Australia’s health regulator is bringing in some major changes to how non-surgical cosmetic injectables like Botox and fillers are done. The move comes in an effort to make things safer for patients and more raise training standards in a booming industry.
The new guidelines, released by the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA) on Tuesday, will mandate further education and training for practitioners before they can perform procedures like fillers and botox. It’ll introduce minimum periods of experience for nurses wanting to work with injectables, and crack down on ads on social media (bye bye, influencer testimonials).
In recent months, there’s been a spate of cases involving non-registered practitioners, as well as out-of-date dermal fillers and botox, resulting in a number of hospitalisations where patients fell sick with botulism.
In March, a Sydney cosmetic clinic was also slapped with a health warning for its “highly concerning” infection-control practices, with the NSW Health Care Complaints Commission (HCCC) urging clients to get tested for potential exposures to blood-borne viruses including hepatitis B, hepatitis C and HIV.
The AHPRA investigated about 360 notifications related to non-surgical cosmetic procedures between September 2022 and March 2025, lead to regulatory action like cautions, conditions imposed on registration, or an undertaking from the practitioner.
Speaking to ABC News, AHPRA chief Justin Untersteiner said that, while there’s always been an obligation for practitioners to ensure appropriate skills, the new guidelines will make expectations “crystal clear”.
“That will likely require specific training around facial anatomy or physiology and I can tell you that is not a weekend course, this is proper training that will be required,” Untersteiner said.
The regulator had heard of terrible cases like permanent irreversible facial nerve damage and life-threatening strokes from cosmetic injectables, and he noted this is not just “having a facial” but infections under the skin that can “create real harm”.
“All registered health practitioners are responsible for ensuring they are sufficiently educated, trained and competent to safely undertake any cosmetic procedure they may perform,” he said.
So what exactly is changing? Here’s what you need to know.
Lifting training standards
Many injectable businesses in Australia are run by nurses who do the injecting, with clinics holding supplies of anti-wrinkle injections and prescriptions fillers. As reported by ABC News, telehealth calls, like phone or video, are required to get a doctor to approve the treatment, given only doctors and nurse practitioners are able to prescribe the Schedule 4 drugs used for such procedures.
From September, nurses will need to complete at least one year of full-time practice in a general or specialist area (excluding non-surgical cosmetic procedures) before expanding into this field.
Registered health practitioners pivoting towards cosmetic procedures are also expected to undertake further training and education, including in relevant anatomy and physiology, on the assessment for suitability for the procedure, and both theoretical and hands-on training in the specific procedure being offered.
The new guidelines also highlight the need for detailed patient evaluations, amid long-running concerns about the rise of telehealth calls in this booming sector. An investigation by The Age earlier this year explored a trend of speedy virtual appointments, finding some lasted less than a few minutes.
Going by AHPRA’s new guidelines, practitioners will need to ensure a lengthy assessment of patients prior to procedures, including discussing the person’s reasons and motivation for requesting the procedure, and checking expectations are “realistic”.
Under-18s seeking such procedures will see a mandatory seven-day cooling-off period after their first consultation with a doctor or nurse practitioner.
“Telehealth consultations, often reported as short as 52 seconds, will clearly no longer be viable under these new guidelines,” said Jenny Valance, general manager of the Australasian College of Cosmetic Surgery and Medicine, told the publication.
Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia chair, Adjunct Professor Veronica Casey AM, also highlighted how the safety of the Australian public remains paramount.
“These types of procedures are undertaken every day and can have serious consequences if not done correctly,” she said in a statement.
“No practitioner should put their bottom line ahead of patient welfare, and these guidelines place the focus squarely on the safety of those in their care.”
Clamping down on advertisements
The new guidelines will tackle issues around advertising such procedures, banning lifestyle shots, language that idealises the procedures (like “perfect” or “more natural”), and emotional reactions from patients.
“Imagery used in advertising of higher risk cosmetic procedures must be used responsibly, for the purposes of information and/or education about the higher risk cosmetic procedures only,” the guidelines added, noting that things which “trivialise” the procedure, or contain imagery including music and dancing, or montages, is not permitted.
Plus, it’ll ban influencer and ambassador endorsements, which it said could “pose a particular risk to younger people due to the nature of the audience for some social media platforms”.
“This industry relies heavily on having a social media presence, so practitioners have been put on notice that their advertising must comply with the new guidelines when they come into effect later this year,” AHPRA’s Untersteiner said.
It’s currently illegal to advertise almost all prescription medications or related services including cosmetic injectables, although clinics have gone ahead with such ads on their social media and websites for years.
A spokesperson for the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) — which oversees the supply and advertising of unapproved and high-risk medicines and medical devices, including cosmetic injectables — told PEDESTRIAN.TV it had recently sent “targeted guidance letters” to providers in the cosmetic injectables industry, following identification of alleged non-compliance.
In the last financial year, it also submitted more than 12,000 requests to social media platforms for removal of alleged unlawful advertising of therapeutic goods, including “over 2,500 advertisements relating to cosmetic injectable products”, the spokesperson added.
With these new rules coming into effect later this year, Australia’s cosmetic injectables industry is heading for a shake-up. As always, though, people seeking the procedures are urged to do their research, and check if a health practitioner is registered on the Australian Health Practitioners Regulation Agency website.
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