ANTA Executive Welcome Summer 2023
From the Chair It is with sincere gratitude and respect that I complete this final report as the ANTA Executive Officer. Five years ago, I took up this role at the request of the ANTA Board of Directors in September 2018. I would like to thank all staff at the National Administration Office, the ANTA Board of Directors, our revered ANTA Seminar presenters and our lifeblood, the ANTA Members for their work in Natural and Traditional Medicine services since 1955. After eighteen years as an ANTA Director, multiple terms as the ANTA President, twenty odd years as an ANTA member-therapist/ business operator, part time trainer, full time educator with a national reach, this national governance role proved to be a good fit.
Summer 2023
The fact that in 2019, the Chief Medical Officer of Australia announced 15 therapies were found to lack any evidence base including safety, quality, clinical efficacy or cost effectiveness is a false premise. Statistics demonstrate otherwise! The evidence of these metrics are based on medical records preserved by mainstream health which clearly demonstrate the safety and quality of natural and traditional medicine commensurate with the miniscule (<1%) occurrence of any adverse events recorded against clinical application and client usage of natural and traditional medicine services.
On the one hand, the Australian Government established the Australian Skills Quality Authority (ASQA) and the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency (TEQSA) to approve training Over the years, the ANTA Administration Team standards, guaranteed to produce higher has transitioned through many challenging education graduates with inherent supervised times. Since 2014 adverse events impacting clinical training requirements. These standards our professions culminated in April 2019 when and criteria were established in collaboration the Australian Government removed 15 natural with the Australian Securities and Investments therapies from the private health funds list. This Commission (ASIC) Registered industry peak was a serious blow to all Natural and Traditional bodies. It cannot be said that there are no training Therapists across Australia and caused peak standards or any evidence of client safety, clinical bodies deep concern for the future of Natural efficacy, quality outcomes or cost effectiveness and Traditional Therapists nationally. One of when Australian Government agencies are the very challenging events was the removal of appointed and funded to guarantee the requisite Naturopathy and related ingestive therapies as graduate outcomes and ensure public safety. rebatable items from the health funds list. It also cannot be said there is no statutory regulation or legislated oversight regulating Naturopathic education and training are among these practices when almost all Australian States the more robust natural therapy training and Territories have now adopted the National programs offered. Its removal from the rebate lists Code of Conduct to hold all health practitioners defies the most rational level of understanding accountable under the Office of the Health about what Naturopathy is and how it has Ombudsman when their practices fall outside benefited so many Australians. Naturopathy’s the auspices of the Australian Health Practitioner education, training and practice in the current Regulation Agency (AHPRA). This means all four-year degree will not fail to deliver excellent Natural and Traditional health practices in practitioners with higher level skills and methods Australia are regulated under legislation passed to prevent many common, adverse health into law by the Australian Government. conditions. THE NATURAL THERAPIST VOL 38 NO. 2 | SUMMER 2023 | PAGE 5
