Full Membership:
To be eligible for accreditation with the Australian Natural Therapists Association (ANTA) you are required to have completed a course that is recognised by ANTA. Review our recognised courses to obtain information on colleges and courses ANTA recognises for accreditation.
The Australian Natural Therapists Association is recognised by over 50 health funds and your application is an important step in becoming a member of an association at the pinnacle of the profession. It is essential your application is fully completed and all supporting documentation supplied. A checklist is provided for your convenience.
Applications for membership are reviewed and assessed by a panel of the Australian Natural Therapists Accreditation Board (ANTAB) in accordance with ANTA membership requirements (subject to change as determined by ANTA) at the time of application.
Note: If an application is incomplete, has missing information or non-certified documentation, it is not able to be processed and will be returned to the applicant.
Please note: ANTA does not recognise undergraduate courses delivered substantially by Distance/Online or External modes. Health Funds do not recognise, for provider registration purposes, any undergraduate qualifications completed substantially by Distance/Online or External mode.
Student Membership:
We invite you to apply for free Student Membership and enjoy the many benefits that go with being a Student Member of the Australian Natural Therapists Association.
The best solution for your education.
Student Membership includes the following great benefits:
Below are the modalities represented by ANTA within the Natural Therapies profession. Click on the modality to find out more about Natural Therapies and to view the courses ANTA recognises in that field.
Before you begin the Student Membership Application process please ensure you are completing a course that is recognised by ANTA.
Please note: ANTA does not recognise undergraduate courses delivered substantially by Distance/Online or External modes. Health Funds do not recognise, for provider registration purposes, any undergraduate qualifications completed substantially by Distance/Online or External mode.
It is important to become a member of a recognised Association to be recognised as a legitimate, qualified practitioner within the unregistered healthcare provider industry. It is also important for practitioners who are eligible for registration with Health Funds. Without health fund recognition you will not have a provider number, and your clients will not be able to claim private health rebates. Additionally, professional indemnity insurance premiums for practitioners are significantly reduced as the risk is mitigated by the Association vetting the qualifications of the practitioner.
Yes. You need to supply ANTA with a copy of the legal document showing your name change before it can be approved in our system. This document can be emailed to ANTA at [email protected].
You must be an ANTA member to access the Member Portal. This is a full member or student member. Click the ‘Login’ button at the top of the page.
To cancel your ANTA membership you need to advise us in writing. You can send an email to [email protected] and instruct us that you no longer wish to be an ANTA member. You may still receive ANTA emails until your membership has been cancelled which could take up to 48 hours. There is no refund of membership upon cancellation.
No. To maintain your ANTA membership, we only require the 3 yearly full course to be completed. The current course code, HLTAID011. We provide notifications via email and SMS to members when this is coming up. You can also find alerts in your ANTA Member Portal if this is coming up to being due.
To be eligible for ANTA membership you need to either be enrolled in a course recognised by ANTA, or have completed an ANTA recognised course. The list of recognised courses can be viewed on our website.
If you are studying a course which is not currently recognised by ANTA you may want to approach the course coordinator at your college and suggest they contact us to find out how they can apply to have the course assessed by ANTA’s Academic Board. If the college is successful in having the course recognised, you may apply for membership.
For a course to be approved by ANTA, the college is required to submit a request for course recognition, and if successful, it will be approved. In some extenuating circumstances, ANTA will allow an individual assessment of a graduate if they can supply all the course information, including information as to why the college was unable to do this on their own behalf.
If there is any possibility that you can approach your college to complete ANTA’s Course Assessment Form, it will help you get this process initiated, and it will be accredited for all students attending if approved. It will also be available for search on our ANTA recognised course list.
Please be aware that ANTA does not encourage students to try to obtain recognition independently due to the stringent assessment procedure that must adhere to strict guidelines to meet industry standards as well as health fund guidelines.
The course assessment link can be found on our website under the Study tab.
If you have completed your training as a Natural Therapist overseas, and attained a Diploma, Advanced Diploma and/or Degree qualification you may be eligible for membership with ANTA.
