Policy & Strategic Projects Division >> Complementary Therapies/Traditional Chinese Medicine >> Newsletter

Newsletters No. 3, 4 and 5.
This is a summary of the information contained in Newsletters No.s 3, 4 and 5.

Newsletter No. 3 March 1998 (Summary)

The third newsletter gave an update on progress with the review, provided details of the Victorian Ministerial Advisory Committee on Traditional Chinese Medicine set up by the Victorian Minister for Health the Hon. Rob Knowles, and a summary of the public consultation process completed following publication of the discussion paper on options for regulation.

'Towards a Safer Choice'

The report Towards a Safer Choice: The Practice of Traditional Chinese Medicine in Australia was launched by Minister Knowles in November 1996. The researchers, Mr Alan Bensoussan and Dr Stephen Myers investigated and reported on seven main areas:

1. The regulatory frameworks in China, other countries, and all States of Australia.
2. The profile of the TCM workforce in Victoria, N.S.W. and Queensland including the organisations that represent practitioners.
3. The profile of patients using TCM.
4. The risks and benefits of TCM.
5. The nature of the links and referral networks between practitioners of TCM and other health care practitioners.
6. The nature of TCM education in Australia and China.
7. The adequacy or otherwise of the current state regulatory frameworks.

The report provides the first comprehensive view of the practice of Traditional Chinese Medicine in Australia. Copies are available from University of Western Sydney Macarthur, Tel: (046) 203 347, Fax: (046) 254 252 or E-mail: j.slater@uws.edu.au

Role of AHMAC

Health practitioner registration is a power that rests with State and Territory Governments. However, as a result of implementation of Federal and State Mutual Recognition legislation, the Australian Health Ministers Advisory Council (AHMAC) has established processes and criteria for assessing applications for registration from unregistered health occupations. AHMAC is made up of the heads of all State and Commonwealth Health Departments. It meets at regular intervals to make recommendations to State, Territory and Federal Health Ministers on matters of common concern.

AHMAC has agreed that no new health occupation will be registered by any State without agreement from a majority of states. At its February 1997 meeting, AHMAC endorsed the Victorian review process, and agreed for Victoria to take the lead in developing a proposal for regulation of TCM. Policy recommendations arising from the review will inform State and Territory Health Ministers in determining whether to proceed with statutory based registration of TCM practitioners in each State/Territory, and if so, what form should this take.

Ministerial Advisory Committee on TCM

At the launch of the report Towards a Safer Choice, the Victorian Minister for Health announced the formation of a Ministerial Advisory Committee on TCM. The role of the Committee is to assess the findings of the report and make recommendations on a regulatory framework for Victoria. To ensure adequate involvement in the process from all those with an interest, two subcommittees of the Ministerial Advisory Committee were also established. The following people were appointed to the Committee and/or its subcommittees:

Ministerial Advisory Committee:

Chair: Mr Robert Doyle, MP. Parliamentary Secretary to the Victorian Minister for Health

Executive Officer: Ms Anne-Louise Carlton

• Ms Jocelyn Bennett
• Ms Meredith Carter
• Mr Max Pettelin
• Associate Professor Rob Moulds
• Dr Stephen Myers
• Professor Dick Smallwood
• Associate Professor Evan Willis
• Mr Alan Bensoussan
• Dr Bing-Zhong Chen
• Mr Steven Clavey
• Dr Ben Foo
• Prof. Andy Kleynhans
• Prof. T. Chiang Lin
• Mr Brian May
• Prof. Jerry Zhang
• Dr Vivian Lin

Primary TCM Practitioners Subcommittee:

Chair: Dr Vivian Lin

• Ms Shelley Beer
• Ms Jocelyn Bennett
• Ms Christine Berle
• Ms Chen Ying
• Ms Judy James
• Prof. Kai Zhu Li
• Ms Sue Li
• Prof. Yoland Lim
• Prof. Wong Lun
• Ms Glenys Savage
• Prof. Peter Sherwood
• Dr Deyuan Wang
• Dr Kerry Watson
• Dr Charlie Xue
• Prof Samuel Zheng

Generalist TCM Practitioners Subcommittee:
Chair: Dr Graham Rouch

• Ms Jocelyn Bennett
• Ms Christine Berle
• Dr Paul Ghaie (Medicine)
• Mr Peter Gigante (Shiatsu Massage)
• Ms Judy James
• Mr Raymond Khoury (Naturopathy)
• Prof. Andy Kleynhans (Chiropractic)
• Mr Brian May
• Mr Peter Richardson (Physiotherapy)
• Prof. Yuri Sawenko (Nursing)
• Dr Yuntian Sun (Medicine)
• Ms Grace Tham (Nursing)
• Dr C.T. Tsiang (Medicine)
• Ms Vivienne Williams

Public Consultation Process

The Victorian Ministerial Advisory Committee on TCM approved the release of a discussion paper in August 1997, with a deadline for submissions of Friday 24th October 1997. Availability of the document was advertised in The Australian on Saturday 30th August 1997 and through the Internet. Due to the delay in release of the Chinese language version of the document, the deadline for submissions was extended until Wednesday 12th November 1997. Over 2,000 copies of the English language version of the paper have been distributed and approximately 200 copies of the Chinese language version.

