The establishment of the CNHC

Launched with government backing through the Department of Health, the setting up of the CNHC was facilitated by The Prince's Foundation for Integrated Health. A Federal Working Group, chaired by Professor Dame Joan Higgins, undertook the preliminary work during 2007.

The CNHC is now a separate, independent organisation (Company Limited by Guarantee), with its own Board of Directors. It has a number of component parts which support the work of the whole body.

The Federal Regulatory Board (FRB), consisting of 9 lay members, is responsible for strategic direction and for ensuring that the organisation functions effectively in the public interest. Professional interest is strongly represented through membership of the Profession Specific Boards (PSBs) - one for each group of professions being regulated. The four Functional Committees, dealing with Education & Standards; Conduct & Competence; Registration; and Finance, will consist mainly of lay experts supported by professional specific input. The Professional Advisory Panel will be another source of professional advice to the FRB.

CNHC will provide a robust process for handling complaints, a code of conduct and ethics, and a voluntary registration system for competent, well-qualified and responsible professionals. After proving they meet the necessary high standards of the CNHC, practitioners will be able to register with the Council and the public will be able to check that their practitioner is suitably qualified. CNHC vetting procedures should ensure that consumers can access complementary or natural healthcare confidently and safely.

The CNHC will be led by two CoChairs, who will have equal decision making powers but who will work together collegially to support the high workload arising from setting up a brand new organistion and the need to establish good relationships with the supporting organisations who are part of the regulatory process

The work of the CNHC will be managed by a part time Chief Executive Officer/Registrar and a part time Administrator, in the first instance. Staffing levels will be closely monitored on a regular basis in the light of increasing workload. The FRB is conscious that the CNHC needs to operate effectively and efficiently, so that the economies of scale are passed to those whose names appear on its register.

We wish to be a user friendly, effective organisation, that engages both professionals and the public in our work. We hope you will continue to use this web site and contribute to the work of the organisation.