You will be required to have your qualifications evaluated for equivalency in order to become a member of ANTA
The Department of Education and Vetassess provide information on how to have overseas qualifications assessed against the Australian Qualifications Framework for Australian equivalency.
Once you receive your Assessment Outcome, please email a copy to [email protected].
The ANTA membership department allow up to 10 business days to assess an application. An application will start to be assessed once a payment has been made and you will receive an email within 24-48 hours stating your application has been received.
Once you have been approved for membership, an email will be sent advising of your application approval for important information before your Member Welcome Pack will be posted to your address.
Memberships are to be paid annually and are to be renewed each year. All members who do not have modalities registered with AHPRA will have their membership fees due by 31st December each year. AHPRA registered members, such as Acupuncture and Chinese Herbal Medicine, will have their membership fees due by 31st March each year.
Yes. Members will receive Membership and Accreditation certificates at the commencement of membership with ANTA. Each year members will receive a Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) certificate and a Membership Certificate, which is accessible via the ANTA Member Portal.
Yes. If you are already a practicing member of the association and are not actively practicing, you can contact the ANTA Administration Office to request either a Restricted Membership or a Leave of Absence. Our friendly staff will advise you on what each of these entail and their prices.
Continuing Professional Education (CPE) is the upgrading or acquisition of knowledge and skills in the accredited modalities that will aid the practitioner in providing their patients with a higher standard of health care.
CPE points must be updated in your ANTA Member Portal, under the CPE Activity section. The onus of proof is on the practitioner and practitioners must retain copies of their certificates/proof of CPE in the event of an audit.
CPE is a requirement of both ANTA membership and health fund recognition. If a member fails to complete their CPE in accordance with ANTA’s Code of Professional Ethics that member may have their association membership suspended until they have met the requirements, and if they are also a health fund provider their provider numbers will be cancelled and rebates will not be available for clients wanting to claim.
ANTA offers practitioners access to our Member Portal where you can log your CPE activity which can then be exported into a table for members to print and keep for their own records.
Information required to complete CPE Activity:
– Date the activity was carried out
– Year the CPE is applicable for (the first two sections need to have the same year dates)
– Select the relevant Resource , i.e. Book, Podcast
– Details of the CPE activity completed, i.e. attended ANTA seminar in Sydney
– Number of Applicable CPE points, i.e. 1 hour = 1 CPE point
If a certificate was received for a CPE applicable event/course, the number of points able to be used will be noted on the certificate. That certificate must be kept by the practitioner in the event of an audit.
Please log into the Member Portal to view the CPE Guidelines which lists examples of acceptable CPE activities. This can be found under ‘CPE Activity’ in the Member Portal.
Not anymore. New guidelines were released by health funds in 2016 which removed CPR and first aid training from acceptable CPE activities. It is a requirement of ANTA membership and health funds to have current first aid training (HLTAID011) to have an active clinic and get provider recognition. This training cannot count towards CPE points/hours.
Yes. A condition of ANTA membership regardless which membership option, CPE is required to be completed each calendar year to a minimum of 20 CPE points/hours.
Yes. If you start practising at a new clinic and you are a health fund provider you will need new provider numbers for that clinic location. This can take up to 4 weeks to receive new provider numbers from health funds. Additionally, active clinic locations can be located on the ANTA website for the general public and if we are not notified of changes, incorrect details will be showing and may cause disruptions to your business.
If you cease practising at a clinic, we have a contractual obligation to notify health funds to cancel your provider numbers for that clinic location. Additionally, members do not want incorrect details showing on the website for a location the member is no longer practising at.
To update clinic details please log into the ANTA Member Portal and complete the relevant form at the bottom of the personal details page, i.e. ‘Add a New Clinic’, ‘Close a Clinic’.
If you need to renew your Professional Indemnity insurance, you are required to contact your insurance provider. Once you have paid your insurance renewal and have received your Certificate of Currency, you are required to forward it to ANTA. You can do this via email to [email protected].
ANTA may be waiting on you to supply additional information which is required before the clinic details can be sent to the health funds. Additionally, if we have received all information it can take up to 4 weeks for health funds to issue your provider numbers.
