Chiropractors must ensure their advertising is within the law

07 Mar 2016

The Chiropractic Board of Australia, which regulates Australia’s 5,000 chiropractors, has today released a statement reinforcing that practitioners need to ensure their advertising complies with the requirements of the National Law, or they risk prosecution and disciplinary action.¹

‘The statement is squarely directed at practitioners who are not toeing the line. Our position is unequivocal – false and misleading advertising is unacceptable,’ said Dr Wayne Minter AM, Chair of the Chiropractic Board of Australia.

‘Chiropractors must ensure they are doing the right thing in their practice and in their advertising. They must adhere to the requirements of the law and the Board’s standards, codes and guidelines. There is no place for complacency. We are writing to all chiropractors in Australia to make sure they are aware of this statement released today,’ said Dr Minter.

The Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA) worked closely with the Board to develop the statement, which clearly outlines what is in and what is out when advertising chiropractic services.

‘In Australia we have a national regulatory scheme covering 14 registered professions, including chiropractic, that has keeping the public safe as its main priority. Anyone advertising regulated health services needs to understand their obligations and make sure they comply,’ said AHPRA CEO Mr Fletcher.

As part of its focus on protecting the public, the Chiropractic Board of Australia commonly takes regulatory action against practitioners for breaches of national standards, including:

• successfully prosecuting two cases in 2014 of individuals who were not registered chiropractors but were presenting themselves as being registered
• imposing conditions on the registration of 14 chiropractors
• issuing 10 cautions, and
• cancelling/suspending the registration of one practitioner.²

The Board also refers matters of the most serious concern to Tribunal for hearing and decision.

For more information

• The Chiropractic Board of Australia Statement on advertising released today
• The Code of conduct for chiropractors
• The Guidelines for advertising regulated health services applies to all registered health practitioners and anyone advertising a regulated health service
• The Board’s newsletter, featuring information about advertising requirements, released in September and emailed to all registered chiropractors
• The Health Practitioner Regulation National Law, as in force in each state and territory (National Law) - section 133 addresses advertising
• For media enquiries, call (03) 8708 9200.

Download a PDF of this Media release - Chiropractors must ensure their advertising is within the law - 7 March 2016 (92.6 KB,PDF)

¹The Health Practitioner Regulation National Law, as in force in each state and territory.

¹For more information, please refer to the National Boards and AHPRA Annual report.