Public Meetings

Public meetings were held in Queensland, NSW and Victoria, sponsored by the organisations listed below. Information on the review process was presented by a panel of speakers from the Ministerial Advisory Committee and Subcommittees. Attendances ranged from 20 to over 120 participants with a total of approximately 400 people attending the meetings. Thank you to all those organisations which assisted with the consultation process and sponsored public meetings, including the Australian Natural Therapists Association, the Australian Traditional Medicine Society, Federation of Chinese Medicine Societies, Australian Acupuncture Association, Chronic Illness Alliance (Victorian Health Issues Centre), and the Alliance of Traditional Chinese Medicine Associations.

The main issues of concern raised at the public meetings were:

1. Widespread support for statutory registration and a national process for accreditation of courses.
2. Concern about arrangements for grand-parenting of existing practitioners in the event of introduction of statutory registration.
3. Concern that non-English speaking practitioners might be disadvantaged by any stringent language requirements.

Submissions

A total of 78 written submissions were received. They were divided into five main categories:

Category A: Organisations such as the Health Issues Centre and the Anti Cancer Council which have no direct interest in the provision of TCM services. (13 submissions)

Category B: Organisations which represent practitioners or students of Chinese Medicine. This includes the universities that operate courses of training. (18 submissions)

Category C: Organisations whose members practice TCM as part of other health care practices or who have some other direct interest such as training generic practitioners. (11 submissions).

Category D: Individual practitioners of TCM or TCM students. (28 submissions).

Category E: Consumers of Chinese Medicine. (8 submissions).

There was widespread support for statutory based occupational registration of TCM practitioners, from both TCM organisations and from mainstream organisations. Some of the organisations which support the introduction of statutory registration include:

•  AMA Queensland Branch
•  Anti-Cancer Council
•  Australian Complementary Health Association
•  Australian Physiotherapy Association (Victorian Branch)
•  Health Complaints Commissioner of NSW
•  Health Issues Centre
•  Health Services Commissioner of Victoria
•  Nurses Board of Victoria
•  RMIT University
•  The Victorian Workcover Authority
•  Mr John Thwaites, Victorian Shadow Minister for Health.
•  University of Sydney
•  University of Technology Sydney.
•  Victoria University

Most organisations believe that self-regulation will not adequately protect the public. They generally support the Victorian model of health practitioner registration as suitable, and provided a range of comments on how a registration board should be structured, standard setting and grand fathering arrangements, and arrangements for non-English speaking practitioners.

The work of the Ministerial Advisory Committee and its subcommittees is nearing completion with the finalisation of a report to Minister Knowles on a proposed model for regulation of the TCM profession.

Newsletter No. 4, August 1998 (Summary)

The final report of the Victorian Ministerial Advisory Committee on Traditional Chinese Medicine on Options for Regulation of TCM Practitioners was launched by the Premier, the Hon. Jeff Kennett, at Parliament House Victoria on Thursday 6th August 1998. Approximately 250 people attended the launch, which included a range of displays and demonstrations of acupuncture, moxibustion, cupping, massage and Chinese herbal medicine.

At the Australian Health Ministers Conference held on 30th July 1998, all State, Territory and Commonwealth Health Ministers agreed for Victoria to proceed with legislative regulation of practitioners of TCM.

This remainder of this issue of the newsletter presented extracts from speeches presented at the launch.

Newsletter No. 5, June 1999 (Summary)

In August 1998 Premier Kennett announced that Victoria would be the first jurisdiction to prepare legislation for the statutory registration of practitioners of Chinese medicine. This legislation was to include provision for statutory registration of Chinese herbal medicine practitioners, acupuncturists and Chinese herbal dispensers, as well as establishing a system of regulation of Chinese herbs under the Victorian Drugs Poisons and Controlled Substances Act.

The Victorian Chinese Medicine Registration Bill 1999 was introduced into the Victorian Parliament on 26^th May 1999. The bill received its second reading and was held over for debate and passage in the Spring Sessions of Parliament 1999.

Newsletter No. 5 contained a summary of the Key Features of the Victorian Chinese Medicine Registration Bill, 1999 and a copy of the Second Reading Speech given in the Legislative Assembly of the Victorian Parliament given by the Hon. Denis Napthine, Minister for Youth and Community Services, on Friday 28^th May 1999. This information has been superseded by Newsletter No. 6 that outlines the key features of the Chinese Medicine Registration Act 2000 as passed by the Victorian Parliament.