Answer first: a cosmetic treatment consent form is a record that a conversation happened. It documents that a registered practitioner explained what is proposed, the material risks, the likely course of recovery, the alternatives including no treatment, and that you had the chance to ask questions and agreed to proceed. It is not a waiver, it does not sign away your rights, and it does not remove a practitioner’s duty of care. You can withdraw your consent at any time, including after signing and including on the treatment day.
If a form is put in front of you without that conversation having taken place, the form has not done its job, whatever it says on the page.
What is informed consent?
Informed consent is a legal and ethical requirement in Australian healthcare, and cosmetic procedures are healthcare. It has three components, and all three have to be present.
Capacity. You are able to understand the information and make the decision. Which is one reason a consent discussion should not be happening while you are sedated, medicated, or under time pressure.
Information. You have been given the information a reasonable person in your position would want, including risks that are material to you specifically. If you have told a practitioner that your work is public-facing, the risk of visible bruising is material to you in a way it might not be to someone else, and it should be discussed on those terms.
Voluntariness. The decision is yours, made without pressure, inducement or a sense that you have already committed by turning up.
The signature is evidence of the process. It is not the process.
What should a consent form actually contain?
A consent form for a cosmetic procedure should identify, in plain language:
- The specific treatment proposed, including the area and what is intended
- The name and registration of the practitioner performing it
- Where a prescription is involved, that a medical practitioner has assessed and prescribed for you individually
- The common side effects, and how long they typically last
- The rare but serious risks, described honestly rather than minimised
- That results vary between individuals and cannot be promised
- That a further appointment or additional treatment may be needed, and whether that carries a cost
- Alternatives, including other treatments and the option of no treatment
- What to do, and who to contact, if something concerns you afterwards
- How your health information and any clinical photographs are stored and used
That last one deserves attention. Clinical photographs are health information. You should be told whether images are being taken, why, where they are stored, how long they are kept and whether they would ever be used for anything other than your clinical record. Consent to a clinical photograph for your own file is a different question from consent to any other use, and you are entitled to agree to one and refuse the other. Our privacy policy sets out how we handle health information.
What does signing not mean?
This is the part patients most often get wrong, and it is worth being blunt about.
Signing a consent form does not mean:
- You accept a poor outcome caused by substandard care
- You have waived your right to complain, to seek a second opinion, or to pursue a claim
- You have agreed to a different treatment, a different area, or a different amount to what was discussed
- You must proceed
- The practitioner no longer has a duty to exercise reasonable care and skill
A consent form covers what was consented to. If the plan changes in the room, the consent has to change with it, and that means a fresh conversation rather than an assumption.
Can you withdraw consent after signing?
Yes. At any point, up to and including the moment before treatment begins, and during treatment where it is possible to stop.
You do not need to explain why. You do not need to justify it. Changing your mind is not rudeness and it is not a waste of anyone’s time. A practitioner who responds to a withdrawal of consent with pressure, disappointment or persuasion is behaving inappropriately, and that is true in any clinic.
There may also be a cooling-off period between consultation and treatment depending on the procedure and the setting. Ask the clinic directly what applies to the specific treatment you are considering, and ask them to tell you before you book rather than on the day.
Why is consent taken so seriously in cosmetic medicine specifically?
Because cosmetic procedures are elective. Nobody needs them.
When a procedure is medically necessary, the risk conversation is weighed against the consequence of not treating. In cosmetic medicine there is no such counterweight. The option of doing nothing is always clinically available and always reasonable, which raises rather than lowers the standard of the conversation that should precede a decision.
It also matters because the sector has a marketing problem. Cosmetic treatments are advertised in a way that emphasises outcomes and rarely mentions that anything can go wrong. A consent discussion is often the first time a patient hears the full picture, and that is precisely why it should not be compressed into a signature on a clipboard.
What should you do before you sign?
Read it. All of it. If the clinic is busy and you feel rushed, say so and take the time.
Ask what you do not understand. Including terminology. A practitioner should be able to explain any term on the form without jargon.
Ask about the specific risks that matter to you. Not the generic list. Yours, given your history, your medications, your timeline and your circumstances.
Ask what happens if you are unhappy. Specifically: who do you contact, how quickly, is there a review appointment, and what does correction involve if correction is possible. The answer to “what if I do not like it” is not the same for every treatment, and for some it is “we wait”.
Ask for a copy. You are entitled to one.
Our guide to questions to consider before a cosmetic consultation is a useful companion, and our risks and safety information sets out per-treatment side effects and the circumstances in which you should contact the clinic.
Frequently asked questions
Is a consent form legally required? Consent is legally required. Documenting it is standard practice and is expected of registered health practitioners. A form is the usual way that documentation happens.
Can I take the form home to read? Ask. A reasonable clinic will let you, and being able to read it without anyone waiting is a good thing.
Do I need to sign a new form each time? For a repeat of the same treatment, practice varies, but the risks should be revisited and your health history and medications rechecked each time, because both change.
Who can obtain my consent? The practitioner performing the treatment, or the practitioner responsible for it, is the person who should have the discussion with you. Not a receptionist, and not a form emailed to you in advance with no conversation attached.
What if I feel something went wrong? Contact the clinic first, and promptly. You can also contact AHPRA, and in Queensland the Office of the Health Ombudsman, both of which take complaints about registered practitioners directly from the public.
Does signing mean I have paid or committed financially? Consent to treatment and any financial agreement are separate matters. Our terms and conditions cover the latter.
Speaking with a practitioner
If you have questions about consent, what a proposed treatment involves, or what would be discussed before you made any decision, you can raise them with a registered practitioner at our Holland Park West clinic in Brisbane or our Kingscliff clinic in NSW through our contact page.
A consultation is an assessment and a discussion of risks, alternatives and the option of no treatment. It does not commit you to proceeding, and you may decline or withdraw at any stage.