Melbourne, Australia (PRWEB) August 08, 2012
Over the past decade, alternative and complementary health therapies have increased in availability and acceptance among the general community. According to IBISWorld industry analyst Kiera Outlaw, ?this is a strong indication of a desired extension and more globalised influence on Australia's health services?. Public acceptance largely coincided with a desire for alternative lifestyles. Immigration levels and increased trade with China also had a considerable influence. The view on alternative and complementary therapies is increasingly being revisited in areas such as regulation, professional opinions of doctors, medical education curriculum and the level of research into their effectiveness. The credibility of these services has hardly been an obstacle to industry growth, nor is their growth dependent upon public dissatisfaction with traditional medical procedures. Instead, growth in the industry is largely representative of a broadening sense of personal responsibility for health. Even amid a background of uncertainty, revenue for the Alternative Health Therapies industry in Australia grew at an annualised 2.5% over the past five years. In 2012-13, revenue is forecast to increase 2.5% to total $ 3.55 billion.
Industry revenue, measured as consumer expenditure on both consultations and alternative medicines, is projected to increase at a slightly more accelerated rate in the coming five years. However, the conditions promoting this increase in revenue will be different to those over the past decade. ?There will be more competition between operators as standards are established, and a greater emphasis on creating awareness of current services as opposed to increasing the range of therapies available?, says Outlaw. The past decade proved that the market for industry services included predominantly female, well-educated, higher income earners between the ages of 50 and 59 years.
The Alternative Health Therapies industry in Australia is characterised by a low level of market share concentration. This is largely due to the significant number of different treatments that are available under the banner of alternative therapies. The majority operators are owner-managers, though it varies by service. In Australia, concentration can also be looked at in terms of competition based on qualifications of the practitioner. The number of therapists holding a bachelor degree or higher qualification (in any alternative or complementary therapy) was highest for chiropractors and osteopaths. With such a high concentration of qualified practitioners in these services, it is likely these service providers also operate with the strongest level of competition. Hence, competition represents a barrier to entry for any potential operator. The lowest level of qualified individuals is seen in naturopaths and homeopaths.
For more information, visit IBISWorld?s Alternative Health Therapies report in Australia industry page.
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IBISWorld industry Report Key Topics
Practitioners in this industry deliver treatments that are not commonly practiced under mainstream Western medicine. Alternative therapies are intended to either complement Western medicine or as an alternative form of treatment. The industry includes treatments such as acupuncture, traditional Chinese medicine, aromatherapy, homeopathy and other therapies that fall outside of the scope of commonly accepted Western medicine.
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