Regulation of the Profession May 2009 (Commentary‪)‬

The issue of regulation of the professions of western herbal medicine and naturopathy has been around for a long time but seems to be at centre stage at present as the government's working party sponsored by the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) and under the auspices the Australian Health Ministers' Council (AHMC), actively works to create a single registration system for health professionals. Regulation is not about recognition of a profession, it is primarily to protect the public from poorly or untrained, unscrupulous or downright fraudulent practitioners. The program started in 2006 with a single registration criterion for the nine professions registered in state and territory to be implemented by July 2008. This deadline was not achieved because of negotiations between the various professions and with the Senate enquiry into this portion of the process coming to a close; it is near to being achieved. The professions involved are: