If you saw a naturopath in the UK for hormone-related symptoms and are now moving to Western Australia, you can find similar care in Perth. The rules around it differ. Australian naturopaths sit outside the government register, and you will usually pay the whole fee yourself.
See your GP first. For polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), endometriosis, perimenopause or irregular cycles, a medical assessment comes before anything else. A good naturopath expects to work alongside your doctor and will ask who that is.
Is naturopathy regulated in Australia?
Not by law. Your GP and your pharmacist are registered with the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (Ahpra). Even Chinese medicine practitioners are on it. Naturopaths are not.
The profession regulates itself through associations such as the Naturopaths and Herbalists Association of Australia (NHAA) and the Australian Traditional-Medicine Society (ATMS). Each sets a minimum qualification for members and requires them to hold insurance and keep up continuing education.
If you used a naturopath in the UK, none of this is new. There is no statutory regulation there either, and practitioners join voluntary registers. So the check is the same in both countries. Ask which association a practitioner belongs to, then find their name on that association's own website. In Western Australia, complaints about any health service, including unregistered practitioners, go to the Health and Disability Services Complaints Office (HaDSCO).
Then there is the money. Medicare does not cover naturopathy. Private health insurers stopped paying rebates for it in April 2019, after a federal review of natural therapies. If you are picking an extras policy after the move, ask the insurer directly and ignore any policy summary written before 2019.
Herbs and supplements come under the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA). Most carry an AUST L number, which makes them listed medicines. The TGA checks them for quality and ingredient safety. It does not test whether they work. (The nearest UK equivalent is the MHRA's Traditional Herbal Registration scheme.) Some naturopaths also dispense practitioner-only products you won't find on a shop shelf. Ask for the full product name and ingredient list, so your GP and pharmacist can see exactly what you are taking.
How Australian naturopaths train
Until the mid-2010s, many Australian naturopaths qualified with an Advanced Diploma from a private college. That diploma was phased out of the national training system. New practitioners now complete a bachelor's degree, typically four years full time, covering anatomy, physiology, biochemistry and pharmacology alongside herbal medicine and clinical nutrition. Students also log supervised hours in a teaching clinic.
If you take the pill or thyroxine, the pharmacology units count for more than the rest. Someone who has studied herb and drug interactions is better placed to spot a clash before you swallow it.
Plenty of practitioners qualified before the change and hold the older diploma. Twenty years of seeing women with PCOS counts for a lot. Ask what they trained in, and how much of their week goes on hormone health.
The evidence is thinner than many clinic websites suggest. For PCOS, a few supplements such as inositol have been through clinical trials, with mixed results. For endometriosis and perimenopause, most herbal approaches have little trial data behind them. A careful naturopath says so at the first visit. Be wary of anyone who promises to fix a hormonal condition.
Registering with a GP comes first
In Australia you choose your own general practice. There's no catchment area like the NHS. Some practices bulk bill, meaning Medicare covers the whole fee. Many charge a gap. Ask when you book, because the receptionist will know even when the website doesn't say.
UK citizens who settle permanently can enrol in Medicare. Until then, the reciprocal health care agreement between the two countries covers medically necessary treatment for UK residents visiting Australia. Elective care is not included.
Before you leave, get copies of your GP records and recent blood results. The NHS App shows some of this. A printed summary of your diagnoses and medicines is still quicker to hand over at a first appointment in Perth.
A few terms change. Australian doctors usually say menopausal hormone therapy (MHT) rather than HRT. For PCOS, GPs work from the 2023 international evidence-based guideline, which was led from Monash University in Melbourne. Endometriosis still needs a referral to a gynaecologist for diagnosis, as in the UK.
Blood tests your GP orders through Medicare usually cost far less than tests a naturopath arranges privately. A private hormone panel or gut test can cost hundreds of dollars. Ask your GP first whether an equivalent test makes clinical sense.
What a first consultation looks like in Australia
Set aside about an hour. Most of it goes on your health history, including your cycle and any contraception. Take recent blood results and a full list of what you take, prescribed or not. The naturopath should check every herb against that list before suggesting it.
With your consent, many practitioners write to your GP afterwards, and a review usually follows a few weeks later. Some clinics state this on their websites. Floralia Wellness, a Perth based naturopathy clinic, mentions working with patients' GPs on conditions such as PCOS and perimenopause. If a clinic says nothing about GPs, ask on the phone before you book.
A short safety checklist before you book
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Check the practitioner's membership on the NHAA or ATMS website, or with whichever association they name.
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Tell your GP and your naturopath about every medicine and supplement you take. St John's wort, for example, can make hormonal contraception less effective.
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Read the label on any menopause product. Black cohosh, often taken for hot flushes, must carry a warning about rare liver harm in Australia.
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Don't stop prescribed medication because a naturopath suggests it. Any change goes through the doctor who prescribed it.
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Ask what each recommended test costs, and whether your GP could order the same thing through Medicare.
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See a doctor promptly for severe pelvic pain or any bleeding after menopause.
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