Section 4: Events

Whether Company-initiated or sponsored, activities should be consistent with the Principles of the Code.

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4.1 Company Educational Events Held in Australia

Where the Company initiates and manages the agenda, duration of educational content, and speaker selection:

1. The Company should be able to produce objective evidence of the educational value of the event (for example, an invitation or agenda) that clearly describes the purpose, content, meeting start and finish times and duration of educational sessions.
2. The educational program should be reviewed and approved through an internal Company process.
3. Companies should ensure that healthcare professionals speaking at Company-sponsored educational events or Congresses are aware of the obligation not to promote unapproved products or indications. This applies irrespective of whether the Company has provided the healthcare professional with a presentation or other material. Companies should be able to produce documentary evidence of this briefing and its content, which can be publicly disclosed if required. Briefing healthcare professionals giving presentations does not apply to independent third-party educational events or Company-sponsored educational events where an independent scientific faculty has chosen the topics and speakers.

4.2 Third-Party Educational Events Held in Australia

Companies are permitted to sponsor educational events which are organised by a society, college, university or other healthcare professional organisation to enhance medical knowledge and improve the quality use of medicines in Australia. These include ‘in-institution’ educational events, such as journal clubs, grand rounds, multidisciplinary and in-service meetings held within the healthcare professional’s workplace.

1. The third-party organising the educational meeting should independently determine the educational content, select the speakers and attendees.¹
2. Companies should consider the objective evidence of the educational value of the event, including the event location and program, in deciding whether to sponsor the event.
3. Companies may sponsor a third-party educational event held at a venue selected by the third-party as long as the venue has appropriate facilities for holding educational events.²
4. Financial sponsorship of an independent educational event should be paid to the organisation arranging, conducting or responsible for the event, and not to an individual healthcare professional.

4.3 Trade Displays

1. The amount paid to the educational meeting organiser for the trade display should be reported as sponsorship in accordance with the requirements of this Code.
2. In the case of international or Australasian congresses held in Australia, it is acceptable to display or supply information regarding a product or an indication not approved for registration in Australia, provided any material used clearly identifies that it refers to a product or indication not approved in Australia, and that the product or indication (as appropriate) is approved overseas.
3. Products not approved for registration in Australia must be approved for marketing in an overseas country targeted by the conference organisers. An appropriately worded label, prominently located, would be sufficient to satisfy this Section. Information regarding products not approved for registration in Australia, or non-approved indications for a product registered in Australia, must be consistent with Product Information in the country where the product is registered. Product Information must be available and distributed in accordance with the Code.³
4. If the primary audience is broader than healthcare professionals, a Company should carefully consider whether the promotional trade display or the information to be made available from a trade display involves the promotion of products to the general public, which may contravene the Commonwealth Therapeutic Goods Act.⁴
5. Companies hosting a trade display at a third-party scientific or medical conference where non-healthcare professionals have registered to attend should make reasonable efforts to request the conference organisers to include a note in the conference program that staff at Company trade displays are precluded by law from giving information about specific products to non-healthcare professionals.

4.4 Sponsorship of Healthcare Professionals to Attend Educational Events

1. Sponsorship may be provided to enable a healthcare professional to attend an educational event, provided the meeting is directly related to the healthcare professional’s area of expertise, qualifications, experience, and educational needs.    
2. In relation to the awarding of sponsorship to healthcare professionals, companies are responsible for establishing clear guidelines, which can be publicly disclosed if required, covering matters such as:⁵
   1. Establishing the educational value of an event, including its location, program, and hospitality provided;
   2. Appropriate reasons for providing such support;
   3. The review and approval process for providing support, demonstrating that the support is independent of sales considerations; and
   4. How to document all sponsorships, e.g. a written agreement with the healthcare professional.

4.5 Hospitality, Travel and Accommodation

Companies may provide hospitality, travel and/or accommodation to healthcare professionals in connection with activities or events. In doing so, Companies will ensure that they act in a manner which upholds the integrity and reputation of the industry and does not compromise the independence of healthcare professionals. Companies will also ensure activities and interactions with healthcare professionals can withstand public scrutiny.⁶

The following principles apply to any activity for healthcare professionals involving the provision of travel, accommodation and/or hospitality:

1. A facility should be selected for its appropriateness to enable the activity to be conducted and should not be chosen or utilised for the purpose of leisure, sporting or recreational activities.^{7 8 9}
2. Companies may provide hospitality (food and beverages) if it is secondary to the purpose of an activity.
3. Any hospitality provided by a Company to a healthcare professional must be moderate and reasonable as judged by local standards, which in Australia is stipulated by a capped maximum spend per person. This amount is outlined in the Code Tool Kit.
4. Companies may not provide hospitality to a healthcare professional at their home or usual place of residence.¹⁰
5. Companies may not provide entertainment to healthcare professionals.
6. Companies may provide accommodation to healthcare professionals attending a Company-sponsored/organised or independent educational event or undertaking a consultancy, provided it is reasonable and appropriate to the time and duration of the event or consultancy, and to the distance from where the healthcare professional usually resides.
7. Companies may provide travel only in direct association with educational event/s or to undertake a consulting service.¹¹
8. Companies may sponsor travel for healthcare professionals attending an international educational event in either economy or business class; domestic air travel and to New Zealand is by economy class only. The most direct route should be booked, without the allowance of more time at the destination than is reasonably justified to enable the healthcare professional to effectively participate in the event/s.
9. Companies should only support the attendance of the healthcare professional who are participating in the event or providing the service to the Company. It would be considered a gift or inducement if a Company was to provide hospitality, travel or accommodation to spouses, relatives, guests or companions of healthcare professionals and non-healthcare professional practice staff when they are accompanying a healthcare professional.^{12 13}
10. Companies should plan that any meal (food and beverages) provided in another country complies with the monetary limit set by the industry association in that country (where applicable). If there is no such limit in that country, any meal provided must be moderate and reasonable, following Australian principles.

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1. #15: Mandatories in sponsored content? ↩︎
2. #25: Sponsoring educational events where the venue is ‘questionable’ ↩︎
3. #54: Scientific exchange in New Zealand; a key difference ↩︎
4. #9: Virtual Conferences ↩︎
5. #30: Guidelines for sponsoring Healthcare Professionals ↩︎
6. #65: Paying to access an appointment booking system with HCPs – what to consider? ↩︎
7. #5: Venue selection for educational meetings ↩︎
8. #52: Meeting healthcare professionals outside their workplace ↩︎
9. #76: Tricky venue decisions: some thoughts to help shape your decisions… ↩︎
10. #5a: Virtual events ↩︎
11. #28: HCP travel and unusual requests ↩︎
12. #53: Accommodating partners (or not) ↩︎
13. #60: Breastfeeding + the Code = Please explain ↩︎