeutic goods and vaping goods is likely to be regulated as advertising, with new examples and an outline of factors that indicate messaging may be promotional.

This matters for any practice that publishes health content. Blogs, FAQs, condition pages, newsletters and social posts are often written as “education”, but the TGA assesses content by what it appears designed to do, not by what you call it. If a piece of content promotes the use or supply of therapeutic goods, the advertising rules apply, including the prohibition on advertising prescription medicines to the public.

Related later guidance: on 18 June 2026 the TGA published “Complying with the restrictions on advertising prescription medicines to the public” and substantially updated its health services guidance. Both build on the principles in this page. See our article on the June 2026 prescription medicines and health services guidance for that detail.

What changed

The guidance was first published on 21 June 2022, with a minor update on 21 March 2023 to its “Promotional activities” section. The 7 April 2026 version is a substantial rewrite. It now sets out:

the legal definition of “advertise” and how the TGA reads it
who can be responsible for advertising
the forms of communication that can be advertising
general principles for assessing whether material is advertising, focused on context and promotional characteristics
examples of material that is clearly promotional and material that is not
a list of non-promotional material

This is guidance, not new law. It explains how the TGA interprets the existing definition in the Therapeutic Goods Act 1989. The guidance itself says it does not deal with whether a particular advertisement would contravene the Act; it deals only with whether content is advertising in the first place.

Who it applies to

The guidance is written for anyone who disseminates content about therapeutic goods or vaping goods. For healthcare marketing that includes:

medical, dental, allied health and cosmetic practices that publish health content
pharmacies and online retailers
telehealth services
agencies, copywriters and content marketers
influencers and anyone publicly endorsing goods

What the guidance says

The definition is broad

Under section 3 of the Act, advertising in relation to therapeutic goods or vaping goods includes making any statement, pictorial representation or design that is intended, directly or indirectly, to promote the use or supply of the goods. That includes material on the label, on the package and on material included with the package. The TGA says the definition is intended to have a broad meaning and covers both direct and indirect promotion.

Intention is judged from the content, not from you

This is one of the most important points in the rewrite. Whether content is intended to promote is determined not by the actual intentions of the person making it, but by whether the content, on its face, appears to be designed or calculated to promote the supply or use of the goods. Saying you meant a post to be educational does not decide the question.

The reverse also holds. Content that describes the features or benefits of a therapeutic good is not necessarily advertising if it is clear on its face that it was not designed or calculated to promote supply or use.

Assessment is case by case

The TGA assesses material case by case. The factors in the guidance are not exhaustive, and the presence or absence of any one factor is not necessarily conclusive. No single factor decides the outcome. Advertising can be formed by separate elements that, taken together, promote the goods, and the TGA will consider links to related content.

Context

The guidance lists what the TGA looks at when it considers context:

the words used, written or spoken
non-verbal and unwritten messages such as images, which the TGA says may be just as important
the medium used to disseminate the material
the audience and their likely take-out message, whether the material targets the masses, a specific patient group or individual consumers
other material close to or linked to the content, including third-party websites, blogs, articles and testimonials that draw the consumer’s mind to particular goods

One of the TGA’s examples is directly relevant to practices. A website that sells medical devices publishes articles by a health professional about health conditions. The articles do not name products but describe the benefits of certain devices for certain conditions. Because the site sells the devices the articles discuss, the TGA says the articles are likely to form part of the advertising for those goods. The same article in a newsletter for health professionals may not be advertising, depending on context.

Promotional characteristics

The guidance lists factors that indicate messaging may be promotional. Content may be promotional where it:

prompts a call to action encouraging potential customers to make a purchase or seek out a product
refers to specific goods, a specific class of goods or a brand in a way that creates a favourable impression, gives publicity or raises awareness
contains a therapeutic claim, recommendation or suggestion that a specific good is beneficial for a particular health condition
uses representations that appear designed to persuade, such as describing benefits and features, emotive language, superlatives or favourable comparisons with other goods
emphasises benefits and positive aspects, including where it omits or downplays risks or limitations
provides information on how goods can be bought or obtained, such as price and point of sale information, availability from a business, or offers, discounts and competitions
refers to the effects of the goods and is disseminated by or for a party with a financial interest in their sale

Who is responsible

A person can commit an offence or be liable for a civil penalty if they advertise, or cause the advertising of, therapeutic goods by any means and the advertisement does not comply with the Act or the Code. A person causes advertising where material is disseminated on their behalf or at their request, or where they control the content, regardless of whether anyone is paid. The TGA’s examples of people who might advertise include anyone in the supply chain, a person publicly endorsing goods, and a health practitioner or health service advertising goods or promoting specific goods while promoting its services.

The TGA also says advertisers are responsible for the material they publish even if they copied it from packaging or another website.

All forms of communication

The definition applies to all media. The guidance lists traditional media, websites, emails, blogs, discussion forums and social media posts (including user-generated content), advertorials, product reviews, testimonials and endorsements, samples, media releases, and material presented through workshops, webinars, podcasts, exhibitions, billboards, shopfronts and signage.

