The Natural Health Option

Practice Code of Conduct

How we work and what you can expect from us.

Victorian law already sets a minimum standard for practitioners who are not registered with AHPRA. That is the Code of Conduct for general health services, and we practise under it. You can read it and find the complaints process here.

This document is different. It is ours, it is voluntary, and it sets out how we actually work. The law says what we must not do. This says what we will do.

You can hold us to every line of it.

​

1. We work within what we are trained in

Van Seng is a natural health practitioner and homeopath. She is not a doctor, a psychologist, a dietitian or a dentist, and she does not practise as one.

We will tell you plainly when something is outside our scope. Saying "that is not mine to answer" is part of the job, not a failure of it.

​

2. We work alongside your doctor, never instead of them

We will not tell you to stop a medication, decline a treatment, or leave a practitioner you are under the care of.

If something we suggest may interact with your medical treatment, we will say so and ask you to raise it with your doctor before you start. If your doctor disagrees with us, follow your doctor.

We are glad to write a summary for your GP if you want one.

​

3. We do not diagnose, and we will not pretend to

We look at history, patterns and possible contributors. That is a different activity from diagnosis, and we will be clear about which one we are doing at any moment.

Where we review pathology or hair tissue mineral analysis, that review is educational. It is not a diagnostic report and it is not a second medical opinion. It is there to help you understand your own results and ask better questions of the people who can diagnose.

​

4. We will not promise you an outcome

We will not tell you that anything here will cure, treat or reverse a disease. Not in a consultation, not on the website, not in a workshop.

What we will tell you is what we plan to do, what we are looking at, why, and what would make us change course. Healing is not linear and we will not sell it as though it were.

​

5. We separate what we know from what we think

You will hear us make four different kinds of statement, and we will label which is which.

• This is established. Research supports it.

• This is my professional judgement. Reasoned, based on experience, not proven.

• This is traditional practice. Homeopathy, for instance, has its own internal logic. We will describe it as belonging to that tradition rather than dressing it as biomedicine.

• This is unknown. Sometimes the honest answer is that nobody knows.

Blurring those four is the most common failure in this field. We try hard not to.

​

6. You decide

Everything we offer is a suggestion. You can decline any part of it, take it to someone else, pause, or stop entirely, and none of that will change how you are treated here.

Before we start anything we will explain what it involves, what it costs, what it is intended to do, and what the alternatives are. If you would rather think about it, think about it.

​

7. Your information is yours

We keep clinical records because good practice requires it. They are held securely and you can ask for a copy at any time.

We do not share your health information with anyone without your consent, unless the law requires it or someone is at serious and immediate risk. We will not use your story, your results or your words in any marketing without asking you in writing first, and you can say no or change your mind later.

​

8. Money is discussed openly

Fees are published. You will know what something costs before you agree to it.

We will not recommend a product, test or session you do not need. If something is not worth your money, we will say so. If a cheaper or simpler option would do the same job, we will tell you that too, including when it means less work for us.

Where we have a financial interest in something we suggest, we will say so at the time.

​

9. Boundaries are kept

The relationship between practitioner and client is a professional one and it stays that way. We do not enter personal or intimate relationships with clients.

We will be clear about how and when we can be contacted, and what falls outside a consultation.

​

10. We refer

When someone needs a doctor, a psychologist, a dentist, a dietitian or urgent care, we will say so directly and we would rather lose the appointment than hold on to someone who needs somebody else.

If you are in crisis, we will help you get to the right support and we will not attempt to manage it ourselves.

​

11. In group work

Retreats and workshops involve other people, and other people are unpredictable. We ask everyone to keep what is shared in the room confidential, but we cannot guarantee it and we will not pretend otherwise. Share what you are comfortable sharing.

You can step out of any exercise at any point, without explaining why.

​

12. If we get it wrong

We will own it. Practitioners make mistakes, and a practitioner who cannot say so is more dangerous than one who can.

Tell us. Email [insert email] and we will respond within [5] business days and try to put it right.

If you would rather not raise it with us, or you are not satisfied with how we handle it, the Health Complaints Commissioner is free and independent. Phone 1300 582 113 or visit hcc.vic.gov.au. You do not need our permission and you do not need to come to us first.

​

This Practice Code of Conduct sits alongside the Code of Conduct for general health services under the Health Complaints Act 2016 (Vic), which applies to us as a matter of law. Where the two differ, the legal Code prevails.

The Natural Health Option Carrum Downs, Victoria van@thenaturalhealthoption.com.au ABN 76916753107 Last reviewed 9 September 2026.