Your questions, answered

Naturopathy is a system of healthcare that looks past the symptom to what may be driving it. In practice it means herbal medicine, clinical nutrition, dietary change and lifestyle strategies, chosen for your presentation rather than applied from a template. A consultation is long because taking a full history is most of the work.

A wide range of acute and chronic concerns: digestive disorders, hormonal imbalance, fertility, skin conditions, fatigue, stress, autoimmune and thyroid conditions, PCOS, IBS and sleep among them. The full list is here. If you are not sure whether it suits your situation, ask before you book and reception will tell you honestly.

It varies a great deal by intervention, and it is worth being straight about that. Some things a naturopath uses have a substantial evidence base — dietary change in IBS, specific nutrients in identified deficiency, several well-studied herbs. Others have far less, and some have little beyond tradition. Your naturopath should be able to tell you which category a recommendation falls into, and it is a reasonable question to ask.

No. Diagnosis of disease is a medical act and belongs with your doctor. Your naturopath assesses, forms a clinical impression and may recommend testing, but a diagnosis of coeliac disease, endometriosis, PCOS, thyroid disease or inflammatory bowel disease comes from a GP or specialist. Where your presentation points that way, your naturopath will say so and refer.

No, and nobody here will tell you to stop a prescription. Changing or stopping medication is a decision for the doctor who prescribed it. Your naturopath works alongside that, needs to know everything you take because some herbs interact with medication, and will refer you back to your prescriber where a change is worth discussing.

A nutritionist works with food and nutrients. A naturopath's training covers that plus herbal medicine, and is oriented around the whole presentation rather than diet alone. An Accredited Practising Dietitian is a different thing again — a regulated, university-trained profession that manages medical nutrition therapy, and the right referral for conditions like renal disease or enteral feeding.

"Naturopathic doctor" or "ND" is a North American title and does not exist in Australia. Nobody here uses it. What Australian naturopaths hold is a formal qualification in naturopathy and membership of a professional association — see what qualified means here.

No. You can book directly online or by phone at any time. Naturopathy is not a referred service.

Yes, and it is actively encouraged. Bring any recent blood tests or specialist letters — the more your naturopath has in front of them, the better the consultation. With your consent they can also write to your doctor.

No form of healthcare is risk-free, and be wary of anyone who says otherwise. What reduces risk is specific and within your control: tell your naturopath every medication and supplement you take, tell them if you are pregnant or breastfeeding, keep your GP informed, and go back if something does not feel right. Herbs are active substances — that is the point of them — and some interact with prescription medication.

Straight away for chest pain, difficulty breathing, severe or sudden pain, a high fever, fainting, or any sudden neurological change. Also see your GP first for unexplained weight loss, blood in your stool or urine, a lump, a mole that has changed, bleeding after menopause, or symptoms that wake you at night. Your naturopath will say the same thing and will refer you.

Your first appointment runs 60 minutes. Your naturopath takes a detailed health history — symptoms, diet, sleep, stress, family history and what you want to change — then explains what they think is going on and builds a plan around it. The full step-by-step is here.

Recent blood tests or pathology results, a full list of medications and supplements with doses, and any specialist reports. If you have been given a diagnosis, bring the report rather than your recollection of it.

It depends entirely on what you are presenting with and how long it has been going on. Your naturopath will give you a realistic sense at the first appointment rather than a promise, and will tell you when it is reasonable to expect a review.

There is no set number and no package. Some people come once or twice; long-standing or complex presentations usually take longer. Your naturopath will suggest a review interval and revisit it as you go.

Say so. Your naturopath would rather hear that early than have you stop coming and never say why — and part of their job is telling you when naturopathic care is not the right answer for what you have. There is no commitment beyond the appointment you have booked.

Often, but not automatically. Your naturopath focuses first on diet and lifestyle, which are the foundation. Anything prescribed is explained and priced before you commit.

An initial naturopathy consultation is $160 for 60 minutes and a standard consultation is $110 for 40 minutes. A couples fertility initial consultation is $250 for 90 minutes. Every fee is published here.

Herbs, supplements and testing are separate costs. Your naturopath will explain what is recommended and what it costs before you decide whether to proceed. Where a pathology referral is made, the pathology provider charges its own fees.

No. You are free to fill a prescription elsewhere. Practitioner-only products are not sold in supermarkets, so some are only available through a clinic — but nothing obliges you to buy here, and you can ask what a recommendation would cost before agreeing to it.

