AUSTRALIAN NATUROPATHIC NETWORK
 Serving the community since 1998

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General

• The Australian National Training Authority has endorsed a health industry training package that covers CAM practitioners.

• Courses are offered mostly by private colleges. 

• Southern Cross University introduced a four year program leading to a Bachelor of Naturopathy in 1996 through their School of Natural and Complementary Medicine.

• The University of Western Sydney offers a three year Bachelor of Health Science (Naturopathy) in conjunction with Endeavour College (Sydney).  This was formerly Bachelor of Health Science (Complementary Therapies).

• Latrobe University in Victoria offers a 5 year combined Bachelor of Nursing/Naturopathy  THIS COURSE IS NOT ACCEPTING ANY FURTHER INTAKE OF STUDENTS.

• Courses offered by private colleges generally lead to the award of Advanced Diploma of Naturopathy although some offer recognised Bachelor level degrees.
  
  
• A small number of Universities offer extension programs that take the Advanced Diploma level qualifications to Bachelor degree level, these include:

Charles Sturt University (Bachelor of Health Science - Complementary Medicine)
University of New England (Bachelor of Health Science - Conversion)
Victoria University (Bachelor of Health Science - Natural Medicine)
Southern Cross University (Bachelor of Natural Therapies)

• Courses are ratified by professional associations which have evaluation committees - graduates of accredited courses are given the right to join the associations that have approved the course.
  
• The ATMS provides a list of colleges that they have given approval to.

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College Links

There are several colleges throughout Australia and not all web links are listed here. A place to check for more colleges is the ATMS web site.

Listing should not be considered an endorsement by the Australian Naturopathic Network.

Australian College of Natural Medicine Inc. (Camberwell, Vic)

Health Schools Australia (Runaway Bay, Qld)

Nature Care College (St Leonards, NSW)

Southern School of Natural Therapies (Melbourne, Vic)

USC School of Natural and Complementary Medicine (Lismore, NSW)

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Reality Check

If you are interested in studying naturopathy give thorough consideration to your decision:

• Do you wish to study full-time or part-time;
• What is the real value of your qualification on graduation;
• What are career options on graduation;
• How reputable is the college you are considering - do the courses have the recognition of relevant associations;
• What do students say about the college;
• How professional/helpful is the college administration;
• Do you understand and subscribe to a fundamental philosophy regarding naturopathy; and most importantly
• Why do you really want to be a naturopath.

Many people make the mistake of thinking that naturopathy is all "peace, love, and mung beans", and thus also think that any study in the area will be light and breezy. In fact obtaining recognized qualifications as a naturopath is a hard slog. The academic high-jumps may not be high (at this point in time at some of the private colleges), but there is a large volume of work and many years of study to commit to. Furthermore, competition in the market is high and naturally patients expect tangible benefits. An incompetent practitioner will simply not survive.

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