Acupuncturists, herbal medicine practitioners and dispensers · Chinese Medicine Board
The Chinese Medicine Board asks every practitioner to spend at least four CPD hours a year on professional issues. These courses are built for those hours: consent and communication across languages, boundaries during needling and cupping, herbal records, advertising claims and privacy, whichever of the three divisions you practise in.
Most practitioners hold more than one division
In 2024/25 the register listed 4,898 practitioners. Almost all of them (98.3%) were acupuncturists, and close to two thirds held at least two divisions, which means much of this page applies to you twice over. The title acupuncturist is also open to practitioners from other professions whose registration carries an acupuncture endorsement (section 97 of the National Law).
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What complaints are about
Of the 2024/25 notifications about this profession lodged with Ahpra, 88.2% were made by the people practitioners treat, their families or the public, and the rest by fellow practitioners. Clinical care was the largest complaint type at 26.5%, and boundary violations followed at 17.6%, a higher proportion than most professions see. Two further categories reached 14.7% each: communication, and contraventions of National Law provisions that are not offences.
Most finalised notifications (80.0%) closed with no further regulatory action. When the Board did act, though, its action tended to be serious: conditions in 10.0% of finalised matters and suspension, cancellation or disqualification in 6.7%. There were also 8 immediate actions in the year.
Treatment that involves undressing, touch and lying on a couch in a private room calls for careful consent at every step, and language differences can make that harder. Clear explanations, offered draping, an interpreter where needed and good notes protect patients and practitioners alike.
Chinese Medicine Board, 2024/25
Scenarios
Composite examples invented for teaching.
A practitioner places needles near a patient's chest after a brief explanation in English, which is the patient's second language. She does not fully understand and later says she felt uncomfortable and unable to object.
A patient taking warfarin is given a herbal formula. When they develop bruising, the practitioner cannot show which herbs and doses were supplied or what interactions were considered.
A dispenser runs out of one herb and substitutes another without telling the prescribing practitioner or noting the change on the label.
A clinic website features patients' accounts of pregnancies after treatment, with photos of their babies.
A practitioner discusses a patient's gynaecological history at the front desk within earshot of others in a small clinic.
A practitioner treats a close friend's teenage daughter without a parent present and continues to message her afterwards.
Your code and guidelines
Chinese medicine practitioners are among the twelve professions using the shared Code of conduct, adopted with effect from 29 June 2022. The Board adds profession-specific documents, including infection prevention and control guidelines for acupuncture and guidelines for safe practice covering herbal medicine, labelling and dispensing. Our two core courses work from all of them.
CPD registration standard
The Board's revised standards have set these rules since December 2019.
| Requirement | The rule | Can a Probity Courses course help? |
|---|---|---|
| Total CPD | 20 hours a year | Yes, provided the subject fits your practice |
| Professional issues | 4 or more of the 20 hours | Yes. Ethics, conduct, consent, records, communication and advertising are all professional issues |
| Interactive CPD | 5 or more hours involving a two-way exchange with other practitioners | No. Our courses are completed alone and at your own pace |
| Recency of practice | 450 hours over three years, or 150 hours in the past year | Not relevant. Recency is measured in practice hours |
| More than one division | Include learning relevant to each division you hold | Choose courses that cover each of your roles |
A joint 2026 consultation by 14 Boards on new CPD and recency rules ended on 17 July 2026. The current rules apply until any replacement commences.
Written for Chinese medicine practitioners
Start with the two courses written for Chinese medicine practitioners. The third is a three-hour course on ethics and professionalism across acupuncture, herbal medicine and dispensing. All three suit your professional-issues hours.
Ethical reasoning for Chinese medicine: consent across languages, honesty about evidence, fees and fairness.
Professional standards across the three divisions: records, labelling, infection control and conduct.
A longer course on ethics and professionalism in acupuncture, herbal practice and dispensing.
Explaining treatment, risks and fees so the patient can choose.
Draping, touch and relationships with patients and families.
Recording formulas, doses, points and advice.
Testimonials and claims about fertility and chronic illness.
Telling a patient when something has gone wrong.
Privacy in small and shared clinics.
Programs
Touch, draping and relationships
Boundaries, sexual boundaries, chaperones and social media.
Program total A$1,185
Consent and language
Communication, consent, disclosure and dignity.
Program total A$876
Herbal safety and care concerns
Performance, safe care, medicines and teamwork.
Program total A$1,065
A notification is open
From the process to rebuilding trust.
Program total A$1,323
Need a starting point?
The course advisor suggests a short list based on your divisions and your situation. It takes a couple of minutes and your answers stay in your browser.
Open the course advisorNSW and Queensland
The Chinese Medicine Council of New South Wales works with the Health Care Complaints Commission on complaints about NSW practitioners. In Queensland, the Office of the Health Ombudsman receives complaints first and decides whether the Board deals with them. The code and CPD standard are national.
How we write
The Probity Courses editorial team writes each course from the shared code and the Chinese Medicine Board's standards and guidelines, and reviews it when those documents change. Courses are in English, self-paced and online. Each ends with a certificate of completion stating the estimated learning time; record the time you actually spend.
The Chinese Medicine Board of Australia regulates all three divisions of the profession with Ahpra.
Further reading
Twenty a year, including at least four on professional issues and at least five interactive hours.
Ethics, conduct, consent, records, communication and advertising are professional issues, so our courses are designed for those hours. Record which topic each one covered.
No. They are self-paced and done alone. Plan face-to-face or live online activities with other practitioners for your interactive hours.
Your CPD should include learning relevant to each division you hold. Many professional-issues topics, such as consent and records, apply to all of them.
Not testimonials about clinical aspects of care, which the National Law prohibits. That includes stories about pregnancies or recovery from illness after treatment.
Not at present. Courses are written in plain English. Contact us if language is a barrier and we will see what we can suggest.
No course can promise that. Relevant learning, honest reflection and evidence of change can help show insight.
Start with the two core courses and record them against the four hours.
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