Numerous people have contacted ARONAH in recent weeks asking about our deadline for recognition of Advanced Diploma courses under our grandparenting provisions. Many of these people have been concerned that they needed to apply by June 30 this year to be able to apply under grandparenting provisions.
Please note that this deadline was the former deadline imposed during the establishment of ARONAH, and mirrored AHPRA standards that the grandparenting provisions would run for five years after establishment of the register. When this decision was made the formal government phase out of Advanced Diplomas was not considered a possibility.
When the Community Services and Health Industries Skills Council announced the removal of Advanced Diplomas of naturopathy and Western herbal medicine from the health training package in July 2014 a decision was made by ARONAH to extend recognition of Advanced Diploma graduates throughout the teach out period, which is until December 31 2018.
It appears that some materials were not updated to include the new time frame, and ARONAH is currently reviewing its materials to ensure this new time frame is accurately represented.
In addition to training, admission to the ARONAH register will still be contingent on applicants meeting the entirety of eligibility criteria for ARONAH membership, as outlined in the current application site.
Although ARONAH will recognise Advanced Diplomas during the teach-out period, it should be noted that some benefits for new graduates are becoming increasingly limited to graduates of degree programs.
ARONAH recognises that this is a transitional period, and it recognises the important contribution of diploma programs before the degree standard became established. However, the degree standard is now well established and has been in place for nearly two decades. For this reason ARONAH supports a four-year minimum degree for current naturopathic training and three-year minimum degree for current Western herbalist training. Those considering enrolling in naturopathic or Western herbal medicine training are strongly urged to enrol in degree programs, and those currently enrolled in Advanced Diplomas are strongly urged to consider upgrading their enrollment to a degree program