Valerie Todd, an osteopath, has been found guilty (opens new window) by the Health Practitioners Disciplinary Tribunal of performing acupuncture on three patients in Nelson in 2014 without the required qualifications, and will likely be fined $1,500 and a portion of the trial costs.

Funnily, the reason this case was able to go ahead was because she was registered as an osteopath. If she hadn't been a registered osteopath, she would have been okay offering acupuncture as long as she abided by any local laws on offering acupuncture. There is no government regulation of acupuncturists in New Zealand.

There are two self regulation bodies for acupuncture in New Zealand, and if an acupuncturist registers with either of them they can then become an ACC treatment provider.