Natural therapy rebates were reinstated from 1 July 2025, so naturopathy may be claimable on some extras policies. What you can claim depends on your fund, your level of cover, your remaining limit and any waiting periods. Check with your fund before your appointment — the clinic cannot confirm your individual rebate.

No. Naturopathy is not covered by Medicare in Australia.

Naturopathy is not routinely funded under the NDIS, though it may be considered in some circumstances — generally where your plan is self-managed or plan-managed rather than NDIA-managed, and where the support relates to your plan goals. Check with your plan manager or support coordinator, because the clinic cannot determine your eligibility.

Possibly. From 1 November 2025 the Support at Home Program replaced the Home Care Packages Program. Naturopathic care may be funded fully or partly under it depending on your care plan and assessed needs, so ask your provider or care partner what your plan allows.

Please give at least 24 hours’ notice by calling the clinic. You will get an SMS reminder the day before, usually around midday. Cancellations made on the day, and missed appointments, incur a late cancellation fee. Full policy here.

Yes. Every naturopathic consultation here is available by telehealth, over phone or video. It is the same appointment and the same fee.

For most naturopathic consultations, yes. Your naturopath takes the same health history, reviews your test results and prescribes over phone or video. Where a physical assessment is genuinely relevant they will tell you and arrange it in person.

Yes, anywhere in Australia by telehealth. Prescriptions can be posted. Allie Sanderson in particular consults online Australia-wide.

Select telehealth as your appointment type when booking online, or call the clinic and reception will set it up.

Plant-based medicines — roots, leaves, flowers and bark — used to support the body’s own processes. Formulas here are compounded for your presentation rather than picked off a shelf, and adjusted as things change.

Herbs are active substances, which is exactly why they work and exactly why they need prescribing properly. The naturopaths here are trained in herb–drug and herb–nutrient interactions and will review everything you take before prescribing. All herbal medicines prescribed comply with Therapeutic Goods Administration regulations. The risk that matters is self-prescribing without that review.

Yes, some can. St John’s wort is the best-known example and interacts with a long list of drugs, but it is not the only one. That is the single strongest argument for seeing a qualified naturopath rather than buying something off a shelf — and it only works if you tell them everything you take, including anything from a supermarket or a chemist.

Not automatically, and this is worth being direct about. Natural does not mean safe for everyone in every situation. Herbs and supplements can have powerful effects, can interact with medication, and can be contraindicated in particular conditions or in pregnancy.

It depends entirely on what is prescribed and for how long. Your naturopath will tell you the cost before you agree to anything, and will keep the plan practical — if a recommendation does not fit your budget, say so and it can be adjusted.

It depends on what is being addressed. Your naturopath will tell you what they expect and review it at each appointment rather than leaving you on something indefinitely.

Bring it all to your appointment — the bottles or a photograph of the labels. Some of it may be doing nothing, some may duplicate something else, and occasionally something interacts. Your naturopath can only account for what they know about.

Not necessarily. Testing is not automatic. Where a test may help answer a specific clinical question, your naturopath will explain why it may be useful, what it involves and what it costs before you decide whether to proceed.

Pathology through a collection centre, and functional testing including microbiome analysis, breath testing for SIBO and lactose or fructose malabsorption, saliva hormone testing and hair mineral analysis.

Some standard pathology attracts a Medicare rebate when ordered by a GP, and where that is possible your naturopath is happy to suggest the test be ordered through your doctor — which can reduce what you pay considerably. Functional testing ordered privately is generally not Medicare rebated.

Many marketed as such are not. IgG food antibody panels in particular are not supported as a way of diagnosing food intolerance, and your naturopath will say so rather than sell you one. Where intolerance is suspected, a structured elimination and reintroduction, or a breath test where malabsorption is the question, gives a far more useful answer.

No. It is a screening measurement, not a diagnostic test: it does not diagnose nutrient deficiency and it does not diagnose heavy metal poisoning. A known or suspected exposure is confirmed on blood or urine, which your naturopath can arrange — the pathology centre charges its own fees. The full explanation is here.

Your naturopath, in a consultation, against your history. A laboratory report is produced from your sample alone — it has never seen your history, your medications or your symptoms. There is a results review consultation for existing patients at $30.

