Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Do I need a doctor’s referral to come to FNA?
While we see many clients referred by their doctor or other health professional, it is not necessary to have a referral to see a dietitian at Food & Nutrition Australia.  Appointments can be made directly by calling us on 1300 92 62 12 and arranging a suitable time.

How often will I need to see a dietitian?
The frequency of your visits is determined in consultation with your dietitian at the initial appointment. For best results we recommend frequent visits initially to get you on track toward achieving your health and nutrition related goals. Experience shows clients who achieve results in the early stages of their program are those who are committed to working in partnership with their dietitian through regular contact. Visits may be weekly or fortnightly to start with and may go to monthly or six weekly once you are on track and achieving your health and nutrition goals.

We also offer a variety of packages to suit the needs of our clients. An annual check up with your FNA dietitian is also recommended to ensure you are sustaining your new healthy eating habits.

Your FNA dietitian is committed to supporting and guiding you to achieve your health and wellbeing goals. 

Do you service clients nationally?
Services are offered nationally via phone consultations for people who live or work outside of the Sydney metropolitan area. Phone consultations are offered in all service areas and rely on clients self monitoring their results with the support of their dietitian.

What do your dietitians specialise in?
All of our dietitians are APDs (Accredited Practising Dietitians) and provide specialist  knowledge and advice in diet and nutrition, including:

• heart health including cholesterol reduction and high blood pressure
• general healthy eating
• digestive health including IBS, Coeliac disease and Crohn’s disease
• diabetes
• emotional eating
• food intolerance and allergies
• eating disorders
• weight management; loss or gain
• women's health including PCOS, pregnancy and menopause
• energy and vitality
• vegetarian eating
• sports and fitness nutrition
• metabolism testing

One of the benefits of seeing an FNA dietitian is that their advice is evidence based, and the whole team works together to ensure the needs of our clients are met. Our dietitians are also strongly supported by our Nutrition Research department.

What’s the difference between a dietitian and a nutritionist?
A dietitian is a university-qualified health professional trained to provide the latest scientifically based nutrition advice. The title, ‘nutritionist’, can apply to a qualified nutrition scientist or a self-professed ‘nutrition adviser’ who may have variable qualifications.

To be sure you are obtaining advice from a university-qualified professional, look for the term ‘Accredited Practising Dietitian’ (APD).  See below for further details.

What does ‘APD’ stand for and what does it mean?
‘APD’ means Accredited Practising Dietitian. To be an APD, a dietitian must be a member of the Dietitians Association of Australia and undertake a certain number of hours of continuing professional development annually to maintain their APD status.  APDs are dietitians who have made a commitment to keeping up-to-date with the latest research and to maintaining high practice standards.

APDs are bound by the DAA (Dietitians Association of Australia)’s Code of Professional Conduct and Code of Ethics.

All FNA dietitians are APDs, the Australian Gold Standard in nutritional advice.

Do your dietitians administer blood and allergy tests?
No, but we encourage you to bring any current test results along for our dietitians to use as additional information. If our APDs’ assessment identifies the need for a blood test, you will be referred back to your GP for the test. For allergy testing, we refer clients to an FNA-Approved Allied Health Professional Provider. For the diagnosis of food intolerance, our APDs use the ‘gold standard’ elimination diet which does not require blood or allergy testing.

How much of a refund do I get back from my health fund or from Medicare?
Rebates from private health insurers are available for consultations with an APD. The best way to find out how much rebate you are entitled to is to check with your private health fund directly.

Rebates for dietetic services are also available from Medicare for clients who have chronic illnesses and other particular medical conditions that are eligible for an Enhanced Primary Care Plan.  Please check with your GP directly to see if you qualify.

What are your opening hours?
Click here to be taken to our opening hours.

If you have any questions which have not been answered in this section please contact us where our team of APDs is ready to help.