National Natural Therapies Workforce Survey :
Part 2
Sandra Grace and Kate Baltrotsky
This is the second and final part of a report of the results from the 2022 National Natural Therapies Workforce Survey . Participants were invited by natural therapy associations in Australia to participate in an online survey that was open between 29 March 2022 and 28 May 2022 . A total of 1,921 responses were recorded . All percentages in this report are valid percentages , which excludes missing data . Analyses were conducted using both the total number of all natural therapists who responded and the total number of respondents in each of the following discipline categories :
• Physical Medicine – Aromatherapy , Bowen therapy , Hydrotherapy , Kinesiology , Myotherapy , Osteopathy , Reflexology , Remedial Massage , Shiatsu , Sports massage , Massage therapy / Swedish / relaxation massage , Yoga Therapy
• Ingestive Medicine – Ayurveda , Homeopathy , Naturopathy , Nutrition , Western herbal medicine
• Energetic Medicine – Energetic medicine , Energetic healing , Reiki
• Registered Profession – Acupuncture , Chinese herbal medicine , Chiropractic , General medical practice , Nursing , Pharmacy , Physiotherapy
• Mind-body Medicine – Counselling , Meditation / relaxation , Psychology , Lifestyle medicine
Part 1 , published in the previous issue ( see JATMS 30 ( 1 ): 8-14 ) presented demographic data ( including primary discipline , gender , age , professional association ) and education of respondents . Part 2 presents a summary of the business practices of respondents ( including number of consultations , income , referral networks , adverse reactions and the affect of the COVID-19 pandemic ). A total of 1833 respondents provided information about their discipline and were given 31 discipline areas to choose from in the survey . Of the total respondents , 218 selected ‘ Other ’ with the option to describe their discipline . ‘ Other ’ disciplines included music therapy , Bach flower remedies , beauty therapy , Chinese cupping , life coaching , dry needling , lymphatic drainage , personal trainer , stone therapy and more .
Results 3 . Business and Practice Gross Income of all Respondents Figure 3.1 depicts the gross income of all respondents . Valid percent is reported . However it should be noted that this question was not answered by 533 ( 27.8 %). The highest percentage of respondents ( 21.8 %, 303 out of 1388 ) earned between $ 20,000 - $ 40,001 , followed by 18.1 % ( 251 out of 1388 ) who earned between $ 40,001- $ 60,000 , and 13.6 % ( 189 out of 1388 ) who earned between $ 10,001 - $ 20,000 .
Gross Income Per Discipline Category Figure 3.2 depicts gross income by discipline category reported by participants . Registered professionals consistently earned the most ( 9.2 % or 12 out of 130 earned over $ 120,000 ). A total of 27.4 % or 163 out of 596 Physical Medicine practitioners earned $ 20,000- $ 40,000 ; 21.8 % ( 130 out of 596 ) earned $ 40,000- $ 60,000 and 12.4 % ( 74 out of 596 ) earned $ 60,000 - $ 80,000 . A total of 18.9 % or 92 out of 486 Ingestive Medicine Practitioners earned less than $ 5,000 ; 16.1 % ( 78 out of 486 ) earned $ 20,000- $ 40,000 and 7.2 % ( 35 out of 486 ) earned over $ 120,000 . A total of 26.3 % or 5 out of 19 Energetic Medicine
68 | vol30 | no2 | JATMS