By Eric Brand

I am currently in Australia for a few weeks, and I’ve been using the downtime between lectures to explore the local Chinese medicine scene.  Australia is rather unique in terms of its TCM environment and my understanding of the local situation is still somewhat superficial, so I’m unable to offer any authoritative information beyond the observations of a TCM tourist.  Nonetheless, even as a simple TCM tourist, there is a lot to observe.

Chinese medicine in Australia stands out among Western countries in a variety of ways.  Notably, there is a substantial degree of integration of Chinese medicine into the mainstream educational and healthcare systems.  Several prominent institutions of Chinese medicine are integrated into larger general universities, which is quite different from the situation in the U.S. and many European countries.  This opens up a different world of funding, facilities, and research and it is nice to see things like insurance reimbursement for acupuncture and enhanced academic resources for study. 

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In terms of herbal medicine, the regulatory situation in Australia is rather complex.  In some ways, the regulations are similar to the regulations in Canada, although there are notable differences.  For example, in both Australia and Canada, herbs can be sold as traditional medicines rather than conventional foods, and label claims based on TCM indications are permitted (in other words, it is legal to say that Xiao Chai Hu Tang treats shaoyang disease). 

In terms of herbal product availability, there are a number of differences between Australia and other English-speaking countries.  While most Chinese herbs remain available on the Australian market, many toxic items such as Fu Zi, Chuan Wu, and Cao Wu are prohibited.  Not surprisingly, many toxic minerals such as Xiong Huang and Zhu Sha are similarly restricted, and there is a ban on Ma Huang.  Xi Xin extracts can be sold in Australia if the product tests negative for aristolochic acid, but during my visit to Chinatown I discovered that none of the Chinese bulk herb suppliers carried it and they all thought it was generally illegal.  Unfortunately, the amygdalin that is naturally present in Tao Ren and Xing Ren is regarded as a poison in Australia, so these items can only be sold if they do not contain amygdalin (a quandary because amygdalin is a key natural constituent of the genuine medicinals). 

Many medicinal animal products are hard to obtain in Australia; for example, Lu Rong from China is generally denied entry but Lu Rong that is produced in Australia and New Zealand is often available to fill the void.  Mineral products in Australia do not appear to have blanket restrictions like the restrictions in the U.K., so items such as Long Gu and Mu Li remain widely available.  As in the E.U., single herbs appear to be easier to trade in than whole formulas.  Single herb extracts tend to be imported as foods or spices while formulas are regarded as medicines that require registration; the costs and regulatory burden associated with registration forces suppliers to stock a more narrow range of formulas than we find in the U.S.

As a visitor from the U.S., one of the most striking things about Australia in general is the high cost of living, and this affects herbal medicines as well.  At a branch of Beijing Tong Ren Tang in Brisbane, I noticed that Gou Qi Zi was selling for about twice the price that we find in the U.S., and valuable herbs such as Chuan Bei Mu and even average Xi Yang Shen were sold for around $1000/kg, which is many times the price that we find in other nations.  Typical cheap Chinese teapills that sell for under $2 in the U.S. were priced at about $7 per bottle, and the person filling formulas at Tong Ren Tang mentioned that an average prescription of raw herbs ran from about $8 to $14 per pack ($3 to $5 per pack would be more typical in a Chinatown shop in California).  While such prices are astounding to a typical American practitioner, these prices aren’t totally out of line given the general cost of living in Australia; for example, in Brisbane a bowl of Vietnamese pho soup costs $15, a bottle of beer costs $4 in a liquor store, and a local bus costs $5 to ride a single stop.  Fortunately, minimum wage in Australia is $13/hr, so the locals don’t find the Chinese herb prices as alarming as I do.