This guide helps students and new practitioners to establish a natural therapy practice. It covers the entirety of the process—from discovering a natural therapy career, to running a successful business.
If you haven’t decided which natural therapy to study, you’ll need to thoroughly research the modalities, and make a decision about which to embark on. Take care to choose a modality that best suits your skills, personality, financial goals, and demand in your local area. If possible, talk to qualified natural therapists who are already working in their field, to find out more information about the day-to-day of the job.
Many natural therapists study multiple modalities, to broaden their scope of practice and offer a greater number of services to customers. If this is the case, you will need to research each of the modalities to make an informed decision.
These are the natural therapy modalities that ANTA accredits:
2. Enrol in a course, and become an ANTA member
Once you have chosen your career path, enrol in a course that is recognised by ANTA, to ensure that you can become a member.
Once enrolled, sign up for free ANTA membership and gain access to world-class scientific resources, access to our quarterly journal and eNews, reduced future membership fees, and a whole lot more.
3. Complete your qualification, including first aid
If your course doesn’t include first aid as standard, you will need to complete a separate first aid course. This is a requirement of ANTA membership, and necessary for health fund and WorkCover recognition.
4. Select a location for your new business
When you’ve completed your qualifications and finished celebrating, it’s time to set up your new business!
The first step is selecting a location for your practice, and it’s an important one. If you set up your practice in a location where people are likely to use your services, you’ll be on your way to success. You should consider the following when selecting a location for your practice:
- Can people living in the area afford your services?
- What are the demographics of people living in the area? Do they match your target demographic?
- Is there a demand for your services in the area? What is the competition like?
- Is the area considered to have good economic growth?
You can contact the local council for this kind of information, or research online.
This is a critical step, so take this slowly.
5. Decide on your business type, and set it up
You can run a natural therapy practice as a company, sole trader, partnership, or a trust. Each option has pros and cons—we recommend talking to an accountant or solicitor about which business type is best for you. They will also be able to help you set up the company.
If you’d rather set up the business by yourself, you can apply for a business name and ABN through the Australian Securities and Investments Commission. To register a business name in your state, you can contact the Office of Fair Trading for your particular state.
6. Apply for your licenses, and understand the regulations
When establishing a new practice it is important to identify which licenses are required, and any regulations you must comply with.
Licenses relating to premises and your practice can vary considerably depending on your approach (building a new business, taking over an existing business, leasing a business, etc.).
To understand which licenses are required, and which regulations you must adhere to, contact your local council.
7. Set up a business bank account
To separate your personal finances from your business finances, you will need to set up a business bank account. To get the best account for your business, spend a little time shopping around.
If you need to apply for a business loan for your new company, this is a good time to look.
8. Get business insurance, and Professional Indemnity Insurance
Business insurance is complicated, and will vary depending on your business. The best approach is to shop around for different types of business insurance, and see what is available.
For your Professional Indemnity Insurance (a requirement for natural therapists), we have developed custom plans for our members through Guild Insurance, which covers Professional Indemnity, Public and Products Liability, and covers you for a minimum of $2 million. This insurance allows you to be registered as a provider with health funds (for applicable modalities) and covers your legal responsibilities for potential injuries and other expenses.
By tailoring this insurance policy for our members, you won’t have to spend hours finding an insurance cover suited for your practice.
9. Understand your legal obligations
GST
Certain natural therapies are exempt from GST, provided they meet the requirements. The eligible modalities are acupuncture, chiropractic, herbal medicine, naturopathy, and osteopathy. You can find out everything you need to know on our GST exemption page.
Privacy
As a natural therapist dealing with people’s personal information, you must adhere to the The Privacy Amendment (Private Sector) Act 2000, and should understand your requirements.
Clinic standards, hygiene, and infection control
Under Federal, State and Local Council regulations, standards must be maintained for your clinic. ANTA Clinic Standards, Hygiene & Infection Control Guidelines.
10. Understand what will make your business successful, and complete key processes
There are many factors within your control that can determine your success:
- Deliver high quality professional health services—a large percentage of the public use natural therapists for their primary healthcare, and will continue to consult with their natural therapist provided they obtain quality care.
- Build a reputation based on good service and results—one of the best ways to get new customers is by building a solid reputation, and providing an excellent service is the only way to do so. Many of your referrals will come from word of mouth recommendations.
- Make your practice visible and accessible to the local market—make your practice visible to your local market with advertisements across a range of mediums.
- Join ANTA—there are a huge number of benefits in joining a reputable association such as ANTA, including health fund recognition, free advertising, and access to leading scientific resources to help with your professional development.
- Maintain up-to-date client records—maintaining accurate, complete, and up-to-date client records is vital for delivering quality healthcare to your patients.
- Maintain up-to-date financial records—maintaining up-to-date financial records is a legal requirement, and vital for monitoring the performance and success of your practice.
- Manage your cash flow—cash flow is the life blood of your business. Without sufficient cash flow to run your business your chances of success are diminished. It is important to monitor your income and outgoings and ensure you have sufficient funds to keep your business going.
- Consider start up costs, and create a budget—develop a realistic budget for all the costs and expenditure involved in setting up your practice. Under budgeting can lead to problems and stifle your cash flow.
- Identify your goals and objectives—set yourself goals and objectives that you want to achieve in the short term (1 year) and the long term (2 to 5 years). Review your goals and objectives regularly to monitor your progress, and to make any changes.
- Develop a marketing plan—a marketing plan is critical to your success. Consider all marketing avenues available—Google, social media, through ANTA, local papers, radio, brochures, flyers, signage etc). Take the time to understand your market and how best to target them. Talk to other businesses in the area and ask patients for their opinions. Identify and make contact with other health services or businesses in the area that might compliment your practice. Develop a marketing plan that includes strategies, market segment/profile, advertising programs, costs, target audience, results, and more.
- Know your competitors—identify any competitors in the area where you are setting up your practice. How do they market their services? Are they successful? What are their strengths and weaknesses? What health services do they provide, and what rates do they charge?
- Develop a financial plan and budget—a financial plan and budget will help you to monitor your income, costs, and expenditure during the year. Establish a realistic budget for the income you expect to earn during the year and identify all the costs and expenditures associated in running your practice. On a regular basis, monitor your actual income and expenditure and compare how you are performing against your budgeted income and expenditure. This will identify any areas where you are under or over budget and help you to make the necessary changes to your business.
- Continuing Professional Education (CPE)—ANTA requires members to undertake 20 hours of CPE each year and CPE is also a condition of health fund recognition. CPE is important in keeping abreast of developments, new techniques and treatment available with the profession and your area of training/expertise.
Get more help
ANTA has a fully staffed National Administration Office that provides services and support for ANTA members. Contact us on 1800 817 577 (Monday to Friday) for further information and assistance.
Commonwealth and State Government Agencies also provide services and assistance in setting up a new business and you should check with the relevant government agency in your state. The Australian Taxation Office website www.ato.gov.au also provides information on tax requirements in running a business.
