Dental Board considers revising testimonial guidelines

The Dental Board of Australia, along with the other 13 National Boards, is considering whether to further revise and clarify restrictions on use of testimonials following the recent release of updated Advertising guidelines.

This follows the Medical Board of Australia announcing on 26 March that it would revise the guidelines to make them clearer about the use of testimonials. In its latest communiqué following the March Board meeting, DBA says that it will keep practitioners informed.

AHPRA is managing complaints about advertising in line with the information in the advertising FAQ on the National Board website. Question 4 of the FAQ clarifies that practitioners are not responsible for removing (or trying to have removed) unsolicited testimonials published on a website or in social media over which they don’t have control.

Revised Advertising guidelines came into effect on 17 March for all the regulated health professions. These are published under Codes and guidelines on the National Board website.

The guidelines were developed by the National Boards and explain the requirements of the National Law in relation to advertising and the use of testimonials in advertising. The National Law does not allow testimonials to be used when advertising a regulated health service (section 133).