SCMA – ACT is a professional body in Chinese Medicine. It is established since 2002 and follows the National Registration 2012. Chinese Medicine in Australia is under the regulation of the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA). There is a Chinese Medicine Board in Australia (CMBA) where we contribute our knowledge to the Board, and provide a networking platform for practitioners in order to better serve our health services to all Australians in addition to promoting awareness towards Chinese Medicine. SCMA – ACT also has a strong link with The Federation of Chinese Medicine & Acupuncture Societies of Australia (FCMA).

FCMA was established and incorporated as an affiliation of six Chinese medicine associations in Victoria, New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Western Australia and Australian Capital Territory. The FCMA has uniform national standards in relation to membership criteria, continuing professional development (CPD) requirements, code of practice, senior First Aid requirement, professional indemnity insurance requirement, and formal disciplinary procedures which apply to all state and territory-based branches of the FCMA and FCMA members.

There are 4860 registered Chinese Medicine practitioners in Australia in year 2016/17 with just 1.4% of them in ACT. Although we represent a small number of practitioners here, we are strong in our ethics and take pride in providing the best and suitable Chinese health services for the public in this region. We hold a majority of acupuncturist, Chinese Medicine herbalists and herbal dispenser memberships in this region. We are a not-for-profit organization and consist of three major groups of members: registered practitioners, associated memberships with people of various health backgrounds, and student memberships. Registered practitioners are those who are qualified to provide acupuncture treatment, herbal therapies and/or herbal dispensaries. Associated memberships are open to anyone with various health backgrounds – they can be massage therapist and/or other health professionals.

Chinese Medicine practitioner is a regulated profession in Australia, and thus information regarding this health field can be easily accessible through numerous government and association websites. We invite other people of various health backgrounds to embrace their knowledge and possibly work alongside with us for greater health benefits for the people. We aim to create continuous awareness in relation to Chinese Medicine in order to connect with the community who shares similar interest. We would like to build good health professional networks to better serve the people in the region.

SCMA – ACT has three objectives:

• To maintain the professionalism in Chinese Medicine practitioners in accordance to CMBA’s requirements.
• To offer ongoing Continuous Professional Development (CPD) programs to the members and public to maintain the Chinese Medicine relevance to the community.
• To support, involve and integrate in government’s initiatives in the health field as well as in the well-being programs of other health groups, especially in the natural therapies area.