ANZATA recognises the potential of all art forms to enrich and enhance our lives. The mission of ANZATA is to advocate for the profession of arts therapy in Australia, New Zealand and Singapore as well as in the wider Asia/Pacific region. The Association attends to ethical standards of professional regulation, training standards, and standards of professional practice. ANZATA represents arts therapists working in most of the arts therapy modalities and has a category of professional membership for individuals who have completed a Masters degree in any arts modality which complies with the training standards of ANZATA.
ANZATA’s Code of Ethics and Complaints Procedure
The Standards of Practice and the Code of Ethics of the Australian and New Zealand Arts Therapy Association can be found on the Ethics and Standards page.
The Association has a complaints procedure that is followed should anyone lodge a formal complaint of any violation of the ethical standards for arts therapists. This procedure can be found on the Complaints Procedure page.
Code of Conduct for Health Practitioners
All NSW/South Australia arts therapists should have a copy of the Health Care Complaints Commission’s Code of Conduct available for clients/patients to see. This code of conduct is now legislation for NSW/South Australia Health Providers. Please download the file below, print it out and keep it with your records.
Code of Conduct for NSW Health Practitioners
Code of Conduct for South Australia Health Practitioners
Untrained Art Therapists can do damage
In ANZATA’s efforts to achieve government regulation, it has become critical that we identify how our profession can cause harm in the hands of unqualified practitioners. This article, summarised by Jill Westwood, helps us present evidence that confirms that only arts therapists trained to international standards are able to safely contain and assist patients and clients.