It also says businesses should carefully consider whether the names of their products, business or service promote therapeutic goods. It notes that the Administrative Review Tribunal (formerly the Administrative Appeals Tribunal) has previously found that a medicine’s name advertised it for weight loss because the name referred to that use.

What is not promotional

The guidance gives examples of non-promotional information:

certain content about human health or diseases (the TGA refers readers to its disease education guidance)
advertising for health services that does not refer, directly or indirectly, to therapeutic goods
correspondence answering a specific unsolicited question from a potential customer, such as allergy information
operational information about a company that does not promote particular goods

Its example of clearly non-promotional material is a peer-reviewed journal article that presents both positive and negative findings, outlines limitations, avoids persuasive language and makes no reference to commercial availability.

What it means for your marketing

Website

Your website is the context the TGA will read your content in. A condition page that sits next to a booking button, a price page or a product shop will be read alongside those elements. If your site offers treatments involving therapeutic goods, look at each educational page with its surroundings: calls to action, links, sidebars, related posts and banners. Avoid benefit-heavy descriptions of specific goods, and remember that prescription medicines cannot be advertised to the public at all.

Blogs and educational content

The rewrite makes it clear that labelling content as education does not settle whether it is advertising. Blogs that name specific goods, describe their benefits, skip their risks and end with “book now” show several of the promotional characteristics at once. Balanced condition information that does not point to specific goods is far less likely to be treated as advertising.

Google Business Profile and reviews

Product listings, posts and offers on your profile show availability and price, which are listed promotional characteristics. Reviews and testimonials are named as forms of communication that can be advertising. Ahpra also prohibits testimonials in advertising for regulated health services.

Social media and influencers

User-generated content and endorsements are listed as forms of advertising, and the TGA considers linked third-party content. Sharing or linking to posts that promote goods can draw them into your own advertising. A person publicly endorsing goods can be an advertiser.

Paid ads

Paid ads almost always contain a call to action and are disseminated by a party with a financial interest, so if they refer to therapeutic goods they will usually be advertising. The question then becomes whether those goods can lawfully be advertised to the public and whether the ad complies with the Code.

Email and SMS

The guidance gives the example of an email or letter to individuals who bought certain products from a clinic in the last 12 months as targeted advertising. Patient newsletters that promote goods are within scope.

Business and service names

Check whether your business name, service names or package names refer to therapeutic goods, especially prescription medicines. The TGA’s later prescription medicines guidance gives examples of business names and logos it considers non-compliant.

Common mistakes we see

Assuming a disclaimer or the word “education” makes promotional content non-promotional.
Reviewing a blog post in isolation, without the booking buttons, banners and links around it.
Copying manufacturer descriptions onto a website and assuming responsibility stays with the manufacturer.
Linking to third-party articles or sharing posts that promote specific goods.
Using superlatives and emotive language about goods in otherwise factual content.
Overlooking product, service and business names.

A practical checklist

List every page and post that mentions specific therapeutic goods or a class of goods.
For each, note any calls to action, prices, offers or availability statements nearby.
Check for benefit-only descriptions, emotive language, superlatives and comparisons.
Check that risks and limitations are not omitted or downplayed where goods are discussed.
Review outbound links and shared content for promotion of specific goods.
Confirm any prescription medicine references are removed from public content.
Review business, service and package names.
Confirm who controls the content: staff, agencies and influencers can all cause advertising.
Where content is advertising, check it against the Advertising Code.

How this fits with other rules

This guidance answers the threshold question: is it advertising? If the answer is yes, the Therapeutic Goods Act, the Regulations and the Therapeutic Goods Advertising Code apply. Prescription medicines and biologicals generally cannot be advertised to the public at all.

Separately, the TGA does not regulate health service promotion as such, but Ahpra and the National Boards regulate advertising of regulated health services by registered practitioners, and the ACCC administers the Australian Consumer Law. Content that is not therapeutic goods advertising can still be advertising of a health service under the National Law.

Frequently asked questions

Is this a change to the law?

No. It is TGA guidance explaining how it interprets the existing definition of advertising in section 3 of the Therapeutic Goods Act 1989.

If I did not intend to promote a product, is my content safe?

Not necessarily. The TGA says intention is judged by whether the content, on its face, appears designed or calculated to promote the goods, not by the actual intentions of the person who made it.

Can educational blogs still mention treatments?

Content about health and disease can be non-promotional. The risk rises when content names specific goods, emphasises benefits, carries calls to action or sits next to sales or booking elements. For prescription medicines, the stricter prohibition on public advertising applies.

Do I have to be paid for something to count as advertising?

No. The TGA says a person can cause advertising where content is disseminated on their behalf or at their request, or where they control it, regardless of payment.

Does linking to someone else’s article matter?

Yes. The TGA considers linked and nearby material, including third-party websites, blogs and testimonials, when assessing context.

Need a hand?

If your blog and education content was written for search traffic without a compliance lens, it may be worth reviewing against this guidance. Our compliant content service writes and reviews health content with these rules in mind, and our TGA advertising compliance service can audit what is already published.

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.