ANTA does not recognise undergraduate courses delivered substantially by Online/Distance or External modes. Health funds do not recognise, for provider registration purposes, any undergraduate qualifications completed substantially by Online/Distance or External mode.
If you are already an ANTA member, health fund information was included in your Member Welcome Pack. If you wish to access the latest version of the health fund information, please log into the Member Portal.
ANTA is unable to arrange HICAPS for your clinic as HICAPS deals with the billing system of your clinic. Therefore, you are required to contact HICAPS to arrange a HICAPS terminal for your clinic. You will be required to provide HICAPS with a copy of your Medibank provider confirmation letter in order to finalise this process once you have arranged your terminal.
Health funds require practitioners to have current Professional Indemnity insurance with the required minimum limit of liability for their modality, a current First Aid certificate (HLTAID011) and a current Working with Children or Police Check. Health funds also require practitioners to ensure that their CPE points/hours are up-to-date according to ANTA’s annual requirement, and ANTA membership fees are required to be up-to-date.
When your provider number is cancelled, it may be for a variety of reasons:
To rectify you need to identify what has caused the provider number to be cancelled and resolve the issue. The Health Fund Team will then request to have your provider number reinstated. This process can take up to a number of weeks.
Provider numbers with health funds will be cancelled and cannot be reinstated until the member has provided a copy of either their correct First Aid certificate or their updated Certificate of Currency or their Working with Children Check or Police Check. This process can take a number of weeks.
ANTA only receives AHM, Bupa and Medibank provider numbers as they are location specific. Other health fund provider numbers are per the Health Fund List that were provided in the Member Welcome Pack and are also available within the Member Portal under Health Fund Information.
No. Please log into the ANTA Member Portal and go to Health Fund Information to obtain a copy of the guidelines around Mobile Clinic Services.
ANTA has 5 types of digital advertising and one type of print advertising.
For further information on advertising please contact the ANTA office on 1800 817 577, or [email protected].
Bromelain is within the scope of practice for a Clinical Nutritionist. Students studying nutrition are trained in its usage, and nutritional products with Bromelain are registered (AUST R) or listed (AUST L) by the TGA in Australia. Most complementary medicine practitioners will not import/recommend goods from overseas (without AUST R or AUST L) considering safety, conformity to the Australian standard and potential legal liability in the event of a claim.
ANTA does not recommend conducting virtual consultations prior to a face-to-face consultation, due to the importance of being able to sense and measure the patient’s demeanour and vital signs, although we do not have any concerns in regard to follow up virtual consultations for the same issue.
Practitioners also need to be aware of their Professional Indemnity insurance liability cover, as it may vary depending on the modality and the insurance provider. General Professional Indemnity insurance policies will not cover overseas consultations, and your insurer would have the final say on virtual consultations. You may wish to check with your insurance provider to confirm coverage specific to your policy.
We recommend that ANTA practitioners undertake any virtual or overseas consultations with caution and would also like to remind you that Health Funds will not recognise virtual consultations for rebates to your clients.
Unfortunately, ANTA does not supply client consent forms. A practitioner can design their own form, however as these forms do not stand up in court if there is a complaint by the client, they cannot be used in that circumstance, in which case, it may be prudent to get legal advice.
There are various dry needling courses being advertised. Some are good, and some are not so good! As a guideline, ANTA recommends that a dry needling course should be approximately 80 hours duration and delivered face-to-face with supervised clinical training delivered by a qualified trainer. ANTA advertises approved Dry Needling courses on our website.
In recent times there have been several incidents involving dry needling where patients have suffered some serious events e.g. punctured lungs. This has resulted in Professional Indemnity insurance companies facing substantial claims/payouts. If insurance companies make substantial payouts related to dry needling this leads to higher premiums for dry needling insurance cover and/or insurance companies deciding not to cover dry needling unless an appropriate dry needling course is completed.
With most dry needling courses, it is assumed that the students have previously completed a natural therapy course that includes anatomy and physiology, and that the student has the pre-requisite training to undertake dry needling at a professional level.
