What should a dietitian website include?

A dietitian website should make it easy to check that you are an Accredited Practising Dietitian, see what you help with, and work out what a session will cost after Medicare, DVA or a health fund. Then it should let people book, in person or by video, without ringing you first.

The rules are the tricky part, because dietitians sit under a different system from most of the health professions people hear about.

Are dietitians registered with Ahpra?

No. Ahpra works with 15 National Boards, from chiropractic to psychology, and dietetics is not on that list.

Dietitians are self-regulated instead. Dietitians Australia runs the Accredited Practising Dietitian (APD) program, the Dietitian and Nutritionist Regulatory Council regulates the credential, and the program aligns with standards set by the National Alliance of Self Regulating Health Professions. Dietitians Australia calls the APD credential "a public guarantee of your dietetic expertise".

"Nutritionist" is a different story. In Dietitians Australia's own words, "nutritionists aren't regulated and can have limited qualifications". All dietitians are nutritionists. Not all nutritionists can call themselves dietitians.

What does that mean for your website?

Put your credential where people look.

• Write "Accredited Practising Dietitian" in full near your name on the homepage and your About page. The letters "APD" alone mean nothing to most patients.
• Do not write "Ahpra registered". It is not true for dietetics, and a patient or GP who checks will notice.
• If you use the word "nutritionist" for search reasons, pair it with "dietitian" on the same page. A visitor comparing you with an unqualified nutritionist should see the difference in one glance.
• If your team mixes APDs with other staff, say who holds the credential. Vague team pages make everyone look the same.

Rather hand this to someone? Book a free 20-minute chat.

Do advertising rules still apply if you are not Ahpra-registered?

Yes, just different ones. The Ahpra advertising guidelines are written for regulated health services, which is why your psychologist and physio friends worry about them (our plain-English guide to Ahpra advertising rules covers those).

You still sit under Australian Consumer Law, enforced by the ACCC. The ACCC says any claim a business makes about its services must be "accurate, truthful and based on reasonable grounds", and that this covers websites and testimonials. A claim about the future, like a result a client will get, needs reasonable grounds at the time you make it. The ACCC lists nutritional benefit claims among the claims a business must be able to prove.

On top of that, Dietitians Australia says all APDs agree to work to their scope and follow its professional standards.

In practice, these are the lines we rewrite most often on nutrition websites:

• "Lose 10 kg in 12 weeks" becomes "A plan built around your health goals, your budget and your week".
• "Reverse your diabetes" becomes "Support to manage type 2 diabetes alongside your GP".
• A before-and-after weight photo becomes a clear description of how the first appointment works.

Describe the service. Leave the promised result out.

How should you explain Medicare and DVA rebates?

Plainly, and with the limits included, because the limits are what patients get wrong.

Dietitians Australia says APDs with a provider number can offer rebates under Medicare and DVA. Services Australia sets the Medicare rules. Here is what a patient needs from your fees page, based on those rules:

• A GP referral. The patient needs a GP chronic condition management plan (or a multidisciplinary care plan) and a referral from their GP or prescribed medical practitioner.
• Five visits a year, shared. Eligible patients can use up to 5 of these allied health services per calendar year, and the 5 are shared across professions. Services Australia's own example is one dietetic service and 4 podiatry services. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander patients can use up to 10.
• Individual sessions. The individual items need at least 20 minutes, one-on-one. There are separate video and phone item numbers.
• Group programs for type 2 diabetes. If you run group dietetics for type 2 diabetes, there are separate group items, with up to 8 group services a year on top of the individual ones.

One update to check: if your page still says "GP management plan" or "team care arrangement", it is out of date. Those plans were replaced by the GP chronic condition management plan from 1 July 2025, although patients with an older plan can keep using it until 30 June 2027.

For veterans, DVA says a Veteran Card holder needs a valid GP referral, and a referral lasts up to 12 sessions or one year, whichever ends first. Whether the card covers dietetics depends on the card type and the condition.

On your site, keep it to one short section per funder, then state your fee and the likely gap. The ACCC notes that leaving out important details can itself be misleading, so "Medicare rebates available" with nothing else is a weak line. "Up to 5 rebated visits a year, shared with any other allied health you see on your plan" is a useful one.

What about private health insurance?

Dietitians Australia says APDs are recognised by many private health insurers. Coverage depends on the fund and the policy, so list the funds you are actually set up with if you can, and tell people to check their own extras cover. Do not quote rebate amounts you cannot keep current.

Should a dietitian website mention telehealth?

If you offer it, yes, and near the top. A lot of dietetic work can happen by video, and people outside your suburb will only consider you if they can see that option before they leave the page.

Say three practical things: which appointments can be done by video, what the patient needs (a phone or laptop, a quiet room, their recent blood test results if relevant), and whether Medicare rebates apply to their situation.

What pages does a dietitian website need?

For most solo or small practices:

1. Home: who you help, in their words, your credential, your locations or telehealth, and one booking button.
2. What we help with: one section or page per area you actually work in, so a search for "dietitian for IBS" or "gestational diabetes dietitian" finds the right page.
3. About: your photo, your APD credential, your approach in plain language.
4. Fees and rebates: session fees including GST where it applies, Medicare, DVA, health funds, cancellation policy.
5. For GPs and referrers: how to refer, what you send back. Services Australia requires a report back to the referring GP for these Medicare items, so referrers like knowing it will arrive.
6. Book: online booking if you can, a short form if you cannot.

Pages two and five are the easiest to skip, and the most useful to the people deciding whether to refer or book.

What do dietitian websites get wrong?

• Food photography everywhere, with no photo of the dietitian. People choose a person, and they want to see you.
• Meal plans or quick weight-loss offers on the homepage. These invite the result-promising language consumer law is strict about.
• "Free discovery call" with conditions hidden further down. The ACCC calls 'free' offers with fine-print conditions out specifically.
• A fees page that says "please contact us". A missing fee reads as an expensive one.