Collecting Google Reviews for a Clinic Without Breaching the Advertising Rules
Google reviews bring patients through the door, and for a clinic they are also the fastest way to end up in correspondence with a regulator. Health advertising in Australia is governed by the National Law and by Ahpra’s advertising guidelines, and the rule that catches practices out most often is the one about testimonials. The good news is that the compliant version of review collection is not much harder than the risky one — it is just more specific about what you ask for and where it ends up.
The line most clinics get wrong
Section 133 of the Health Practitioner Regulation National Law prohibits advertising a regulated health service using testimonials about the clinical aspects of that service. Read quickly, that sounds like patient reviews are banned outright. They are not.
The distinction is about who is publishing. A patient writing on Google is publishing their own view on a platform you do not control, and that is generally not treated as advertising by you. The moment you lift that review onto your website, into a brochure, into an Instagram tile or onto a waiting-room screen, you are the publisher, and a testimonial about clinical care in your own advertising is the thing the section prohibits.
So the practical rule for a clinic is: collect on Google, reply on Google, and be extremely careful about carrying any of it home. If you want the reassurance of social proof on your own site, the star rating and the review count are far safer than the review text. Ahpra updates its guidance and its examples periodically, so check the current version, and get advice before you build anything that depends on a fine reading.
How to ask for a review without crossing it
- Ask about the visit, not the outcome. “We would welcome your feedback on your visit” invites comment on booking, reception, the wait, the explanation, the facilities. “Tell people how much better your knee is” invites exactly the testimonial the rules are aimed at. You cannot control what a patient writes, but you can control what you prompt.
- Ask everyone. Same message, same timing, no screening for who looked pleased. Gating breaches Google’s policies and undercuts any argument that your reviews represent the practice fairly.
- Offer nothing in return. No discount, no entry into a draw, no free consult. Incentivised reviews breach Google’s policies, attract ACCC attention as potentially misleading, and run into the separate restrictions on inducements in health advertising.
- Let reception or an automated message do it. A practitioner asking a patient directly, in the room, puts weight on a relationship that is already unequal. A message from the practice after the appointment is easier for the patient to ignore, which is precisely what makes it appropriate.
- Write the wording once and keep it. One approved sentence used by everyone at the front desk beats each staff member improvising. It is also the only version you can show someone if you are ever asked what the practice does.
A workable line: “If you have a moment, we would really appreciate your feedback about your visit today — here is the link.” No promise, no steering, no reward.
Privacy: what you can and cannot say in a reply
Health information is sensitive information under the Privacy Act 1988, and a public reply is a disclosure. The patient is free to write whatever they like about their own treatment; you are not free to confirm any of it. Even acknowledging that someone attended the practice can be a disclosure of health information.
| Situation | Do | Do not |
|---|---|---|
| Inviting a review | Send only to patients who have agreed to be contacted, with the practice clearly identified and a way to opt out | Bulk-message a patient list that never consented to marketing contact |
| Replying to praise | Thank them generally — “thank you for the kind words and for choosing us” | Name the treatment, the practitioner’s findings, or confirm the visit took place |
| Replying to a complaint | Apologise that their experience fell short, give a phone number or email, move it offline | Correct their account of the treatment, or explain publicly what actually happened in the chair |
| Suspected fake review | Report it through Google, reply once and calmly | Claim publicly that they were never a patient — that is itself a statement about a person’s health records |
The discipline worth building: a reply that would read perfectly well if the patient had never existed. If your draft only makes sense because the reader knows who came in and what for, rewrite it.
Frequently asked questions
Can a clinic ask patients to leave a Google review at all?
Generally yes. A review a patient chooses to write on a third-party platform you do not control is not usually treated as advertising that you have published. What the rules restrict is your use of testimonials in your own advertising, and asking patients to vouch for clinical outcomes. Invite feedback on the visit; do not script the content.
What does section 133 of the National Law actually prohibit?
In short, advertising a regulated health service in a way that uses testimonials about the clinical aspects of that service. It sits alongside broader prohibitions on false, misleading or deceptive advertising and on offering inducements. It applies to the advertising you control — your website, your brochures, your social accounts — which is why the distinction between a patient’s own Google post and your reuse of it matters so much.
Can we embed our Google review feed on the practice website?
Take advice before you do. Once reviews about clinical care appear on a page you control, the argument that they are not your advertising gets much weaker. Practices that want social proof on site usually settle on showing the star rating and review count without the review text, or on non-clinical feedback about facilities, parking, reception and wait times.
Is it acceptable to only ask patients who seemed happy?
No, on two counts. Filtering for positive feedback — review gating — breaches Google’s own policies and risks your reviews being removed. It also sits badly against the requirement that health advertising not be misleading. Ask everyone, on the same terms, and let the average be what it is.
Can we offer a discount or a gift card for a review?
No. Google prohibits incentivised reviews outright, the ACCC treats incentivised reviews as potentially misleading conduct, and the National Law separately restricts inducements in health advertising. Every part of that stack points the same way.
How should we reply to a positive review without breaching privacy?
Keep it generic and warm: thank the person for their kind words and for choosing the practice. Do not confirm that they attended, do not name the treatment, do not reference anything clinical. A reply that reads well to a stranger and reveals nothing is the target.
What about replying to a negative review that describes their treatment?
The patient can disclose their own information; you still cannot. Even confirming that someone was a patient can be a disclosure. The safe reply acknowledges that feedback is taken seriously, apologises that their experience fell short of what the practice aims for, and gives a direct contact so the matter can be discussed privately. Nothing clinical, nothing specific, no defence of the treatment.
Who should be doing the asking — the practitioner or reception?
Reception, or an automated message after the appointment. A practitioner asking a patient for a review face to face puts pressure on someone in a dependent relationship, and it makes the request harder to characterise as voluntary. Moving it to the front desk or a follow-up text solves both problems.
Can we get a fake or abusive review about our clinic removed?
You can report it. Google removes content that breaches its policies — spam, fake engagement, conflicts of interest, harassment, off-topic posts — and a review from someone who was never a patient often fits one of those. A review that is simply unflattering usually will not be removed. Report it, reply calmly, and keep collecting genuine feedback.
Do these rules apply to cosmetic and allied health practices too?
If the service is provided by a registered health practitioner in one of the regulated professions, the advertising rules apply. That covers dentistry, physiotherapy, chiropractic, psychology, nursing, medicine and the cosmetic procedures performed by registered practitioners. Ahpra has also issued specific guidance for cosmetic surgery advertising, which is stricter again. Non-registered services sit outside the National Law but remain subject to Australian Consumer Law.
Reviews that grow the practice and survive scrutiny
A clinic needs the reviews and cannot afford the risk. AI REVIEW sets Australian clinics, dental and cosmetic practices up with request wording that stays away from clinical claims, reply templates that disclose nothing, and a process for reporting reviews that breach Google’s policies — so the rating climbs without anything you would rather not explain later. Talk to us about your practice.
