Legislation
Health Practitioner Regulation National Law Act 2009
Australian government reports recommending further regulation of naturopathy or Western herbal medicine
The Practice and Regulatory Requirements for Naturopathy and Western Herbal Medicine. (pdf) 2005 Victorian government report on the regulation of naturopaths and herbalists (also commonly referred to as the Lin report)
Inquiry into bogus, unregistered and deregistered health practitioners. (pdf) 2009 report by the Parliament of South Australian’s Social Development Committee
Expert committee report: Complementary Medicines in the Australian Health System (webpage) 2003 report to the Parliamentary Secretary for Health by the Australian government’s Complementary Medicine Expert Committee (CMEC).
PDF document (992KB) committees-eccmhs-report-031031
Discussion Paper: Regulation of Complementary Health Practitioners. (pdf) 2002 discussion paper by the New South Wales Health Department. (this report is currently off line – we will post a PDF when it comes to hand)
Other reports pertaining to the regulation of naturopathy or Western herbal medicine
Regulation of complementary medicines. (pdf) A report for the Parliamentary Secretary for Health prepared by the Network of Researchers in the Public Health of Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NORPHCAM)
World Health Organisation Strategy for Traditional Medicine. (webpage) In 2002 the World Health Organisation prepared a strategy to realise the opportunities and face the challenges posed by CAM use. Part of the World Health Organisation was to develop policy that caught up with modern demands for CAM and improve safety by enacting appropriate statutory regulation.
2008 Report from the Department of Health Steering Group on the Statutory Regulation of Acupuncture, Herbal Medicine and Other Forms of Traditional Medicine as Practised in the UK (pdf) In 2000 a House of Lords report investigated and recommended the regulation of a number of practitioners, including herbalists. This is the report commissioned by the British Department of Health to implement regulation.
Government regulatory agencies
The Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency
World Naturopathic Federation
ARONAH is an associate member of the World Naturopathic Federation (WNF). The WNF’s aim is to promote and advance the profession of naturopath. Among many other things, the WNF is involved in research projects that address the question, To what degree is the practice of naturopathy supported by research? To read more about these research projects, visit the WNF research web page
Link to associate members of WNF
Professional associations
There are a very high number of professional associations purporting to represent naturopaths and Western herbalists in Australia. The Therapeutic Goods Administration compiles a list of professional associations whose members are deemed ‘recognised health professionals’ and therefore able to receive advertising material that does not comply with the TGA Advertising Code.
ARONAH works with the associations in Australia who are part of the WNF. This is formalised via the Australian Naturopathic Council (ANC). The NHAA and CMA are part of the ANC