Since May 2024, the Therapeutic Goods Administration has prohibited cosmetic clinics from using specific terms in any marketing. The prohibition applies to websites, social media, Google Ads, meta titles, alt text, and Google Business Profile descriptions. It applies to all channels simultaneously.
The banned terms
- Injectables / injectable clinic / injection clinic
- Dermal filler / soft tissue filler / biostimulatory filler
- Anti-wrinkle injections / anti-wrinkle treatment / wrinkle-reducing injections
- Fat-dissolving injections
- Abbreviations or hashtags of any of the above
- Specific product brand names used in a promotional context
What is permitted
- Cosmetic clinic
- Skin clinic
- Medical aesthetics / medical aesthetic clinic
- Cosmetic medicine
- Cosmetic procedures
What this means for existing content
Most cosmetic clinic websites were built before May 2024 using these terms throughout: page headings, service descriptions, meta titles, image alt text, and blog content. Every instance of a banned term in live advertising is a separate potential breach.
The content strategy this requires
Because the TGA bans treatment-led keywords, compliant clinic marketing is built around concern-led content. Rather than targeting a banned treatment name, compliant content targets the patient's concern: volume loss in the face, hollow cheeks, jowls, forehead lines, neck rejuvenation, facial sweating.
This is not a workaround. It is a better strategy. Patients search for their problem, not the treatment name. Concern-led content attracts patients who are actively looking for a solution.
High-volume compliant keywords
- Skin clinic: approximately 151,000 searches per month nationally
- Cosmetic clinic: approximately 14,000 searches per month nationally
- Concern-led terms: forehead lines, facial volume loss, jowls treatment, neck rejuvenation, facial sweating (all compliant, all with measurable search volume)
The exposure
Breach of the TGA Advertising Code can result in TGA enforcement action including compliance notices and injunctions. AHPRA can also treat a TGA breach as grounds for disciplinary action under the National Law.
What to do now
Search your website copy, meta titles, image alt text, and active ad copy for every banned term. Every instance needs to be removed or replaced.
Skin Marketing audits clinic advertising against the complete AHPRA and TGA framework and produces a written report showing every breach found and the compliant fix. Request a free audit.
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