Compliance
Part of Native campaign compliance reviews
Handling financial or health-related sponsor claims carefully
Route Australian financial and health sponsor claims to the applicable specialist review before approving native advertising copy.
Identify the offer before approving a financial or health-related sponsored claim. Financial products, financial advice, credit, therapeutic goods and regulated health services can attract different advertising rules. Keep the headline, promotion and destination together. Hold a material claim until its applicable regime and evidence have been assessed.
Route the offer
| Material being promoted | First review question |
|---|---|
| Financial product, financial advice or credit | Are benefits, risks, costs and conditions presented fairly for the intended audience? |
| Therapeutic good | May it be advertised to the public, and does the proposed claim fit the applicable product information and advertising requirements? |
| Regulated health service | Which service-specific rules and evidence requirements apply to this advertiser and claim? |
| General money or wellbeing article | Does the copy promote a regulated offer despite its broad editorial topic? |
This table routes a question; it does not classify a real product or service. The sponsor’s qualified compliance reviewer needs the exact offer, audience, copy and channels. Labelling a promotional article “educational” does not, by itself, determine how it is assessed.
Before approval, ask the reviewer to identify the offer and regime, assess the claim against its evidence, and specify any qualification to retain or wording to remove. Seek a decision on the material in front of them, not a general sign-off on the topic.
For a regulated health service, consult AHPRA’s advertising guidelines and section 133 of the Health Practitioner Regulation National Law. Section 133 applies to anyone who advertises a regulated health service, including a person, business or corporate entity.
Regulatory requirements for financial vs. health-related sponsored claims in Australia
- Financial product, advice or creditAssess fairness of benefits, risks, costs and conditions for intended audience; comply with ASIC RG234
- Therapeutic goodCheck public advertising eligibility, alignment with product information, and compliance with TGA advertising code and social media guidance
Check financial claims in context
ASIC has published Regulatory Guide 234: Advertising financial products and services (including credit). For financial promotions, check what supports any return, saving or forecast, which period and assumptions it covers, and whether a prominent headline gives a different impression from the conditions below it.
Before approving a financial claim, ask the reviewer to identify the evidence for each stated return, saving or forecast, its period and assumptions, and any material costs, risks or conditions. Does the headline remain fair alongside those qualifications? For credit, does the copy make the relevant repayment period and total cost clear?
For a hypothetical credit offer, “Cut your repayments” might refer only to an initial payment period while the total cost rises. The actual terms and comparison would have to be assessed before that line could be approved. No available offer is described here.
Pre-approval checklist for sponsored financial and health claims
- Identify supporting evidence for returns, savings or forecastsMust include period, assumptions, and material conditions
- Verify headline fairness against full termsHeadline must not mislead when compared to conditions below
- Clarify repayment period and total cost for credit offersMust be clearly stated to avoid misleading consumers
- Confirm therapeutic good can be advertised to the publicCheck TGA’s general requirements and restricted/prohibited representations
- Review health service claim under section 133 of National LawEnsure compliance with AHPRA’s advertising guidelines
Check therapeutic goods and health services separately
For therapeutic goods advertising to the public, check the TGA’s general requirements for advertising therapeutic goods to the public, its guidance on advertising therapeutic goods on social media, and its guidance on restricted and prohibited representations in advertising. The applicable requirements depend on the product and the proposed claim.
The Therapeutic Goods Act 1989 and the Therapeutic Goods Advertising Code 2007 are named instruments for therapeutic claims. Ask the reviewer whether the product may be advertised to the public, whether the claim fits the applicable product information, and whether restricted or prohibited representations or social media guidance affect the proposed copy.
For a health service claim, ask whether the offer is a regulated health service, who is advertising it, and whether the wording complies with section 133 of the Health Practitioner Regulation National Law. Use AHPRA’s advertising guidelines to check the claim and its supporting evidence; route unresolved treatment or outcome claims to a qualified reviewer.
A health service is not automatically a therapeutic good. Identify the rules for the service and its advertiser, and send treatment or outcome claims to a qualified reviewer. Changing one verb does not make an otherwise unsupported claim suitable.
Return approved wording with its material conditions, or identify the claim to remove. Record the reviewer, evidence and copy version. If classification, support or required permission remains unresolved, keep the affected material on hold.
