Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency targets, Botox, fillers, laser treatments

The rules around Botox, fillers, laser treatments and other non-surgical cosmetic treatments are set to be tightened in a crackdown by the nation’s medical regulator.

AHPRA warns getting Botox is not like going to a dentist.

Rules around Botox, filler, anti-wrinkle injections and other cosmetic procedures are set to tighten as the nation’s medical regulator cracks down on the booming billion dollar industry amid patient safety fears.

Doctors and nurses who downplay risks or give treatment to patients with obvious red flags, as well as influencers who spruik services online will be among those placed under the spotlight, the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency said on Tuesday.

Recent cases that have sparked concern include a woman who had to undergo surgery following a botched cosmetic thread lift procedure and a doctor who gave his patient significant burns during intense pulsed light treatment.

The Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency will seek public feedback on proposed new rules but the industry will likely face tougher regulations around advertisements, including ‘before and after’ pictures, as well as ensuring patients fully understand the risks or procedures before they undergo them and the use of prescription-only injectables.

Intense pulsed light treatments can cause burns. Picture: Supplied

AHPRA chief executive Martin Fletcher said the popularity of these services outstripped cosmetic surgery, meaning more people could be at risk of harm.

“Getting these services is not like getting a haircut,” he said.

“These procedures come with risk.”

Nursing and midwifery board of Australia chair Veronica Casey said “the public needs to feel safe and know that nurses performing these procedures are appropriately educated and competent”.

The crackdown on non-surgical procedures such as Botox comes as new figures reveal 14 doctors have been banned or significantly restricted from practice while under investigation, from cosmetic surgery over the past year.

AHPRA introduced a series of changes, including a cosmetic surgery hotline, in September 2022 after a review criticised their failure to protect patients from predatory cosmetic surgeons.

There have been 428 calls to the hotline from patients worried about their treatment or seeking information and doctors reporting their colleagues since it was introduced.

Rules around how Botox is administered are set to be tightened.

Recent probes into cosmetic procedures have highlighted that harm can extend beyond the operating theatre, such as a registered nurse who gave a patient skin dermal fillers.

She did so even though the patient had several known skin conditions that made fillers dangerous to her.

The patient had to undergo steroid treatment and have the fillers dissolved while the nurse altered her notes once a complaint was made.

The nurse was later made to undergo further training.

In another case highlighted by AHPRA, a doctor had conditions placed on his right to work after he gave filler treatments to a woman with a history of mental illness and body image issues.

The fillers were administered despite the woman saying she was not happy with 10 previous cosmetic procedures.

Another doctor burned a woman during intense pulsed light treatment despite her telling him she was in pain.

He must now be supervised when offering the treatment.

Two doctors involved in the botched face lift, which required the woman to undergo surgery to first remove an abscess and then a second to fix her appearance, were cautioned.