Natural healers must sign up for safety for Practice in Australia

 Naturopaths could soon have to meet minimum standards of education and accreditation or lose the right to practise.The announcement this week of board appointments to the Australian Register of Naturopaths and Herbalists was another step towards naturopathy becoming a government-regulated and recognised health care option.
The idea of government regulation has concerned some practitioners
but Roxanne Hilton, who runs a
naturopathy practice at Horsley Park, said she welcomed the idea.
"This register will tighten up regulations and provide an independent association of naturopaths and herbalists that are fully qualified to a certain level of education," she said.
"Naturopaths and herbalists need to be recognised so they may take their rightful position in the health system and at the same time enable doctors and other health practitioners access to suitably qualified professional naturopaths and herbalists to make referrals too.
"The public will also have access to this register and be better informed when choosing a practitioner."
The register is expected to be operational by the middle of next year, and will be voluntary.
Its chairwoman, Angella Doolan, said the register would be a step toward government regulation.
"Naturopaths in Australia do something like 8.7 million consultations a year," she said.
"Ten per cent of people have a naturopath as part of their health care team.
"At the moment, anyone can call themselves a naturopath or a herbalist and the aim of the register is to set minimum standards of education and training so the public can have confidence they are dealing with someone who knows what they are doing."
The register has the support of the Australian Naturopathic Practitioners Association and the National Herbalists Association of Australia, but not the Australian Register of Homeopaths.

ANPA spokeswoman Eta Brand said naturopaths needed an understanding of how pharmaceuticals affected the body so they did not administer herbs or medicines which may interfere with those effects.

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