Acupuncture

Information on Recognition

In order to obtain recognition as a Bupa Australia Recognised provider, for Acupuncture benefit payment purposes, the applicant will:

Graduates of Australian Programmes

• Have completed as a minimum, a 4 year full-time or equivalent, Australian Bachelor Degree majoring in Acupuncture.
• The Degree program must substantially conform to Australian Guidelines for Traditional Chinese Medicine Education (2001), especially with regard to curriculum content, overall duration of the programme, mode of delivery, and extent of supervised clinical practice.
• Any educational qualifications substantially attained by distance/online/external mode will not be recognised.
• Meet the Compulsory Additional Recognition Requirements.
• Currently available Australian Masters programmes do not meet criteria for recognition.
• Applicants without an Australian University Bachelor Degree in Acupuncture must have their current competencies assessed by a process approved by Bupa Australia to determine equivalency. For further information, please contact Bupa directly.
• The following courses meet these minimum requirements:

  Educational Institution	Award Title
  Endeavour College of Natural Health*	Bachelor of Health Science (Acupuncture)
  RMIT University	Bachelor of Applied Science (Chinese Medicine)/Bachelor of Applied Science (Human Biology) - double degree award
  University of Technology Sydney	Bachelor of Health Science in Traditional Chinese Medicine. This course may be completed in conjunction with a Bachelor of Arts in International Studies
  University of Western Sydney	Bachelor of Applied Science (Traditional Chinese Medicine) Bachelor of Health Science/Master of Traditional Chinese Medicine [new course]
  Southern School of Natural Therapies	Bachelor of Health Science (Chinese Medicine)
  Victoria University of Technology	Bachelor of Chinese Medicine (Acupuncture and Herbs) [Currently in teach-out mode]

Approval extends to include discontinued accredited bachelor degree programmes in Acupuncture administered by the above institutions.

*Endeavour College of Natural Medicine is the new name of Australian College of Natural Medicine and Melbourne College of Natural Medicine.

Graduates of Overseas Programmes

• The program must be at least equivalent to an Australian Bachelor Degree.
• The Programme must substantially conform to Australian Guidelines for Traditional Chinese Medicine Education (2001), especially with regard to curriculum content, overall duration of the programme, mode of delivery, and extent of supervised clinical practice.
• Any educational qualifications substantially attained by distance learning/on-line/external mode will not be recognised.
• Meet the compulsory additional requirements.
• Applicants who completed their studies primarily in a language other than English must supply evidence of their English language competence. BUPA Australia requires an IELTS Overall Band 6 or equivalent as evidence of suitable English language competence.
• Graduates of the following programmes generally meet the educational component of overseas qualifications criteria:

  Country	Qualification
  Peoples Republic of China Must be assessed as a 'genuine qualification' by vetassess	Bachelor of Medicine (5 year full-time on campus delivery) with a major in Acupuncture OR Tuina OR Traditional Chinese Medicine.
  Republic of Korea	Bachelor of Oriental Medicine (5 to 6 year full-time on-campus delivery) from a South Korean Government approved university.

  All other overseas graduates must have their current competencies assessed by a process approved in writing by Bupa Australia to determine competency. For further information please contact Bupa direct.

Professional Associations

• The following associations are considered a professional association which meets the requirements of rule 10 of the Private Health Insurance (Accreditation Rules 2008) for Acupuncture provider recognistion purposes.

  Association	Association Contact
  Australian Acupuncture and Chinese Medicine Association (AACMA)	Phone: 07 3324 2599 Fax: 07 3394 2399 Email: aacma@acupuncture.org.au Website: www.acupuncture.org.au
  Australian Natural Therapists Association (ANTA)	Phone: 1800 817 577 Fax: 07 5409 8200 Email: info@anta.com.au Website: www.anta.com.au
  Australian Traditional Medicine Society (ATMS)	Phone: 02 9809 6800 Fax: 02 9809 7570 Email: info@atms.com.au Website: www.atms.com.au

Ancillary Provider Terms

View Bupa Australia Accredited Provider Associations