Volume 29 Issue 4 2017

Naturopathy has been practised in Australia since the early 1900s¹. Throughout this time the profession has evolved to be a significant presence in the Australian healthcare landscape². In 2014, the World Naturopathic Federation (WNF) was formed from an acknowledgement by the global naturopathic profession that by working with and learning from naturopaths in different countries we can benefit the profession locally and internationally³.

One of the outcomes of the WNF for Australian naturopaths is a growing awareness of the strength of the profession in Australia⁴. The quality of Australian naturopathic training and the educational institutions that provide that training form one of the highest in the world⁵. In addition, the regulatory model in place in Australia has been identified by the WNF as a standout example for self-regulated environments⁶. As such, naturopathic professional associations in Australia have been, and continue to be, strong advocates and leaders that show deep commitment to advancing Australian naturopathy^7,8.

These three pillars – education, professional representation and regulation – are fundamental to any profession growing and developing to its full capacity. It is not only important that each individual pillar is strong; they all also need to be committed to manifesting the same vision for the profession. To agree on such a shared vision, and to practically attain the outcome for the profession, the organisations situated in each pillar need to be able to respectfully and appropriately collaborate with each other.

This is no different for the naturopathic profession. The challenges facing contemporary naturopathy in Australia are not small, and reflect naturopaths’ growing importance in Australian healthcare. For example, the last 10 years in particular has seen debate regarding the minimum available level of education, and while the bachelor’s degree level qualification is now accepted as the minimum standard required, vested interests have worked to try to wind back these achievements⁹. However, the absence of protection of title through statutory registration has seen multiple instances where unqualified individuals claiming to be naturopaths have harmed a member of the public through inappropriate care and, in doing so, have also harmed the reputation of qualified naturopaths¹⁰. Furthermore, in 2019, the government removed private health insurance rebate subsidies for individuals consulting with a naturopath, based on an evidence review which drew conclusions for naturopathy from issues of professional standing and regulation rather than research¹¹. These and similar issues have significant impacts on the sustainability and viability of the Australian naturopathic profession, and the best way of countering these issues is by pooling the energies, talents and resources of the organisations involved in educating, regulating and representing the profession.

Introducing the Australian Naturopathic Council

This need for unity in leadership within the Australian naturopathic profession was raised at a meeting of the Australian members of the WNF alongside the WNF General Assembly in Melbourne in 2019. Australia is somewhat unique in the WNF as it is the first country, and one of the few, to have WNF representation across all membership categories – full membership (professional association), educational membership and associate member (regulatory body).

The Australian WNF members met to discuss some of the significant challenges facing naturopathy, including, but not limited to, registration and the profession’s private health insurance rebate status. While there were existing relationships between the organisations represented at the meeting, one of the most significant, and profoundly impactful, outcomes of that meeting was an acknowledgement of the value of improved, regular and formalised communication and collaboration between all Australian WNF members. It was in response to this need for unity that the Australian Naturopathic Council (ANC) was formed.

Purpose

The purpose of the ANC is to:

• Foster understanding and communication and, where appropriate, the sharing of information amongst the naturopathic stakeholders in Australia regarding successes, challenges and new initiatives within each organisation.
• Identify areas of common interest and, where appropriate, opportunities for cooperative or complementary action.
• Facilitate communication amongst Australian naturopathic stakeholders in support of the quality, viability and sustainability of the naturopathic profession in Australia.
• Improve efficiencies among Australian naturopathic stakeholders by communicating openly and sharing resources where appropriate to decrease workload and duplication.

Membership

The ANC is composed of leaders and designated representatives with a broad organisational knowledge from stakeholder organisations. Eligibility for stakeholder organisations to be included in the ANC is defined as membership with the WNF. The founding stakeholder organisations for the ANC are:

• Australian Register of Naturopaths and Herbalists.
• Complementary Medicines Association.
• Endeavour College of Natural Health.
• Naturopaths and Herbalists Association of Australia.
• Torrens University Australia (trading as Australasian College of Natural Therapies and Southern School of Natural Therapies).

Future stakeholders that also meet this criteria will be invited to contribute to the ANC and its initiatives upon the agreement of a simple majority of the existing ANC representatives.

Areas of cooperation and collaboration

The ANC offers a platform for improved cooperation and collaboration between key organisations in the Australian naturopathic profession. The areas through which ANC stakeholders, and their representatives, may cooperate are diverse but are underpinned by a commitment to the exchange of expertise and mutual support. The ANC provides a vehicle to facilitate formal sharing of information related to political and regulatory affairs, media and public relations for the Australian naturopathic profession. It also presents an opportunity for each stakeholder to provide lobbying support in relation to progressing matters of mutual interest and to benefit the profession.

