Board director positions at the Naturopaths and Herbalists Association of Australia (NHAA) offer rewarding leadership
opportunities. Board directors share their professional experience, gain valuable governance skills, and give back to the practitioner community, while carrying out important legal and ethical roles.
What it means to be a director at the NHAA
A director is a member-elected or appointed person who is part of a board that collectively governs the organisation. Rather than managing day‑to‑day operations, directors work together to set strategy and oversee performance, ensuring that the NHAA is lawfully, ethically and financially sound and operating in the best interests of its members and the professions it represents.
Directors are subject to statutory and common-law duties, which include duties of care, diligence, good faith, and proper use of position and information, and they can be held personally liable if these duties are breached.
Core board responsibilities at the NHAA
The board’s primary role is organizational governance: setting strategy, monitoring performance, and safeguarding the association’s long‑term viability and reputation. Directors ensure the association advances its mission, including membership support, education and advocacy, and that all decisions are aligned with that purpose.
Key responsibilities of the board typically include;
- Preparing strategic plans
- overseeing budgets and ensuring financial sustainability
- monitoring risk (including financial and reputational), and
- ensuring strict compliance with relevant health, privacy, workplace, and fundraising laws and standards.
Individual director roles
Each director must be prepared to carefully read board papers, ask questions, and apply independent judgment to all board decisions. Directors are expected to contribute their skills and experience, listen to other perspectives, and work as a cohesive team focused on the best interests of the organization, its members and our professions at large.
Board directors must manage any conflicts of interest transparently, maintaining confidentiality and avoiding using their position or information gained as a director for personal advantage, or to the detriment of the association. Directors ideally share a common interest within the naturopathic and Western herbal medicine field, ensuring that member and community voices inform governance.
Typical board director activities
Board directors can expect to attend regular board meetings, committee meetings relating to advocacy, events, and education, strategy sessions and planning days. Directors are also asked to review financial reports, risk registers, and key policies.
Directors may be asked to represent the association at external events and stakeholder meetings, support advocacy positions, and contribute to building a healthy organisational culture that values transparency, accountability, and ethical practice.
The benefits of being an NHAA board director
- Direct impact on naturopathy and western herbal medicine: directors help shape how the NHAA represents naturopaths and herbalists by influencing policy, and designing member services, education, and advocacy efforts that support evidence‑informed healthcare.
- Professional growth and governance experience: board roles build high‑level skills in strategy, finance, risk, and leadership, while deepening understanding of regulation, scope of practice, and professional standards in naturopathy and western herbal medicine in Australia.
- Contribution to the profession and community: directorship is a way to “give back” to the field by strengthening the professional voices of naturopaths and herbalists, supporting members, and contributing to better health outcomes for the community.
- Expanded networks and profile: directors have opportunities to connect with practitioners, educators, researchers, policymakers, and other health stakeholders, broadening collaboration efforts and enhancing their professional reputation within the complementary medicine sector.
- Personal fulfilment and purpose: many NHAA directors find their role deeply rewarding because it aligns with their values, allows them to influence the future of naturopathy and western herbal medicine, and extends their impact beyond individual clinical practice or industry employment.
While the benefits of board directorship are significant, they sit alongside other responsibilities and potential liabilities. Prospective directors thus undertake appropriate governance training and must understand their legal duties and feel confident they can commit the time, care, and diligence that the role requires.
Core Recommended Programs (NHAA has no affiliation with the following training institutions)
Recommended training for Australian directors of association boards emphasises governance fundamentals, sector-specific knowledge, and ongoing professional development to meet legal duties and enhance board effectiveness.
- Governance Institute of Australia offer short courses, certificates and postgraduate courses which tailor to governance and risk management studies for every stage of one’s career.
- The Australian Institute of Company Directors (AICD) offer flagship courses (including the Company Directors Course), tailored to health sector directors for building skills in risk management, strategy, and ethical leadership in regulated environments.
- The Institute of Community Directors Australia (ICDA) provides NFP governance training relevant to health associations, covering leadership and compliance via online and in-person sessions.
- AIM’s Director Certificate introduces aspiring directors to their core responsibilities over two days.
- Australian Charities and Not for Profits Commission (ACNC) offer Governance for Good: A guide for Responsible People.
Development Best Practices
The NHAA supports annual board assessments against capability frameworks to pinpoint gaps, followed by advanced skills training.
New directors ideally achieve foundational competencies within the first year, with an emphasis on curiosity, ethics, and courage in decision-making. Ongoing commitment includes attending board-specific events and ensuring alignment with best governance practices.
Resources (as at January 2026)
Australian Institute of Company Directors
Governance Institute of Australia
Institute of Company Directors, Australia