We are delighted to announce the formation of Australian Naturopathic Council, a new co-ordinating body to represent the naturopathic profession. It has become clear from our ongoing discussion with government and industry, as well as feedback from members of the public, that the naturopathic profession must present as one united voice in relation to lobbying, statutory registration, and policy formation and interpretation. This announcement signals the formal commencement of that work.
What is it?
The Australian Naturopathic Council (ANC) is a new coordinating body representing the naturopathic profession. The ANC will provide a united voice on important issues affecting naturopaths in Australia and will be a go-to organisation for external stakeholders such as governments and the media.
Who is involved?
The ANC is comprised of the Australian full, associate and educational members of the World Naturopathic Federation (WNF). These are the Naturopaths and Herbalists Association of Australia (NHAA), Complementary Medicine Association (CMA), Australian Register of Naturopaths and Herbalists (ARONAH), and Endeavour College of Natural Health (ECNH). The ANC also looks forward to welcoming future Australian WNF member organisations should they choose to contribute to our shared vision and mission.
Why is it necessary?
Governments, the media and members of the public need a single, trusted point of contact for our profession, to avoid the spread of misunderstandings and misinformation. The ANC will be a coordinating body on key issues affecting our profession such as registration, education standards and private health insurance rebates. By working together and sharing resources, we will also avoid the duplication of work. The ANC formalises, and builds on the efforts of its current members, who have been collaborating on an ad hoc basis for many years.
How will it work?
The members of the ANC will work together to achieve outcomes that benefit members of the naturopathic profession by:
- Fostering understanding and communication, and where appropriate, sharing information among the naturopathic stakeholders in Australia regarding successes, challenges and new initiatives within each organisation.
- Identifying areas of common interest and, where appropriate, opportunities for cooperative and/or complementary action.
- Facilitating communication among Australian naturopathic stakeholders in support of the quality, viability and sustainability of the naturopathic profession in Australia.
- Improving efficiencies among Australian naturopathic stakeholders by communicating openly and sharing resources where appropriate to decrease workload and duplication.
FANTASTIC ……
How much will it cost for members please?
Thanks for your question Mimi.
The NCA doesn’t have membership for individuals. If you want to support what we do as a council, then you can join one of the associations (NHAA or CMA). If you are a member of those associations already, you can also choose to join ARONAH as well.
Each organisation has membership information on their websites.
Nat since 2006. Thanks so much for putting yourselves forward for this work.
Thanks so much for your support Jessica.
Wonderful. I am a student studying Naturopathy at Endeavour.
That is great Kerri. So if you support the work of this council, then you may want to choose to join NHAA, CMA as a student member. ARONAH also has student membership too. You can find all these details on the relevant websites (links are on the front page of this website)
You must broaden and extend your efforts to become truly representative of all naturopaths in Australia. None of the current member groups, although excellent, represent my views or work.
I trust that you will offer membership to other groups such as the ANPA and other colleges to gain a better representation of Naturopathy in Australia today.
Thanks for your comment and thoughts John. Membership of the NCA is based on membership of the World Naturopathic Federation. So any association or education institution who is a member of the WNF would be welcome to apply to join the NCA. We are hoping that Southern School of Natural Therapies will be joining very soon. They are a member of the WNF as well.
I also trust that you will extend membership to my member group ATMS. Until then, the NCA is not representing all naturopaths in Australia – it is calling all naturopaths to support the NCA agenda.
ATMS are an association for Natural Therapies and don’t have the majority of their members as naturopaths. They are therefore not eligible for World Naturopathic Federation membership, so they can not be a member of the NCA.
On the NCA FAQs page, this question is answered further, so I invite you to go there and have a read. https://www.naturopathiccouncil.org.au/nca/frequently-asked-questions/
Can From India I, Invidually or My Organisation may be member of NCA?
Thanks for your question. At the moment the NCA is an organisation that is working within Australia. The NCA also dont take individual memberships, so if you wanted to support our work, you could consider joining on of the associations (NHAA, or CMA)
Awesome work!!! Thank you for leading the way to create a centralized arena for our industry and for working tirelessly advocating for greatness in our industry. You are so appreciated!
Thank you so much Sonia – that is so kind of you to say. Thanks so much for your support!
Hi, I’m interested to hear what the naturopathic views and representation will be on the issue of APRAH or co-regulation?
great question Christina
All organisations that are part of the NCA are pro registration under the AHPRA model.
Many happy thanks,
Naturopathy and Herbal Medicine are valued ancient arts of health, in need of a strong foundation to secure and preserve a stable future.
thanks so much Wendy. We think so too!
Great work. All Naturopath should get unite it and support this.
Thank you so much for your support.
Could I ask why Nutritionists were not incorporated in the council?
Thanks for the Q Janice
The NCA has been developed to unite the naturopathic profession in Australia. This was a big message we were hearing from the profession, that practitioners felt disunity.
The NCA has member organisations which are part of the World Naturopathic Federation – this is part of the WHO and is a group that promotes naturopathy world wide. Nutritionists (and homeopaths, and Western herbalists) are their own profession in their own right and have unique needs and characteristics. It is important that they are represented in their own council on their own terms. It would not be fair to lump everyone in together when the criteria for membership is 100% naturopathic.
NCA is also very happy to assist other professions to set up their own councils, so if this is something that you want, you are welcome to contact us, or your own association