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Learning resources for advertisers

24 November 2020

The advertising hub contains a range of educational materials to help advertisers and consumers understand the legislation relating to advertising therapeutic goods.

For more specific advice, you may wish to contact a regulatory affairs consultant or advertising advisory service.

Decision trees

Our decision trees are the easy way to navigate some of the more complex requirements for advertisers. With these resources you can find the answers to questions including:

Visit our SME Assist section for more interactive decision tools to help you understand your regulatory requirements regarding therapeutic goods.

Guidance

Advertising guidance is a valuable resource when learning to navigate the rules for advertising of therapeutic goods. The TGA has published a range of guidance material to assist advertisers in creating compliant content.

The list provided in this table is not exhaustive. We recommend using these in conjunction with other guidance material and educational resources present on the TGA website.

Case studies

Case studies provide advertisers with examples of how to comply, or how to avoid non-compliance, with the advertising rules.

We recommend using these case studies in conjunction with our other guidance and educational resources.

Compliance issues	Case description	Enforcement action
Inaccurate, misleading claims Exaggerated product efficacy Results not reflective of average user	Weight loss products	Directions notice
Inaccurate, misleading claims Efficacy claims Missing indications Restricted representations	Homeopathic melatonin	Correspondence
Advertising prescription-only medicines Restricted representations Prohibited representations	Medicinal cannabis prescription services	Cease and desist
Contravened Medicines Australia Code of Conduct	Advertising to health professionals	Infringement notices
Therapeutic goods not on ARTG Restricted representations Prohibited representations	Food-medicine interface	Infringement notices
Therapeutic goods not on ARTG Restricted representations	Advertising by a health professional	Infringement notices
Therapeutic goods not on ARTG Restricted representations Prohibited representations	Prohibited representations	Infringement notices Cease and desist
Therapeutic goods not on ARTG Restricted representations	Restricted representations	Infringement notices

Scenarios

These scenarios present hypothetical examples of planned advertising which would be non-compliant for various reasons.

We recommend using these scenarios in conjunction with our otherguidance and educational resources.

Compliance issues	Scenario
Restricted representations Not consistent with ARTG entry Efficacy claims	Topical ointments
Defer medical attention Restricted representations Harmful consequences of not using goods	Cholesterol management
Advertising prescription-only medicines	Cosmetic injectables
Sample offers Testimonials Safe, no side effects, miraculous Product comparisons Endorsement by a health professional Restricted representations	Samples and testimonials
Advertising prescription-only medicines Restricted representations Harmful consequences of not using goods	Disease awareness and education
Inaccurate, misleading claims Not consistent with ARTG entry Endorsement by a health professional	Clinical evidence

Advertising examples

We've developed a range of advertising examples to help illustrate different aspects of the advertising requirements.

Compliance issues	Example	Format
Advertising prescription-only medicines Safe, harmless claims	Bean local pharmacy (pdf,194kb)	Business website
Substantiation of claims Consistency with ARTG entry Safe, harmless claims Mandatory statements Prohibited representations Restricted representations	Bean's clean (pdf,282kb)	Product website
Testimonials Mandatory statements Prominent display of mandatory statements Sample offers Clinical representations	Bean's tonic for women (pdf,262kb)	Print advertising
Mandatory statements Prominent display of statements	Bean's tonic (pdf,221kb)	Print advertising
Required statements Prominent display of statements	Bean's tonic (pdf,379kb)	Product website
Substantiation of claims Sunscreen role depiction Mandatory statements Endorsements	Beanscreen (pdf,314kb)	Product website
Substantiation of claims Product comparisons Consistency with ARTG entry Certainty of results Mandatory statements Clinical representations	Elderbean cold and flu (pdf,237kb)	Product website
Mandatory statements Restricted representations Consistency with ARTG entry	Glucobean (pdf,138kb)	Print advertising
Substantiation of claims Product details Mandatory statements Endorsements Testimonials Consistency with ARTG entry Miracle cure Restricted representations	TensBest (pdf,402kb)	Social media
Cosmetic regulation basics Cosmetics advertised as therapeutic goods Cosmetics as exempt goods Examples provided	Advertising: when cosmetics are regulated as therapeutic goods	Cosmetics

Training sessions and presentations

The SME Assist Meeting Your Obligations workshops offer an introduction to therapeutic goods regulation, including advertising. Recordings from previous workshops are also available.

The TGA has also delivered and presented at events aimed at helping advertisers understand how to comply with the requirements of the Therapeutic Goods Advertising Code (No.2) 2018.

We've published our more recent presentations as an educational resource for advertisers in the table below.

From time to time the TGA hosts or participates in seminars and education sessions for advertisers. Subscribe to the TGA Advertising email list to be notified of any upcoming seminars and education events.

Some industry organisations and consultants may also offer advertising training.

Event	Presentations	Date	Location
CHP Australia Therapeutic Goods Advertising Code Seminar Speakers	TGA Presentation: Regulating the Advertising of Therapeutic Goods TGA Presentation: Samples	5 March 2020	Melbourne, VIC
CHP Australia Therapeutic Goods Advertising Code Seminar Speakers	TGA Presentation: Therapeutic Goods Advertising Code (No.2) 2018 TGA Presentation: Advertising therapeutic goods to consumers	16 August 2019	Sydney, NSW
CHP Australia Therapeutic Goods Advertising Code Seminar Speakers	TGA Presentation: Therapeutic Goods Advertising Code (No.2) 2018 TGA Presentation: Advertising therapeutic goods to consumers	2 August 2019	Melbourne, VIC
CMA Therapeutic Goods Advertising Code and Compliance System Speakers	TGA presentations: CMA Therapeutic Goods Advertising Code and Compliance System, Sydney, 1 May 2019	1 May 2019	Sydney
MTAA Advertising Code basics Presenter	TGA presentation: MTAA Advertising Code basics presentation, 3 April 2019	3 April 2019	Sydney, NSW
ACCORD - Therapeutic Goods Advertising Seminar Speakers	Presentation: Therapeutic Goods Advertising Code (No. 2) 2018	15 March 2019	Sydney

Category:Advertising
URL:https://www.tga.gov.au/node/913493

Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA)

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