Infection prevention and control guidelines for acupuncture practice

The Guidelines on infection prevention and control for acupuncture and related practices explain the Chinese Medicine Board of Australia’s (the Board) expectations of Chinese medicine practitioners to provide safe acupuncture services.

The Board has adopted the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) Australian guidelines for the prevention and control of infection in health care (the Australian guidelines) to inform acupuncturists on infection prevention and control.

All registered acupuncturists must comply with:

• the NHMRC guidelines 
• the Board guidelines, and 
• relevant state, territory and local government requirements which apply to their place of business.

The guidelines help Chinese medicine practitioners to practise acupuncture safely and support the Board’s effort to facilitate public access to safe health services. A copy of these guidelines, in either printed or electronic form, must be on all premises where acupuncture is practised.

Revised Guidelines for infection prevention and control for acupuncture and related practices were published by the Board on 1 September 2023 and took effect on 1 December 2023. Read about the consultation process for the revised guidelines Past consultation page or in the consultation report below.

Guidelines

Related Resources

Retired documents