ANTA > News > News Item: National regulation of Chinese Medicine begins 1 July 2012

Practitioners are urged to apply for national registration early

Practitioners are urged to apply for national registration early.

From 1 July any person who wishes to practise acupuncture, Chinese herbal medicine or offer Chinese herbal dispensing services in Australia must be registered with the Chinese Medicine Board of Australia (the National Board).

This includes anyone using the following titles:

• Chinese medicine practitioner
• Acupuncturist
• Chinese herbal medicine practitioner
• Oriental medicine practitioner, or
• Chinese herbal dispenser.

While Chinese medicine practitioners currently registered with the Chinese Medicine Registration Board of Victoria will automatically transition to the national regulation scheme, all other practitioners need to apply to AHPRA for national registration.

The National Board has published five mandatory registration standards that outline the expected level of professional practice, which must be met in order to register. The standards are published on the Board’s website and relate to:

• continuing professional development
• criminal history
• English language skills
• professional indemnity insurance and
• recency of practice.

A sixth standard, the Grandparenting and general registration eligibility registration standard, sets out the ‘grandparenting’ provisions under the National Law for individuals to be eligible to apply for registration but who do not hold qualification gained by completing an approved program of study. The grandparenting provisions apply only until 30 June 2015.

The intent of the grandparenting provisions is to ensure that practitioners who are legitimately practising the profession (particularly in those jurisdictions that did not previously require registration) are not unjustly disadvantaged because they are not current state or territory registrants or do not hold a qualification obtained by completing an approved program of study.

The Board will assess applications for general registration under the grandparenting arrangements on their individual merit and if unsure about their eligibility practitioners are encouraged to apply.

Application forms for registration will be available from the AHPRA website www.ahpra.gov.au from mid-late February 2012. Chinese Medicine practitioners not currently registered in Victoria are encouraged to submit their application to AHPRA by 31 March 2012 to allow for processing time and to minimise disruptions to their practice.

Anyone who is not currently registered with the Chinese Medicine Registration Board of Victoria, or who has not had their application for registration processed by 1 July 2012, may be in breach of the National Law.

Everyone with an interest in the practice of Chinese medicine is strongly urged to familiarise themselves with the requirements of the National Law which will come in to effect on 1 July 2012 by visiting the Board’s website (www.chinesemedicineboard.gov.au).

For more information

• Practitioners are urged to read the Board’s registration standards and their supporting FAQs, which are published on the website: www.chinesemedicineboard.gov.au 
• Follow the Contact us link from the homepage to lodge an online enquiry form

 Announcement - National regulation of Chinese Medicine begins 1 July 2012 (PDF 62KB)