Australia has officially given Apple the green light to switch on the long-awaited hypertension alert feature on the Apple Watch, allowing eligible users to receive heart health notifications locally (via MacRumors).
The Therapeutic Goods Administration, Australia’s medical device regulator responsible for overseeing health technologies, added the software to the Australian Register of Therapeutic Goods this month, allowing the feature to be distributed to Apple Watch users locally.
This development means Apple can now legally enable the hypertension alert system for eligible Australians, bringing the nation in line with more than 150 other regions where the capability has already been approved and deployed.
The announcement follows months of anticipation as users in some places had access earlier in 2025, while regions like Canada and India were slower to authorize the feature due to regulatory processes.
Apple first revealed its hypertension detection feature in September 2025 alongside the Apple Watch Series 11. The system does not measure blood pressure in the traditional sense. Instead, it analyzes optical heart sensor data collected from supported Apple Watch models over extended periods to flag patterns that may be linked to chronic high blood pressure. When these trends are strong enough, the watch sends a notification suggesting users check their blood pressure using a standard cuff device.
The technology draws on advanced machine learning and large datasets gathered from research studies to identify these indicators. Independent clinical validation involving thousands of participants has informed its algorithm, improving confidence in the feature’s ability to surface potential cases of undiagnosed hypertension.
While the system will not spot every instance of high blood pressure, Apple and medical experts estimate that wearable notifications could help more than a million people around the world get medical attention they might otherwise miss.
Adults aged 22 and older who do not have a hypertension diagnosis and are not pregnant are eligible to enable this feature. Supported hardware includes the Apple Watch Series 9 and newer, along with Apple Watch Ultra 2 and later models running watchOS 26.
A paired iPhone 11 or later running the most recent iOS version is also required for proper function.
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