5 minutes with Ananda Mahony (Australian Natural Therapists Association)
ANTA Treasurer and Naturopathy Chair
MMed (Pain Science), BHSc (Naturopathy), Grad Cert (Nutrition)
What led you to being involved with ANTA?
I was looking for an association that supported the nutritional aspects of my naturopathic practice as well as herbal medicine focus, and ANTA provided that broad focus. As a practicing naturopath, I also wanted to be part of an association whose focus was on clinical practice first and foremost. For me it was also important that ANTA has clear and established guidelines regarding standards of practice.
What are some of the projects ANTA are working on at present?
- After the last few years, which were tough for practitioners, we asked our members how else we can support them in the work they do and what they want us to focus on. As a result, we are continuing the work we do to drive statutory registration for Naturopathic Medicine in Australia and advocating Private Healthcare Australia to restore private Health Insurance benefits to Naturopaths across Australia.
- We have also recently reviewed our internal services and processes to improve connection and delivery of member services. This involved updating our administration and marketing platforms, a new website and includes in-house marketing and a national practitioner directory.
- ANTA’s continued support of ingestive therapies by way of participation in NTREAP, the Australian Department of Health’s re-review of existing evidence to verify the safety, quality, cost effectiveness and clinical efficacy of Naturopathic Medicine in Australia which is currently progressing to an outcome.
- ANTA’s ongoing representation to colleges, universities, and RTO’s to provide guidance and leadership for educators to raise standards and maintain premium educational services to all students and practitioners nationally.
- And of course, a few projects still on the down-low that are yet to come to fruition
What are the benefits of being a member of an Association?
Being a member of an association means you are provided with a stronger voice to advocate for the specific needs of your clinical practice and modality. It also means you are provided with a TGA exemption, which allows access to practitioner only products and compounding. You have access to tailored professional indemnity insurance that covers the specific needs of clinical practice and your modality as well as those extended insurance needs to protect you professionally and ensure you receive the best support possible in resolving issues around practice and delivery of services. Specifically, regarding ANTA, our new website has an extensive member directory, which makes it easier for people to find you and is competitive in common search engines. For students and new graduates, each year ANTA provides guidance and material support through the award of bursaries and graduate awards, along with practitioner business assistance resources. ANTA also hosts free education days.
How can a member get involved in their association?
We have 4 free CPE days around the country each year. This is an opportunity for members, and non-members alike to talk to their modality board member about what is important to them. I love being on the ground and hearing from our long term, and newer ANTA members about what their needs are and how we can support them. Additionally, every ANTA member has the opportunity to attend our general meetings where board members discuss and vote on critical issues, giving you a voice to influence policy impacting your modality.
Contact details
1800 817 577
