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Australia

The most popular branches are chiropractic, acupuncture, naturopathy, massage, herbal medicine, and homoeopathy, but many other treatments are widespread, such as traditional Chinese medicine, reflexology, iridology, and aromatherapy. The Adelaide survey showed that women were more likely than men to use alternative treatments, while another study suggested that women who had received tertiary education were more likely to use complementary medicine than those who had not.

Regulation of non-conventional medicine is organised along regional lines, but state to state variations are small. Much greater are the variations among treatments. In Victoria, for example, acupuncture is a four year university based degree course and chiropractors and osteopaths are formally registered with the Chiropractors' and Osteopaths' Registration Board of Victoria; aromatherapy, iridology, reflexology, and homoeopathy, meanwhile, may be practised by anyone. Several universities now offer bachelor degrees in natural therapies as well as government accredited courses, and some of these courses attract education grants.

Complementary treatments are not generally covered by the compulsory federal medical insurance service, Medicare. The exceptions are medically trained general practitioners performing certain treatments, such as acupuncture, in their own surgeries. Private health funds, on the other hand, are beginning to cover selected treatments such as chiropractic and osteopathy, acupuncture, and physiotherapy, and one Sydney private hospital has purchased a "wellness programme" to offer its patients Swedish and shiatsu massage and yoga classes.

Research into complementary treatments in Australia is largely funded by manufacturers of "alternative" products, and medical attitudes remain correspondingly cautious. The Australian Medical Association president, Dr Keith Woolard, said: "We're not out to stop anyone investing their money in going to a chiropractor or naturopath, or whatever, as long as they're safe, but we certainly don't think there should be any government funding for such therapies until there's clear and strong evidence of benefit."--CHRISTOPHER ZINN, Australian correspondent, Guardian