The OBA’s latest communiqué stated that all registered optometrists must comply with the provisions of the Health Practitioner Regulation National Law on the advertising of regulated health services, relevant consumer protection legislation, and state and territory fair trading acts, and, if applicable, legislation regulating the advertising of therapeutic goods.“Good practice also involves ensuring that any promotion of therapeutic products is ethical,” the communiqué added.The OBA board said all practitioners must be familiar with the code of conduct and guidelines for advertising regulated health services that the OBA had developed for the optometry profession.The guidelines provide any person who advertises a regulated health service or business that provides a regulated health service with guidance on the obligations of advertisers under the National Law.The National Law bans specific types of advertising, including (but not limited to) advertising in a way that:
- Makes misleading claims
- Offers an inducent such as a gift or discount (unless the relevant terms and conditions are also included)
- Uses testimonials
- Creates unreasonable expectations of beneficial treatment, or encourages the indiscriminate or unnecessary use of a service.
