Advertising agencies and PPC management in Australia: the codes, the GST line and the account you must own

To hire an advertising agency or a PPC management firm in Australia, decide first which job you are buying: creative and media across channels, or the running of paid search accounts such as Google Ads. Then check three Australian things the agency must handle for you: the AANA Code of Ethics and the codes that sit beside it, the Australian Consumer Law on misleading claims, and the 10% GST that Google charges on ads bought with an Australian business address. Finally, make sure every ad account is in your business's name, not the agency's. This page covers each step.

Two different purchases behind one search

"Advertising agency" in Australia covers firms that do very different work. Before you shortlist, name the one you need.

• Creative and full service agencies. They write the idea, make the ads and often plan where they run. Useful for a launch or a rebrand.
• Media agencies. They plan and buy the space: television, radio, outdoor, digital and social. Their value is the plan and the buying, not the creative.
• Digital and performance agencies. They run Google Ads, Microsoft Advertising, Meta and other paid channels, and are judged on cost per enquiry or sale. Most "PPC management" and "paid search agency" searches in Australia are for this kind of firm.
• Specialists. Healthcare, experiential, direct marketing, SaaS and other sector shops. They earn their place when the sector has its own rules, as health does.

A small business that only needs more enquiries from Google usually needs the third kind, and nothing else yet. A business planning a brand campaign in several states needs the first two. Our guide to how an advertising agency fee is built explains the fee models.

The codes an Australian ad has to meet

Australia runs a self-regulation system for advertising alongside the law. The AANA Code of Ethics, adopted by the Australian Association of National Advertisers and effective from 1 February 2021, has two sections. Section 1 handles complaints between competitors and reflects the consumer protection principles in the Australian Consumer Law. Section 2 handles complaints from the public, and its clauses deal with discrimination, exploitative sexual appeal, violence, nudity, strong language and unsafe behaviour. Section 2.7 says advertising must be clearly distinguishable as such.

That last clause matters for digital work. A sponsored post, an advertorial or an influencer video must be recognisable as advertising. If your agency plans creator content, read our guide to Australian influencer agencies and put the disclosure rule in the contract.

The AANA also publishes separate codes for food and beverages advertising, children's advertising, environmental claims and wagering advertising. If your product falls into one of those, ask the agency which code applies and who checks each ad against it before it runs.

The law sits above the codes. The ACCC's guidance on false or misleading claims says claims should be true, accurate and based on reasonable grounds, that a business must be able to prove any claim it advertises, and that it makes no difference whether a business intends to mislead or not. Ask it to keep the evidence for every claim in a file you can see.

Healthcare and other regulated categories

Several searches for an Australian advertising agency come from health businesses, and health is where a general agency most often gets it wrong. The TGA's guidance on advertising health services that involve therapeutic goods says the TGA does not regulate the promotion of health services, but if an advertisement for a health service also advertises therapeutic goods, such as prescription medicines, the advertiser must comply with the Therapeutic Goods Act. The TGA advertising page points advertisers to the Therapeutic Goods Advertising Code Instrument 2021 for advertising to the public.

So a clinic, pharmacy or device seller should ask a healthcare advertising agency two things: which of its ads name a product the TGA regulates, and who on its team has read the Code. A firm that cannot answer is a general agency, whatever its website says.

PPC management in Australia: what the account needs

Paid search is the most measurable thing an agency will run for you, and the easiest to lose control of. The mechanics are the same as anywhere, and our guide to PPC management done properly sets out structure, match types, negatives and bidding. The Australian points to settle are these.

• The tax line. Google's page on taxes and Google Ads says all Google Ads sales in Australia through Google Australia Pty Limited are subject to a goods and services tax (GST) of 10%, and that this affects accounts with Australian business addresses. When an agency quotes a monthly media budget, ask whether the figure includes that GST, and agree it in writing.
• Ownership. The account should be created in your business's name, with your billing details. Google's page on access levels says that if a linked manager account has ownership, its admin users can also edit user access, managers and product links within your account. Ask the agency to link its manager account to yours, not to own it.
• Location targeting. Australia is large and a national campaign is often a waste. Google's page on location targeting covers countries, areas within a country and a radius around a location, and notes that targeting is based on a variety of signals and is Google's best estimate. Ask which states, cities or radius the campaign will run in, and why.
• Conversion tracking. Calls, forms and sales counted before any money is spent.
• The fee model. A percentage of ad spend rewards a higher budget, a flat fee does not. Our guide to PPC agencies and management companies compares the models.

Finding and comparing agencies across Australia

Searches for a list of advertising agencies in Australia, or the biggest marketing companies, usually end at a ranked table. Before you use one, ask what it measures: billings, awards, staff numbers or paid placement in the list. None of those tell you whether the agency is right for a business of your size. A shorter path works better.

1. Check the business on the Australian Business Register, which shows its ABN and how long the entity has existed.
2. Ask for two clients of your size in your sector, and speak to one.
3. Ask who will run your account day to day, and meet that person.
4. Ask for a sample monthly report with real numbers removed, so you can see what you will be shown.
5. Ask what happens to the accounts, the creative files and the data if you leave.

Where the agency sits matters less for paid search than for creative work. A PPC manager in another state can run your account well. If government is your buyer, our guide to SEO and digital marketing in Canberra covers how federal advertising is bought. For search engine optimisation across the country, see our guide to SEO companies in Australia.

Contract terms to settle before you sign

Term	What to ask for
Accounts	Google Ads, Meta and analytics accounts in your business's name
Media budget	Stated separately from the agency fee, with GST treatment written down
Fee model	Flat, percentage of spend or per project, and when it changes
Code checks	Who checks each ad against the AANA codes, and the TGA Code where it applies
Claims evidence	A file of proof for every claim the ads make
Exit	Notice period, handover of creative files, and access removed for agency staff

Questions about advertising agencies and PPC management in Australia

Do I need an advertising agency or just a PPC manager?

If your goal is more enquiries from people already searching, a PPC manager is usually enough. If you need people to know your brand before they search, you need creative and media planning as well, which is the work of an advertising agency.

Is GST added to Google Ads in Australia?

Google says all Google Ads sales in Australia are subject to 10% GST, and that it affects accounts with Australian business addresses. Google also says it cannot advise on tax, so check how you claim it with your accountant.

Who is responsible if an ad breaks the AANA Code?

The Code applies to advertising under the reasonable control of the advertiser, which is you. Complaints from the public are handled under Section 2. Ask your agency to check each ad before it runs and keep a record of that check.

Should the agency own my Google Ads account?

No. Create the account in your business's name and give the agency access. Google says a manager account that has ownership lets its admins edit users and links in your account, which is control you should keep.

When can we judge whether PPC management is working?

Read cost per enquiry or sale in the ad account against the baseline you agreed before launch, and compare it with the enquiries your team actually received. The outcome depends on competition, your offer and your budget, so judge the first period on whether tracking is right and the account is built as agreed.

What an assistant says when someone asks for an Australian agency

A marketing manager in Adelaide or Brisbane may now ask ChatGPT, Gemini or Perplexity which agencies handle healthcare advertising or paid search in Australia. The reply names a handful of firms and leans on directories, trade press and the agencies' own pages, and each assistant gives a different list. For an agency, being on that list is now part of being found. AI Knows Us belongs to that newer category: it asks those buyer questions across the main assistants and records which names come back, so a firm can see where it stands without asking the question itself.