Patients choose a practice the way they choose everything else now: a search, a look at the reviews, a glance at the website, a booking if it is easy. Healthcare marketing in Australia is the work of being found at that moment and being the obvious choice, within the advertising rules for registered health practitioners. This guide covers what works in 2026 for GP clinics, dentists, radiology groups, allied health and NDIS providers, with results from practices we work with. It is general information, not legal advice; confirm your obligations with Ahpra or your adviser.
What are the rules for marketing a health practice in Australia?
Advertising a regulated health service must not be false, misleading or deceptive, must not use testimonials about clinical care, must not offer gifts or discounts without stating the terms, must not create unreasonable expectations of treatment and must not encourage unnecessary use of services. Those five limits come from section 133 of the National Law and are explained in Ahpra's guidelines for advertising a regulated health service. They apply to the practice as well as the practitioner, and to websites, social media and ads alike. They shape what you can say, not whether you can market. Our article on regulations and strategies for marketing healthcare practices goes through them in detail.
Local search is the front door
"Dentist near me", "radiology Wollongong", "NDIS provider Shellharbour": most patients start here, and the map results take the first look. A complete Google Business Profile for every location, with the right categories, services, hours, photos and a steady flow of reviews, is the highest-return piece of healthcare marketing there is. Behind it, the website needs a page for each service and each location, written in the words patients use. For a radiology group expanding to five practices, local SEO and content lifted organic search traffic by 218% across its clinics. The work was not clever; it was complete, and it was kept up.
A website patients trust
Healthcare websites fail in predictable ways: no fee guidance, no photos of the real team and rooms, a booking button that opens a form nobody answers, and pages that read like a textbook. Sites that convert show the people, explain what happens at the appointment, state fees and gap arrangements where they can, make booking two taps on a phone and meet accessibility standards. Our healthcare web design page lists what we include for practices.
Can a medical practice run Google Ads?
Yes, carefully. Paid search works for healthcare because intent is high and local, but two sets of rules apply. Ahpra's limits on claims and inducements govern the words. Google's healthcare and medicines policy restricts certain categories and, in Australia, requires verification for online pharmacies and telehealth providers and bars prescription drug terms in ads. In practice that means factual copy (services, locations, bulk billing where offered, hours), landing pages that match it, campaigns structured around the services patients search for, and call tracking so the practice knows which campaigns book appointments. Starting budgets for a single practice are usually $1,500 to $3,000 a month in ad spend; see Google Ads management for how that is set and reported.
Reviews, within the rules
Practitioners cannot use testimonials about clinical care in their own advertising, but patients can leave reviews on Google and the practice can respond. A consistent request after a good visit and professional replies that never discuss a patient's care build the profile local search rewards. Do not quote those reviews on the website or in ads: that turns a patient's review into the practice's testimonial, which is what the guidelines prohibit.
Content that answers patient questions
What does a root canal cost. What happens at an MRI. How NDIS funding works for allied health. These questions are searched every day and most practices leave them to third-party sites. A plain, accurate article per common question, reviewed by a practitioner and dated, earns search traffic and, increasingly, citations in Google AI Overviews. Keep the tone factual and the advice general; clinical decisions belong in the consultation.
Brand, consistency and measurement
Healthcare brands are built on consistency: the same name, logo, colours and tone on the sign, the website, the referral pad and the social post. For multi-site groups and NDIS providers it is also a compliance matter, because every location is checked against the same standards, and one set of approved words and images makes that checking easier. Measure four things monthly: new patient bookings by source, calls by campaign, the cost of each new patient and reviews per month. Not impressions.
Frequently asked questions
Can a medical practice advertise in Australia?
Yes. Registered practitioners and the practices they work in can advertise, within Ahpra's guidelines: no clinical testimonials, no false or misleading claims, no gifts or discounts without terms, no unreasonable expectations of treatment and no encouragement of unnecessary services. Factual advertising of services, locations, fees and hours is allowed, including Google Ads and social media.
What is the most effective marketing for a dental practice?
A complete Google Business Profile with steady reviews, a website with fee guidance, team photos and two-tap booking, and Google Ads for the services with the highest value. Those three bring new patients; content answering common treatment questions builds on them over time. The order matters: ads sent to a weak website or a thin profile waste money.
How much should a clinic spend on marketing?
A single practice typically invests $750 to $2,500 a month in management plus $1,500 to $3,000 in Google Ads spend if paid search is part of the plan. Multi-site groups scale from there. The right figure depends on the value of a new patient and how competitive the suburb is, so the budget should follow an audit rather than a package.
Can I use patient reviews on my website?
Not reviews about clinical care. Ahpra treats a testimonial about the clinical aspects of a regulated health service as prohibited advertising whether the practice wrote it or copied it from a review site. Reviews can stay where patients left them, and the practice can respond. Comments about parking or reception are generally outside the prohibition; check the guidelines first.
Working with a healthcare marketing agency
Adcraft works with dental, medical, radiology, allied health and NDIS clients from Wollongong, with local SEO, Google Ads, web design, branding and photography done in-house and every piece of copy checked against the advertising guidelines before it goes live. Marketing retainers start from $750 a month with no lock-in. Ask for an audit of how patients find you today.