It is the area this clinic works in most. Sara Canney’s practice is built around it — IBS, SIBO, candida, inflammatory bowel conditions, constipation, motility and intestinal permeability.

Small intestinal bacterial overgrowth — bacteria that belong lower in the tract growing in the small intestine. It produces bloating, wind and irregular bowel habits that look very like IBS, and a meaningful proportion of people diagnosed with IBS have it. It is identified with a breath test.

Not necessarily, and it is not meant to be permanent. It is a diagnostic tool — a short restriction phase followed by structured reintroduction to find your actual triggers. Staying in the restriction phase long term narrows your diet and starves the gut bacteria you want to keep.

Not before you are tested for coeliac disease. Removing gluten first can produce a false negative, because testing looks for your immune response to gluten you are no longer eating. Speak to your GP about testing before you change your diet.

Your naturopath cannot promise a pregnancy, and be wary of anyone who does. What naturopathic care can do is address what is modifiable — nutritional status, blood sugar, thyroid function, iron, vitamin D, stress, sleep, alcohol, weight and cycle regularity — and make sure nothing correctable is missed. More here.

Where you are trying as a couple, it is worth it — outcomes depend on the health of both partners, and assessing one leaves half the picture out. There is a 90-minute couples appointment for this.

Around three to four months is the usual guidance, because that is roughly the development cycle for both eggs and sperm. Starting earlier leaves more room to act on anything that turns up.

Yes, alongside your fertility treatment rather than instead of it. Tell both your naturopath and your fertility specialist what the other has recommended, particularly any supplement, because some interact with medication.

Some of it is and some of it is not, which is exactly why it should be prescribed rather than self-selected — a number of herbs are contraindicated in pregnancy. Carmen Farrugia is a naturopath and also an AHPRA-registered midwife and Division 1 nurse, and pregnancy and postnatal care is the area she works in.

These are common reasons people come here. Note that period pain that stops you functioning, bleeding between periods and bleeding after menopause all need medical assessment — endometriosis is confirmed by laparoscopy, and PCOS, fibroids and thyroid disease need medical diagnosis. Naturopathic care works alongside that.

Yes. A parent or guardian attends, and bring anything your GP or paediatrician has said or prescribed so your naturopath knows what is already being managed medically. More here.

Most often digestive symptoms, skin concerns, recurrent infections, appetite, energy and sleep. Where something needs a GP or paediatrician, your naturopath will say so and refer.

Doses for children are not simply smaller adult doses, and some products are not appropriate for children at all. That is a reason to have them prescribed rather than bought — please do not start something without asking.

Each has a distinct clinical focus. Sara Canney works mainly in digestive health, mood and immunity; Carmen Farrugia in fertility, pregnancy and hormonal health; Jess Pensa in thyroid, autoimmune and hormonal conditions and skin; Allie Sanderson across gut, skin, hormones, energy and stress. Meet them here, or call and reception will match you.

Not in the way doctors and nurses are. Naturopathy is not regulated by AHPRA and there is no government register, so “registered naturopath” is not a meaningful phrase and it is worth being careful of anyone who uses it. What exists is qualification and professional association membership — the naturopaths here hold Advanced Diplomas or Bachelor of Health Science degrees and are members of ATMS, ANTA or the NHAA. One practitioner, Carmen Farrugia, additionally holds AHPRA registration as a midwife and a Division 1 nurse; those registrations are for nursing and midwifery, not naturopathy.

Yes. Select them when booking online, or say so on the phone. If they are not available you can go on their waitlist or reception can suggest someone else suited to what you are coming in with.

Yes, and it is a reasonable thing to do — if your reason for coming shifts from gut health to fertility, someone else here may be the better fit. Tell reception and your notes move with you.

5/68 Melville Road, Brunswick West, in an allied health building in Melbourne’s inner north. There is free two-hour parking on Melville Road outside the clinic and unrestricted parking in the surrounding streets. Note the no-standing restriction on Melville Road between 7:00 am and 9:00 am on weekdays — you cannot park out front at all in that window, and it is enforced.

Tram route 58, the West Coburg line, stops at stop 35 at the door.

If you have mobility concerns, call before your appointment and reception will tell you exactly what to expect at this entrance and arrange what is needed.

Yes. Clinical notes are kept as health service providers are required to, and handled under the privacy policy. You can ask for access to your own records.

Only with your consent. With it, your naturopath can write to your doctor, which is often useful where you are being managed for something medically.