The ANC stakeholders agree to these areas of cooperation and collaboration but also recognise that each organisation has its individual mandate, and that these may not always be congruent or align and may, at times, constrain or preclude participation in discussions or cooperative action. The ANC has no decision-making authority over its stakeholder members. The ANC does not operate within a hierarchy and each meeting will be managed via a rotating chair position.

Importance of the ANC for the pillars of the Australian naturopathic profession

Education

The ANC offers an opportunity for meaningful discussion between its stakeholder members in order to benefit naturopathic education in Australia, while each educational institution has internal academic governance processes to ensure quality. This includes input on curriculum from stakeholders within the profession. The ANC provides a platform for discussion of wider structural, social and political factors that may impact on the quality, accessibility or sustainability of naturopathic education. This allows matters to be discussed and, where necessary, addressed at a national level.

Professional representation

The activities of naturopathic professional associations are also supported and strengthened by the formation of the ANC. The numerous issues facing the contemporary Australian naturopathic profession underlines the incredible importance of unified messaging to government when lobbying and advocating for the profession. Other ANC stakeholders can directly and indirectly support the efforts of professional associations through a coordinated team approach, leveraging resources and expertise for the profession’s benefit.

Regulation

The most effective regulation occurs when standards and guidelines are developed in partnership with the education and professional representation stakeholders, but are applied and managed independently of them. With this in mind, the ANC provides a valuable opportunity for transparent and consistent communication between the regulatory body and other stakeholders, ensuring standards and guidelines evolve in line with the expectations and needs of the profession more broadly.

Conclusion

The ANC is a milestone that marks another step in the maturation and professionalisation of naturopathy in Australia. It represents a unity of purpose, a willingness to place the needs of the profession above the needs of any one individual organisation, and a desire to see naturopathy achieve its full potential in the Australian healthcare landscape.

Author(s)

Amie Steel¹, Ian Breakspear², Jarrod Carter³, Tobey-Ann Pinder⁴, Catherine Smith^5
1 Deputy Chair, Australian Register of Naturopaths and Herbalists
² Senior Lecturer, Endeavour College of Natural Health
³ Vice-President, Complementary Medicines Association
⁴ Vice-President, Naturopaths and Herbalists Association of Australia
⁵ Program Director, Naturopathy and Western Herbal Medicine – Think Education

Contact information
Level 8, Building 10, 235-253 Jones St Ultimo NSW 2006
Email Amie.steel@uts.edu.au

References

1. Wardle J, Steel A, McIntyre E. Independent registration for naturopaths and herbalists in Australia: the coming of age of an ancient profession in contemporary healthcare. Aust J Herbal Med 2013;25.
2. Steel A, et al. Complementary medicine use in the Australian population: results of a nationally-representative cross-sectional survey. Sci Rep 2018;8:17325. doi:10.1038/s41598-018-35508-y.
3. World Naturopathic Federation [Internet]. About WNF; 2015. Available from: http://worldnaturopathicfederation.org/about-wnf/.
4. Wardle J, Cook N, Steel A, Barker C. The World Naturopathic Federation: global opportunities for the Australian profession. Aust J Herbal Med 2016;28(1):3.
5. World Naturopathic Federation Education Committee. Correlation between education and credentials [Internet]. Toronto (Canada): World Naturopathic Federation; 2018. Available from: http://worldnaturopathicfederation.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/WNF-Education_and_Credentials_complete.pdf
6. World Naturopathic Federation. Global naturopathic regulation [Internet]. Toronto (Canada): World Naturopathic Federation; 2018. Available from: http://worldnaturopathicfederation.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/Global-Naturopathic-Regulation_finalb.pdf.
7. Wardle J, Steel A, Casteleijn D, Bowman D. An evidence-based overview of naturopathic practice in Australia. Aust J Herbal Naturopath Med 2019;31(1):9.
8. Rainforest J, Casteleijn D, Bowman D, Breakspear I, Pinder TA. Natural products regulation: getting the balance right. The case of arbutin. Adv Integrat Med 2019;6(3)95–96.
9. Wardle J, Steel A, Adams J. A review of tensions and risks in naturopathic education and training in Australia: a need for regulation. J Altern Complement Med 2012;18(4):363–370.
10. Australian Associated Press. The Sydney Morning Herald. Naturopath jailed after baby nearly starved to death (AAP, NSW, Australia, 2018). https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/dodgy-nsw-naturopath-jailed-after-baby-nearly-starved-to-death-20180405-p4z7we.html Published: April 5, 2018
11. Leach MJ, Steel A. The potential downstream effects of proposed changes in Australian private health insurance policy: the case for naturopathy. Adv Integrat Med 2018;5:48–51.