Sports Nutrition Australia is the Australian Regional Affiliate of the Sports Nutrition Association.

It is the registered governing body for non-dietetic Sports Nutrition Practises in Australia.

It also provides education and recognised certification for Personal Trainers, Exercise Physiologists, Strength Coaches, Exercise Scientists, and Clinical Nutritionists looking to add Sports Supplementation & Nutrition programming to their Services and their Insured Scope of Practise.

Sports Nutrition Australia levels of accreditation are outlined below, the graduate level provides open accreditation and the certificate level provides provisional accreditation.

The certificate enables Provisional Accreditation for 3 years after completing the program, whereby provisionally registered members must enrol in either the Graduate Diploma or another Relevant** Exercise Physiology/Science, Clinical Nutrition or Dietetics, GDip or Bachelors Program.

Members who already hold a degree in these areas are exempt from this and receive open accreditation immediately.

Sports Nutrition Australia

Sports Nutrition Association

Code of Conduct

As a regional affiliate of the of SNA, our members are held to a code of conduct and professional standard. Click below to view.

Code of Conduct

“The Program has been a great help in keeping my clients and their results organised, making client programming and updates easy”

Agnes Demlan

Personal Trainer & Figure Competitor

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Educational Providers, Programs, & Pathway Accreditation Validity within Australia

Accreditation Eligibility

Precision Nutrition (and any other certificate 3 or 4 in nutrition or dietetic coaching)

This covers the above and the nutrition for Personal Trainers programs that range from 1/2 day CEC (fitness) Seminars/Courses through to, 3-month programs. These are often (but not always) centred around weight management through behaviours. Depending on the program 0 -1 module of the certificate will be eligible for RPL Credit.

The ISSN Exams (CISSN & SNS)

Programs inclusive of this such as but not limited too Recomp and MP, have merit via their ISSN inclusion, but are fixed systems that only allow education within said platforms, I.e. muscle increases with ‘x’ weight on your 1rm deadlift, and nutrient timing is essential for all hypertrophy. Rather than educating the mechanics of how these things work, and other physiological processes via furthermore in-depth foundational education thus creating a reliance on these fixed systems. The ISSN component is guaranteed to be recognised for 1-2 modules of RPL Credit for the certificate program.

Clean Health (Poliquin, Bio Print etc.)

Are fixed programs like those mentioned above, but do not include the background education from the ISSN Journal, nor any measurable assessment like the ISSN exams. These are not recognised, and hormonal manipulation of nutrition, or somatotype nutrition is not a part of an Accredited Sports Nutritionists’ scope, or any other entry-level allied health or fitness professional for that matter. These programs receive no credit for RPL.

Mac Nutrition Uni(versal)

Is not an accredited university (unlike the name implies), but is a private education provider and provides a very solid framework for global nutrition education. It covers many topics effectively at a fundamental level. It covers some sports, gen pop, and even some chronic disease. Unfortunately however because it is so broad and does touch on chronic disease intervention within Australia the minimum requirement for any registered professional to work with chronic disease is a 4-year minimum, and the Sports Nutrition education is not in-depth enough to meet the minimum compliance of the Certificate. Grads receive 3 modules RPL Credit into the Certificate from MNU.

Bachelor in Health Sciences (nutrition variants)

Depending on the university you study at and how you major, these programs provide in-depth education and clinical practise in specialist population management of nutrition. This mainly focuses on Chronic Disease prevention and sometimes treatment (depending on the degree and level). Some Sports Nutrition electives are available but often so rarely. Grads of these programs are eligible to register as Nutritionists, however, Sports & Body-Composition is not included in their covered Activities, and as such further specific study is required. Graduates of these programs receive 50-70% of the Certificate Program credited through RPL pending academic transcript submission.

Accredited Practising Dietitians

These are graduates of the Masters in Dietetics University Programs within Australia. They are registered with the DAA (Dietitians Association of Australia) and are covered for all populations and clinical treatment of specific chronic disease. Like the undergrad health science nutritionists, sports subjects as electives re the only option to sports specific study during the program so education here may be limited. Total study time of 5 years full-time.

Accredited Sports Dietitians

These are dietitians who have completed their master’s program and have since spent 2 years educating themselves in the field of Sports Nutrition, a total study time of 7-8 years full-time. This is the highest level of accreditation.

Certificate in Applied Sports Nutrition

Is the entry-level qualification that provides provisional accreditation (which lasts for up to 3 years) for those members without a relevant health science or sports science tertiary degree (either a Gdip or Bachelors as a minimum). It thoroughly covers the foundations of Applied Sports Nutrition Practise, with no clinical aspects of chronic disease treatment & management, while providing thorough training on the screening referral triage process to allied health specialists where health risk is present. For those members with no prior study in order to achieve full accreditation, they are required to enrol into either a graduate diploma program or relevant university program. The body has been fortunate enough to provide this provisional timeline to allow its members to establish experience practising and thus enabling them to ascertain whether or not this is a long term career for them without accruing tens of thousands of dollars in student loans, or committing to years of study before finding out this isn’t the career path for them.

NB* All graduates of the Certificate are guaranteed entry into the IOPN Graduate Diploma Program.

Graduate Diplomas in Applied Sports Nutrition (The IOPN & IOC)

Is the complete level of the minimum standard for full accreditation as an Accredited Sports Nutritionist. These programs are extensively thorough in their specific coverage of Sports Performance, body composition, and energy availability metabolism. These programs and instituters are of the highest calibre in Sports Nutrition internationally but do not provide any clinical expertise in treating or managing chronic disease. Individuals who complete either of these programs receive full credit and RPL for their accreditations only need to complete the health risk assessment and dietetic referral modules to comply with Australian Standards.

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