All practitioners are required to practice within the scope of their training (National Code of Conduct). Practitioners must not practice outside the scope of their training and this also applies to dry needling.
ANTA recommends that practitioners consult with their own accountant for making this decision, as we are not legally able to advise.
Click on this link to find more information on GST free services for Natural Therapy practitioners.
ANTA recommends that members do not dispose of client files as the statute of limitations does not apply to clients wishing to make a claim against a practitioner. That means that a client can make a claim against a practitioner at any time in the future e.g. 7 years, 10 years, 20 years etc and client records are valuable legal documents if a claim is made. Without client records it is very difficult to provide evidence of treatments, medications, etc. in the event of a claim.
Client records can be kept electronically and/or backed up on a USB stick and do not necessarily need to be kept in hard copy.
The health profession is governed by National Privacy Principals (link provided below), and the Privacy Act. The standards for storing, maintaining, and disposing of client personal/medical information can be found within these documents.
National Privacy Principals
https://www.oic.qld.gov.au/about/privacy/the-privacy-principles/national-privacy-principles
Privacy Act 1988
http://www8.austlii.edu.au/cgi-bin/viewdb/au/legis/cth/consol_act/pa1988108/
If a client has requested their file/details to be deleted, you are legally required to keep them as they are part of your business, and the possibility of the client making a claim against you in the future. You can give the client a copy if they wish, ensuring that they put the request in writing to you.
The label should show the ingredients, dosage and other relevant information including the client’s name. The label should not include any claims about the product that cannot be verified or proven.
The requirement for all advertising which includes testimonials, websites, etc. is that it must be truthful, not misleading and must be able to be substantiated (i.e. evidence is available to verify claims made). This is covered under consumer law.
Whilst patients provide testimonials with the best intentions, many make statements in their testimonials that are not always strictly correct and may not be able to be substantiated.
If you were to use testimonials which did not comply with the law you could be exposed to investigation and penalties under consumer law.
As a result of consumer law that requires all advertising to be truthful, not misleading and must be able to be substantiated, we do not recommend members use testimonials as client, when providing testimonials, are generally not aware of the legal requirements under consumer law.
ANTA does not ban members from participation in multi-level marketing, however, under ANTA’s Code of Professional Ethics and the National Code of Conduct, the first obligation of any practitioner is to ensure they recognise and uphold their responsibilities to the patient, colleagues, the profession and society. ANTA members are required to abide by the ANTA Code of Professional Ethics and the National Code of Conduct in their state (all are available in the ANTA Member Portal). The ANTA Code of Professional Ethics requires members to ensure they safeguard clinical independence and professional integrity from third parties (i.e. multilevel marketing companies). Members must not enter into a contract with an organisation that may conflict with professional integrity, clinical independence or primary obligation to the patient. Members can enter into multi-level marketing arrangements provided they abide by the ANTA Code of Professional Ethics and the National Code of Conduct.
You also need to be aware that recommending that clients obtain substances and medicines from international suppliers, that are not approved for distribution in Australia (TGA accredited medications), would compromise your standing as a professional as your Professional Indemnity insurance does not cover items outside Australian Regulations (this is commonly promoted by international MLM companies to obtain drugs only approved in USA).
Practitioners allowing other practitioners or unqualified practitioners at their clinic to use their provider numbers is a major concern. Any unethical/fraudulent behaviour needs to reported using the following steps. (Please note that allegations of unethical or fraudulent behaviour are taken very seriously, and any such complaint must be conducted in a transparent format for all parties involved):
In accordance with the National Code of Conduct which covers natural therapists and the ANTA Code of Professional Ethics, practitioners must practice within the scope of their training.
If a practitioner is not trained in techniques/therapies, e.g. Chelation, IV Vitamin therapy or live blood analysis, they must not practice or use these techniques/therapies. Use of techniques/therapies by practitioners which are outside the scope of their training is a breach of law and carries significant penalties.
ANTA has provided a Business Assistance section aimed at empowering our members and visitors alike with relevant and timely business information. From the main menu click on Resources and from the drop-down click on the Business Assistance link.