Standing Council on Health - Regulation of Unregistered Health Practitioners

At a recent Standing Council on Health meeting, Ministers considered the Decision Regulatory Impact Assessment: Options for regulation of unregistered health practitioners.

Ministers agreed in principle to strengthen state and territory health complaints mechanisms via:

• a single national code of Conduct for unregistered health practitioners to be made by regulation in each state and territory
• a nationally accessible web based register of prohibition orders; and
• mutual recognition of state and territory issued prohibition orders

Ministers have asked the Australian Health Ministers Advisory Council (AHMAC) to undertake public consultation on the terms of the first national Code of Conduct and proposed policy parameters to underpin nationally consistent implementation of the Code, for consideration by Ministers.

A copy of the Final Report - Options for regulation of unregistered health practitioners is available at www.ahmac.gov.au 

The above announcement as a step in the right direction for the regulation of unregistered practitioners and ANTA will continue to actively pursue statutory registration of naturopaths, herbalists, nutritionists, homoeopaths, musculoskeletal therapists, remedial massage therapists and myotherapists for inclusion in the National Registration and Accreditation Scheme (NRAS) administered by AHPRA.