Courses

The information below is a general guide about the courses that are offered at the college.  For a detailed list of the course offered by the college, please click on the Course List button below.

All courses may be undertaken on either a full‑time, or a part‑time basis, in which the students take on as many modules within a course as they feel that they can handle.

The academic year usually commences late February and comprises two semesters each of two terms. Flexible learning courses may be started at any time during the year.

Course content for the various Certificate and Diploma Courses offered by the College may be changed from time to time at the discretion of the Principal.

Certificate Courses

Statements of Attainments and Certificates are awarded for individual modules / modules in all modalities. There are four levels of certificate courses available.

General Interest and Short Courses

Three to six month introductory courses, for general interest, clinic assistants and receptionists, and those who will be working under a qualified practitioner.

Certificate II, III & IV Courses

Several Competencies are undertaken over a six to eighteen month period, along a defined path leading to an acknowledgment that the student has a specified level of competency in a particular field. These certificates are often undertaken on a post-graduate level but many may be completed without prior knowledge in the Natural Therapies field provided that all pre-requisites for individual modules are completed.

Certificates teach specific knowledge in specialised areas of a general or specific nature, depending on the level of pre-requisite knowledge required. The Certificate 2 course is available in Retail Operations. Graduates of the Certificate 3 and 4 in Natural and Traditional Therapies may be able to gain work as assistants but are not considered qualified to act as such in their own right. Graduates of the Certificate 4 in Massage Therapies are qualified to work as massage practitioners in their own right. This is considered to be the entry level to the massage therapy profession.

Diploma Courses

The three (or two) year full-time Diploma courses adequately prepare graduates to gain work as practitioners with limited supervision. Most graduates are employed in naturopathic or chiropractic practices, in the health food (retail) industry, in gymnasiums and in health resorts.

Graduates at this level are eligible to apply for membership of some of the Federal Therapeutic Goods Administration Board Regulations Schedule 1 Associations.

An Advertising exemption certificate under Schedule 1 of the Therapeutic Goods Regulations is available on joining one of these Associations. It is the student's own responsibility to obtain a Level 3 First Aid or Cardiac Pulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) Certificate, completed outside the College, prior to graduation.

The Diploma of Natural Animal Care teaches natural methods of animal rearing, encompassing the philosophies of traditional healing methods. The formalising of knowledge of animal care into a Diploma course will result in a greater awareness of the need for natural animal care practitioners in the community. Graduates of the Animal Care Course cannot advise members of the public that they are registered veterinary practitioners and surgical procedures are not applied.

Advanced Diploma of Applied Science Courses

For those seeking a career as a Natural Therapist, graduates of the Advanced Diploma of Applied Science, completed over (three or) four years, full-time, are trained to be proficient and responsible practitioners. Clinical training is an important facet of the course and the emphasis of the course is to prepare students for a career as primary contact practitioners.

Compliance with health fund requirements and membership requirements to the major naturopathic associations can be easily met with a minimum of extra study in elective modules.

Graduates are eligible to apply for membership of those Associations listed by the Federal Therapeutic Goods Administration Board Regulations Schedule 1 Associations. As members of a Schedule 1 Association, they are eligible for the advertising exemption under Schedule 1 of the Therapeutic Goods Regulations. Patients of Association members receive rebates from the major health funds. While completion of all Year One, Two and Three modules are a prerequisite for entry into Year Four, the College accepts graduates from other colleges to commence at this level, provided they hold Year Three equivalent certification which is approved by the College. It is the student's own responsibility to obtain a current St John or Red Cross First Aid Certificate, completed outside the College, prior to graduation.

Advanced Diploma of Applied Science (Honours)

The Advanced Diploma of Applied Science with Honours courses as offered by the College, are comprised of the Advanced Diploma of Applied Science Courses plus additional non-accredited requirements. Completion of these requirements will result in the graduate being awarded a Nationally Recognised Advanced Diploma of Applied Science qualification, plus an additional industry accredited qualification that is not accredited by the SA Accreditation and Registration Council.

This qualification is designed in both its structure and content to fulfil the accreditation requirements for Fellow membership with the Australian Natural Therapists Association (ANTA). In particular, this requires a structured course consisting of 25% basic and medical sciences, 20-25% supervised clinical practice, and 40‑45% naturopathic sciences.

While completion of all Year One, Two and Three modules are a pre-requisite for entry into the fourth year, the College accepts graduates from other colleges to commence at this level, provided they hold Year Three equivalent certification which is approved by the College. It is the student's own responsibility to have or obtain a current St John or Red Cross First Aid Certificate, completed outside the College, prior to graduation.

This final year is one of the most challenging, as graduates are usually operating in their own clinics whilst completing their research projects, attending lectures, seminars and workshops. It is one of the most rewarding years at the College as the graduates see the realisation of their goals and the completion of years of hard study secure in the knowledge that they have a solid foundation of competency and professionalism with which to begin their journey into their chosen career.