Why has the CMR Board adopted January 1 1997 as the cut off date, after which practice experience does not qualify a practitioner for registration and they have to have an approved qualification?
Section 94(1)(a)(iii) of the CMR Act states that the Board may register a practitioner who does not have a qualification acceptable to the Board if that practitioner has carried on the practice of Chinese herbal medicine, acupuncture or herbal dispensing at any time within 10 years before the commencement of this section for a consecutive period of 5 years or for any periods the aggregate of which is 5 years. Since this section of the Act will come into effect on 1 January 2002, 5 years prior to this date is 1 January 1997.
