5,000 signatures reached
To: Hon Mark Butler MP - Minister for Health & Aged Care
Put AHPRA Acupuncturists on the MBS Medicare Chronic Disease Management plan (CDM) and DVA
Dear Minister Butler,
We, the undersigned Australian concerned citizens, petition the Australian government to expand the (Chronic Disease Management Plan) CDM and TCA (Team Care Arrangements) under the (Medicare Benefits Schedule) MBS and (Department Veteran Affairs) DVA programs, to include AHPRA registered Acupuncture and Chinese Medicine, as eligible allied health services. With a rich history of efficacy and growing demand, these modalities offer holistic healthcare options that can complement conventional treatments. By integrating Acupuncture and Chinese Medicine into CDM and DVA, patients will have greater access to comprehensive care, fostering improved health and wellbeing outcomes for all Australians nationwide. Acupuncturists have been waiting since AHPRA registration in 2012 to join the CDM and DVA.
Why is this important?
Acupuncturists and Chinese Medicine practitioners are the only AHPRA-registered Allied Health Professionals excluded from Medicare’s Chronic Disease Management (CDM), Team Care Arrangements (TCA), and the Department of Veterans’ Affairs (DVA) programs. This exclusion has continued for over 12 years and represents a significant oversight in Australia’s healthcare system.
Meanwhile, other professions are permitted to perform dry needling under CDM and DVA despite completing only 8–16 hours of training—a technique that represents roughly 1% of true acupuncture knowledge. By contrast, AHPRA-registered Acupuncturists complete 3–4 year degree programs and are Australia’s most comprehensively trained experts in acupuncture.
Acupuncture is a proven, evidence-based treatment for chronic pain and complex health conditions. Yet those with the highest qualifications remain locked out of the very Medicare pathways designed to support vulnerable Australians.
We call on the Australian Government and Parliament to urgently correct this long-standing anomaly.
It is time to include Acupuncturists and Chinese Medicine practitioners in CDM, TCA, and DVA programs so that all Australians—especially those living with chronic illness, persistent pain, and disability—can access safe, qualified, and effective acupuncture care.
It is time to include Acupuncturists and Chinese Medicine practitioners in CDM, TCA, and DVA programs so that all Australians—especially those living with chronic illness, persistent pain, and disability—can access safe, qualified, and effective acupuncture care.
This is a matter of fairness, public safety, and health equity.
How it will be delivered
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