Qualification and registration requirements

Dietitians are university qualified health professionals who complete an undergraduate or post graduate degree in nutrition and dietetics. A dietitian must be eligible for full membership of the Dietitians Association of Australia (DAA). There are currently no registration requirements.

What is a Dietitian?

Dietitians apply the science of human nutrition to help people understand the relationship between food and health and made choices to attain and maintain health, and to prevent and treat illness and disease. Dietitians work in a variety of different settings including hospitals, community, public health, food service, management, consultancy, private practice, food industry and research and training. Dietitians assist people across the lifespan.

What do Dietitians do?

Nutrition plays a critical role in the management of many illnesses and diseases through the application of medical nutrition therapy. Professional interventions performed include:

• Assess individual nutritional needs
• Prescription of appropriate individualised nutrition care plans
• Sort out nutrition fact from fiction
• Undertake nutrition and food research
• Train health care professionals
• Develop nutrition communications, programs and policies

Nutrition is also important for maintaining good health and is a component of health promotion, population based programs aimed at the prevention of many chronic diseases

Related links

Dietitians Association of Australia

For information on how to gain recognition of Allied Health qualifications obtained overseas, please contact the relevant professional association as per web links above