Complementary medicines

Under the National Health and Medical Research Council Act 1992, National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) has a responsibility to inquire into, issue guidelines on, and advise the community on, matters relating to:

• the improvement of health
• the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of disease
• the provision of health care
• public health research and medical research
• ethical issues relating to health.

NHMRC is of the view that all health treatments, whether conventional, traditional or complementary, should be subject to a rigorous evaluation of the evidence for effectiveness. Complementary medicine is a broad term used to describe a wide range of health care medicines and therapies (forms of treatment that do not involve medicines).

Reviewing the evidence of effectiveness of natural therapies

For more information on NHMRC's involvement in the Natural Therapies Review 2024, visit Natural Therapies Review 2024.

Talking with your patients about Complementary Medicine – a Resource for Clinicians

NHMRC, under the guidance of the Health Care Committee, developed a resource for clinicians to facilitate discussion with patients regarding their use of complementary medicine.

In April 2014, NHMRC published Talking with your patients about Complementary Medicine – a Resource for Clinicians (Resource). This Resource aims to promote collaborative discussions between clinicians and their patients about the use of complementary medicine. The ultimate aim of the Resource is to better equip patients to make informed decisions about their health care.

The Resource is aimed at clinicians, including medical practitioners, nurses, nurse practitioners and allied health professionals. Whilst not the primary target audience for the Resource, members of the Australian community, who use or are considering using complementary medicine, may also find the document helpful.

Other activities

Research funding

NHMRC supports investigator-driven research into complementary medicine through its funding schemes such as Investigator Grants and Ideas Grants. Since 2014, NHMRC has provided more than $24.6 million in funding for scientific research into complementary medicine.

Contact

For further information contact: publichealth@nhmrc.gov.au