What services do your members provide?
Our members are duly qualified in the modalities of; Naturopathy, Homeopathy, Nutrition, Western Herbal Medicine, Chinese Herbal Medicine and Ayurveda.

All members must hold qualifications that are deemed as meetin the minimum education standards at the time of application.  In addition, they also hold and upkeep; advanced first aid, professional indemnity and public liability insurance and continued practitioner education.

Can I claim on my health fund?
Yes, all full members of the CMA (that meet provider guidelines) are registered with Australian health funds. If your policy includes provision for rebates from Ancillary providers, you may claim a rebate. *see our health fund list page for funds that recognise natural therapists.

Are your members qualified?
Yes. All members of the CMA must meet strict minimum entry requirements based on both educational qualifications and experience. Members are also recognised under schedule 1, by The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) for GST exemption as health care professionals.

Are your members covered by professional indemnity insurance?
Yes. The CMA insist all practising members carrying Professional Indemnity Insurance to protect them and their patients.

Do your members have to undertake regular further education ?
Yes. All practising members need to obtain 20 Continued Practitioner Education (CPE points) on an annual basis.  This further education may be in various forms including (but not limited to): seminar attendance, webinars, educational workshops, industry journal subscriptions, forums, online training etc.  All CPE must be verified and approved by the CMA’s Federal Administration Office.  Health Funds also require CPE points to be obtained by providers to continue their fund recognition.

Where can I learn and become qualified as a Natural Therapist?
You will find a list of education providers on our website  and Training.gov.  You will need to contact several colleges before you find one that suits your needs.

In 2019 the minimum education level that may be entered into for Natural Therapies was upgraded to a Bachelor Degree. 

You should choose an educator that:

• is an RTO (Registered Training Organisation) or Australian University
• will recognise your prior learning (if applicable)
• has a good standing within the profession and associations alike
• offers you the flexibility and support
• reasonable pricing structure

Are Naturopaths registered ?
No. Private Associations like the CMA currently self-regulate the profession.

Can anyone practice as a Naturopath?
Unfortunately yes. In the current  non registered environment there is no government law to stop anyone, qualified or NOT, from practising as a Natural Therapist.  This is why the CMA is fighting for full government peer group registration throughout Australia.

Will my health fund pay for my remedies as well?
No. There are some funds that do extend a rebate on medications but you should follow this up with your health fund.

If I do have a problem with a CMA member what can I do?
You may contact our Federal Administration Office on (07) 5580 5990 or by e-mail (admin@cma.asn.au) at any time for advice. Patients can also make formal complaints against our members. This must be in the form of a Statutory Declaration which will go before the Federal Executive for thorough investigation. (see complaint procedures).

Please be assured that we regard matters of unethical conduct by any member as a very serious breach of their duty to both the patient and the profession and any member found guilty of such an offence would be subject to disciplinary action.

How much do your members charge?
This is difficult to answer as members are entitled to charge what they consider to be a professional fee. In the absence of government registration there is no way we can seek to regulate this. We therefore suggest patients ask about the practitioners fee schedule at the time of making their first consultation. Please note: our association would be interested to hear of any member considered to have an excessive fee structure.

Do I have to take the medication recommended at a consultation?
No, there is no obligation to take medications recommended by the practitioner during a consultation.

Can I return medications if I am unhappy with them?
Practitioners are not obliged to extend refunds on returned medications [used or unopened] . Under health regulations they cannot be recycled and represent a total loss to the practitioner. This is NOT the case for medications which are found to be of non merchantable quality. If there is a manufacturing fault with the medication the practitioner is obliged to return the product to the manufacture who should compensate the practitioner or patient directly. However, having said this, it is not uncommon for a practitioner in the best interest of his or her patient to assist them in some positive way to overcome such problems.