Chiropractic regulation at work: Protecting the public in 2015/16

07 Mar 2017

A profession-specific annual report summary that looks into the work of the Chiropractic Board of Australia over the year to 30 June 2016 has now been published.

The report draws on data from the 2015/16 annual report by AHPRA and the National Boards.

Information includes the number of applications for registration, outcomes of criminal history checks and segmentation of the registrant base by gender, age and principal place of practice.

Notifications information includes the number of complaints or concerns received, matters open and closed during the year, types of complaint, statutory offence complaints (such as advertising breaches) and matters involving immediate action.

Insights into the profession include:

• As at 30 June 2016, there were 5,167 registered chiropractors in Australia. 
• Chiropractors make up 0.8% of all registered health practitioners. 
• Women made up 38.5% of the profession. 
• New South Wales was the principal place of practice for most chiropractors (1,736); the Northern Territory was home to the least (23). 
• The age bracket with the most practitioners was 25-29 (857 registrants). 
• 135 chiropractors were under 25 years of age; 13 were aged 80 or over. 
• The total number of registered chiropractic students decreased by 34.5% compared to 2014/15 (to 1,240). 
• As part of the registration process, 787 criminal history checks were carried out. Of 66 disclosable court outcomes, none required regulatory action. 
• 82 notifications (complaints or concerns) were lodged with AHPRA about chiropractors during the year. 
• 601 matters were raised about possible statutory offences relating to chiropractic services in 2015/16 – most related to unlawful advertising. 
• These complaints constitute 44.6% of all statutory offence matters received across all 14 registered health professions. 
• Due to the above, the Chiropractic Board of Australia conducted a voluntary, anonymous survey of chiropractors during the year to gain a better understanding of practitioners’ knowledge of their obligations under the National Law.

To download this report, or to view the main 2015/16 annual report and summary reports by state or territory, visit our microsite.

In the coming month, AHPRA and the National Boards will publish summaries that break down 2015/16 data for the remaining 13 boards in the National Scheme.

For more information

• Visit the AHPRA website 
• Lodge an online enquiry form 
• For registration enquiries: 1300 419 495 (within Australia) +61 3 9275 9009 (overseas callers) 
• For media enquiries: (03) 8708 9200