The general advertising rule for solicitors is in Rule 36 of the Australian Solicitors Conduct Rules 2012 (Qld):
36. Advertising
36.1 A solicitor or principal of a law practice must ensure that any advertising, marketing, or promotion in connection with the solicitor or law practice is not:
36.1.1 false;
36.1.2 misleading or deceptive or likely to mislead or deceive;
36.1.3 offensive; or
36.1.4 prohibited by law.
36.2 A solicitor must not convey a false, misleading or deceptive impression of specialist expertise and must not advertise or authorise advertising in a manner that uses the words “accredited specialist” or a derivative of those words (including post-nominals), unless the solicitor is a specialist accredited by the relevant professional body.
In addition under the Australian Consumer Law (Cth)1 (formerly the Trade Practices Act 1974 (Cth)) there are prohibitions on misleading or deceptive conduct (s 18), false or misleading representations about services (s 29) and misleading conduct as to the nature etc. of services (s 34) - see further the Legal Services Commission’s Regulatory Guide on The Application of the Australian Consumer Law to the Provision of Legal Services. These provisions also apply as a law of Queensland – see Part 3 Fair Trading Act 1989 (Qld).
Maintenance of public confidence in the profession has dictated restrictions on the right to advertise which are discussed in detail by Professor Gino Dal Pont in paragraphs [20.15]-[20.50] of Lawyers’ Professional Responsibility 7th edition (2020).
1 Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (Cth) sch 2 (‘Australian Consumer Law’).