The Advertising Code in 2026: TGO 116, a consultation and enforcement

The Therapeutic Goods Advertising Code sets the rules for advertising a supplement sold as a listed medicine. The Therapeutic Goods Act's definition of advertising includes what's on the label, though the Code's mandatory statements, section 19 among them, don't apply to labels. In 2026 the Code was amended to point to the new labelling order, and the TGA consulted on improving it. Its reports on unlawful activity show what it does about ads that break the rules.

The Code now points to TGO 116

TGO 92, the labelling standard for non-prescription medicines, would otherwise have sunset on 1 October 2026, and its replacement, TGO 116, commenced on 30 September. The same day, an amending instrument took effect that replaces the Code's references to TGO 92 with TGO 116.

The main change is in section 19, the rules on what an ad must say. Section 19 requires most medicine ads to give the medicine's name "within the meaning of" the labelling order, now TGO 116, and an online store, or any ad that lets someone buy a medicine they can't inspect first, gives its dosage form and quantity on the same terms. That kind of ad must also list the medicine's health warnings, or link to them, prominently displayed or communicated: the warnings its label must carry under the instruments section 19 lists, which now end with TGO 116, where they are reasonably necessary to inform a consumer's decision to buy.

For a brand, that means checking the name, dosage form, quantity and warnings in new ads against TGO 116. A label can still follow TGO 92 on medicine released for supply before 1 October 2031, so an ad and its label may not match word for word. More on the label in our note on TGO 116 replacing TGO 92.

A consultation on improving the Code

The TGA consulted on "Improvements to the Therapeutic Goods Advertising Code" from 9 July to 3 September 2026. In its words, "It is not a full review of the Code." Among its proposals: amending the definition of "prominently displayed or communicated", the test for the mandatory statements, to include a reference to "standing out" for visual statements, and, as its preferred option, continuing to prohibit paid testimonials in advertising for therapeutic sunscreens.

No outcome had been published by 22 October 2026. Until one is, the Code applies as it stands.

Enforcement in 2024–25 and late 2025

The TGA's reports on unlawful activity show what it has been doing. In 2024–25 it gave 30 infringement notices, mostly for alleged unlawful advertising, and asked online platforms to remove over 13,700 alleged unlawful advertisements or user and seller profiles. From July to December 2025 it gave over 75, again mostly for alleged unlawful advertising, asked for over 1,000 removals, and completed a second targeted campaign on compliance by influencers, particularly on social media. The TGA says these half-year figures can't be compared with the full year before.

The penalty amounts rose. An infringement notice for non-compliant advertising carries up to 12 penalty units for an individual and 60 for a company, and the Commonwealth penalty unit rose to $364 on 1 July 2026: up to $4,368 and $21,840 for an offence from that date.

What it means for a brand's marketing

• Check new ads against TGO 116. The medicine's name and, for an online store, the health warnings come from the label.
• Paid influencers can't give testimonials. Anyone paid or rewarded, in cash, free product or discounts, counts as engaged in the product's marketing and can't tell their own story of using it. They can endorse it, with the payment disclosed, such as a "paid partnership" label, unless they are in a group the Code excludes, such as health practitioners.
• Your pages are your advertising. A testimonial or endorsement made on, or linked to, a brand's own content becomes part of its advertising, including a comment from someone who says they used the product.
• The label and the marketing say the same thing. Advertising must not be inconsistent with the indications on the ARTG, on a website or in a social post as much as on the label. We check the claims at the brief, so the claims are settled before the label or the first post is written.

Our advertising guide sets out the Code's rules in full, with the statements an ad must carry, the influencer rules and the penalties, and our claims and indications guide covers what a listed medicine can claim.

Sources

General information, checked against these sources on 22 October 2026. It isn't legal advice or advice on a particular product.

• Therapeutic Goods (Therapeutic Goods Advertising Code) Amendment (Standards for Labelling Consequential Amendments) Instrument 2026 and its explanatory statement, and the Therapeutic Goods (Therapeutic Goods Advertising Code) Instrument 2021, Federal Register of Legislation
• Improvements to the Therapeutic Goods Advertising Code and its consultation paper, Therapeutic Goods Administration, July 2026
• Unlawful activities surrounding therapeutic goods, 2024–25 and July to December 2025, Therapeutic Goods Administration
• Sanctions and penalties for non-compliant advertising and Testimonials and endorsements in advertising, Therapeutic Goods Administration
• Therapeutic Goods Act 1989, section 3 (the meaning of advertise), and the Therapeutic Goods (Standard for Labelling of Non-Prescription Medicines) (TGO 116) Order 2026, Federal Register of Legislation
• Crimes (Amount of a Penalty Unit) Instrument 2026, Federal Register of Legislation