Seeside Advisory’s expertise lies in therapeutic goods advertising compliance, with a commitment to agility and excellence that sets us apart. Seeside offers tailored advice to help advertisers comply with the medicine and medical devices advertising laws. We are here to support advertisers every step of the way, so they can focus on what they do best.
Seeside’s principal
Seeside Advisory’s expertise comes from our principal, Leanne McCauley. Leanne was inspired to start Seeside while working at the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) – Australia’s medicines and medical devices regulator.
Working at the TGA
At the TGA, Leanne helped advertisers comply with laws for advertising medicines and medical devices to Australian consumers. For nine years, she provided education on the laws, developed and published guidance, and assisted advertisers in producing compliant advertising. She also represented the TGA on the former Complaints Resolution Panel and Therapeutic Goods Advertising Code Council. Through this work, Leanne developed insight into the challenges faced by advertisers in complying with the therapeutic goods advertising laws.
In leading the TGA’s reforms to the advertising laws, Leanne worked with lawyers and policy staff to forge important improvements. She coordinated and conducted consultation with stakeholders (including the Therapeutic Goods Advertising Consultative Committee) and the subsequent implementation of the updated laws. Leanne has a deep understanding of these laws, including their purpose.
Leanne has a Certificate IV in Government Investigations. She assisted TGA compliance and enforcement staff in dealing with non-compliant advertising, providing expert advice on the interpretation and application of the advertising laws. She understands how the TGA approaches advertising compliance and can assist advertisers in responding to compliance and enforcement matters. Leanne also worked in the prescription medicines application entry area of the TGA for several years, and worked on reforms to streamline the application process.
Broader experience
Leanne has worked for other Australian Government departments and several private sector IT companies. Through this experience, Leanne garnered a strong understanding of other regulatory frameworks and government processes.
Roles Leanne performed in the private sector include business analyst, software tester and technical writer. These skills enable her to provide added value (e.g. when assisting start-up operators).
Growing up, Leanne worked in her family’s pharmacy and saw first-hand the benefits that small businesses can bring to the community – as well as how much hard work goes into running a small business and the toll it can take on operators. She assisted many patients and witnessed how their vulnerabilities influenced their lives and decision making. Leanne draws on this experience in assessing advertising for compliance, as the law requires that it be considered from the perspective of the audience.
Leanne relied on her experience at the TGA and in pharmacy, as well as her degree in biochemistry, to assess and determine applications to the TGA from advertisers seeking approval to refer to serious diseases and conditions (‘restricted representations’) in advertising. She is therefore well placed to assist advertisers considering applying for such an approval.
Leanne is a keen amateur photographer and family history sleuth, with a firm connection to her Irish roots. She has an eye for detail and an inquisitive nature.
Leanne stands ready to put her extensive experience to use in assisting advertisers to navigate the therapeutic goods advertising laws.
Our name and logo
The name Seeside honours Leanne’s maternal family and their Irish and Finish ancestry.
Seeside’s logo is the Triquetra – or the Celtic Trinity knot. In Irish custom, the Triquetra has a range of meanings, including family and (in a Christian context) the Holy Trinity. The symbol possibly originated from the Norse people.
Leanne chose the Triquetra as a nod to her roots and a reflection of the three phases of her career – private sector employment, public servant and now, as a business owner supporting other businesses.
The Celts revered the number three, believing that everything of importance comes in threes. – The Irish Road Trip