The Australian Medical Association is calling on the federal government to act urgently on AI-generated deepfakes, warning the technology is being used to impersonate trusted health professionals and spread potentially harmful misinformation.
Ahead of Scams Awareness Week , the AMA renewed its call for stronger protections in a letter to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, welcoming the establishment of the Office of AI and urging the government to prioritise its digital duty of care policy to help protect Australians.
The AMA remains concerned that deepfake content is being used to impersonate reputable health professionals and expose patients to potentially unsafe health advice, yet there are no regulations in place to enforce the removal of this harmful material from digital platforms.
AMA President Dr Danielle McMullen said a regulatory response that keeps pace with emerging risks and supports public confidence in digital health information is urgently needed.
“Scams Awareness Week is a timely reminder that increasingly sophisticated online deception can have real-world consequences,” Dr McMullen said.
“Deepfake campaigns that misrepresent trusted clinicians can undermine evidence-based care, spread misinformation about prescription medicines, and encourage consumers to abandon clinically validated therapies in favour of unproven alternatives.
“It should not be left to the clinicians whose identities are being stolen and misused to identify, report and pursue the removal of deceptive content. The AMA supports a digital duty of care that places responsibility on AI providers and digital platforms to take reasonable steps to prevent foreseeable harms arising from their services.
“This should include strong transparency requirements, effective safeguards against unauthorised and deceptive synthetic content, and timely takedown mechanisms for harmful deepfakes. We are calling on the government to move quickly to put these regulations in place to reduce the risk of harm to Australians.”
The AMA raised these concerns with the Minister for Communications, Anika Wells, in June 2025, and has now written to the Prime Minister calling for urgent action on its digital duty of care policy and stronger safeguards against harmful AI-generated content.
It recommends a regulatory framework be developed that includes:
- mandatory identification of the individual or company responsible for any online post promoting a medical product or service through a publicly accessible and designated contact point (for example, email)
- an accessible portal for individuals to report fake, misleading or AI-generated content.
- unsubscribing mechanisms enabling users to opt out of unsolicited medical advertising
- time-bound takedown requirements, mandating platforms to remove harmful content within a specified period after a complaint is lodged
- appropriate enforcement powers, including the ability to issue infringement notices for non-compliance.
