Benefits of the Registration Scheme

New graduates sometimes ask:

  • What are the benefits of registration under the National Registration and Accreditation Scheme (NRAS)?
  • What does the Chinese Medicine Board of Australia (CMBA) do for the profession?
  • What does the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA) do for the profession?
  • Why are fees charged for registration?

Benefits of registration

Regulation

Being a registered profession brings many benefits to the profession of Chinese medicine. It elevates it above unregistered health professions by enforcing and assuring the public of high standards of training and competence and ethical conduct.

Having national, transparent, enforceable professional standards not only offers protections to the public, but also grants our profession greater credibility as an allied heath profession. Under the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation National Law Act 2009 (the National Law), AHPRA has statutory powers to act on any breach in the National Law and breaches in Codes and Guidelines set by the National Boards and it has established a fair and legally sound notification process.

Chinese medicine is privileged to be amongst the 16 registered health professions that include medicine, nursing, midwifery, physiotherapy, optometry, osteopathy, chiropractic, and other well-established allied health professions practised in Australia. It does not include massage, naturopathy, homeopathy, iridology, and other similar alternative therapies, which are not recognised allied health professions.

Consultation

AHPRA, as the administrative body supporting the National Boards, including the CMBA as our own National Board, conducts numerous consultations on professional issues that affect health professions in general, and our profession in particular. These consultations seek feedback from all interested groups, including consumer groups, and professional groups such as National Professional Associations.

Registration fees

The Board sets an annual registration fee. This covers all the costs associated with registration including administrative procedures, the registration processes, the development and ongoing review of all policies, and the management of notifications and breaches of the National Law.