The College conducts its complaint review process in English.  

If you require language support, you may choose to have a support person, advocate, or interpreter assist you in preparing your complaint. The College can offer reasonable assistance where appropriate.  

The following information is usually shared with the licensee, so they have an opportunity to understand and respond to the complaint:  

• your name  
• the details of the concerns raised 
  

The College only shares information that is needed to meet our legal requirements and to make sure the process is fair to everyone involved.  

In most cases, the information you provide when filing a complaint, including your identity, will be shared with the professional as part of a transparent and fair regulatory process.

What is an Identity Protection Order?

However, in filing a complaint, you may apply for an identity protection order (IPO) requesting that some or all identifying information not be disclosed during the regulatory process. If you are making a complaint on behalf of someone else, you may submit an IPO request for your identity to be protected. The affected individual may also submit an IPO request.

IPOs are not automatic and are not appropriate in most circumstances. CCHPBC must balance the seriousness of the concerns raised, the potential impact on the applicant if identified, and the need for a fair and effective regulatory review process.

Simply wanting to stay anonymous or not wanting to be involved in an investigation is not enough to justify this type of order. This is because licensees generally need to know who is involved with a complaint and how to respond to the raised concerns.

Requesting an IPO

IPO applications are coordinated through CCHPBC’s complaints intake process. Staff can provide information about the process and assist applicants with accessing and completing the required forms. You may contact Complaints Intake to request and IPO at complaints@cchpbc.ca.

It is recommended that you apply for an IPO as early as possible, including before or when you submit your complaint. If a request is received later in the process, the licensee may have already been informed of the complaint and your identity.

How does CCHPBC decide on the IPO?

IPO applications are decided in accordance with the criteria defined in the Health Professions and Occupations Act (HPOA). You will be informed of the decision on an IPO in writing.

Results of applications for Identity Protection Orders

Following review of the application, the decision maker may:

• Grant full protection — no information that could identify the applicant can be disclosed,
• Grant partial protection — some information that may indirectly identify the applicant may be disclosed, or
• Refuse to grant the order

An order granting a full identity protection order may result in the termination of the regulatory matter.

What happens if my IPO is refused?

Apply for a termination order

If you are the person who made a complaint, you may apply for a termination order if a decision is made that your identity will not be protected or only partially protected. If granted, the termination order will end the complaint process related to your concerns.

A termination order application must be submitted within 30 days of receiving the decision on your IPO. CCHPBC will pause its review of the complaint until you have had an opportunity to consider the decision.

Apply for a reconsideration

You may apply to have the decision reconsidered if you do not wish to terminate the investigation. A reconsideration request must be submitted within 30 days of receiving the decision on your IPO.

Additional information about IPO applications and related forms can be requested through CCHPBC’s Complaints Intake at complaints@cchpbc.ca.

Unauthorized practice

CCHPBC takes the unauthorized practice of the professions we regulate seriously. Unauthorized practice and unauthorized use of reserved titles are subject to legal action. 

Anyone providing services within the regulated scope of practice of chiropractors, massage therapists, naturopathic physicians, or traditional Chinese medicine practitioners and acupuncturists in B.C., and who does not hold the required licensure status with CCHPBC or is not being supervised by a licensee, is breaking the law. Performing aspects of practice reserved for these regulated health professionals is unauthorized practice. 

B.C. has a shared scope of practice and restricted activities model for regulated health professions under the Health Professions and Occupations Act (HPOA). This regulatory model was designed to enable inter-professional practice and team-based care, and to balance public safety and consumer choice. For more information on this regulatory model, please see shared scope of practice and restricted activities on the BC Ministry of Health’s HPOA webpage. 

Restricted activities are a narrowly defined list of invasive, higher-risk activities that must not be performed by any person while providing health services, except the regulated health professionals who have been granted specific authority to do so by regulations enacted under the HPOA. 

A person engages in unauthorized practice when they perform a restricted activity without being licensed as the type of health professional who has been granted authority to provide that restricted activity as part of their services. 

In addition, licensees who continue to practise after their licence has lapsed, may be subject to investigation and legal action. 

Unauthorized use of exclusive titles 

Using a title that is reserved for chiropractors, massage therapists, naturopathic physicians, and traditional Chinese medicine practitioners and acupuncturists in B.C. without current CCHPBC licensure is unlawful. 

CCHPBC takes the unauthorized use of a title reserved by law for health professionals we regulate seriously. Exclusive titles (also called reserved or protected titles) are a central and critical public protection element of B.C.’s health professions regulatory framework. For more information about exclusive titles in B.C., and to see which titles are reserved for CCHPBC licensees, please see exclusive titles on the BC Ministry of Health’s HPOA webpage. 

Unlicensed individuals are legally prohibited from using these exclusive titles or their abbreviations. Some individuals who are licensees of a health profession regulated by another health profession regulatory college are also granted legal authority to use some of these titles. 

Contacting CCHPBC with concerns about unauthorized practice or unauthorized use of exclusive titles 

If you have concerns about someone engaging in unauthorized practice of a profession CCHPBC regulates or improperly using an exclusive title, contact the College at: complaints@cchpbc.ca. 

When you submit your concern, please include: 

• The name and business name of the unauthorized provider 

• Contact information for the unauthorized provider (if available) 

• Any relevant website and/or social media links 

• Screen shots and any other documentary evidence relevant to the concern 

Certain professional titles are reserved by law for use only by regulated health professionals.  

For example, titles such as Massage Therapist, Chiropractor, or Acupuncturist can only be used by people who are registered and authorized to use those titles.  

You can view protected professional titles here: Complementary Health Professionals Regulation 

Reserved titles, abbreviations, or equivalent titles in another language can only be used by people who are authorized to use them under provincial legislation. Unauthorized use of a reserved title is prohibited. The College may investigate and may seek orders or other measures to stop unauthorized title use.  

The College takes concerns about sexual misconduct and sexual abuse seriously. We are committed to promoting ongoing education and awareness for licensees about preventing sexual misconduct, including expectations for professional responsibility, safe practice, and respectful care. 

Any sexual contact or sexualized behaviour involving a licensee and a patient is strictly prohibited under the Health Professions and Occupations Act (HPOA), even if the licensee believed the patient had agreed to the contact. 

We understand that reporting sexual misconduct can be very difficult. People who come forward may feel unsafe, unsure, embarrassed, or worried about what will happen next. You are not expected to have all the answers before contacting the College. We will explain the process and the supports that may be available to you. 

Sexual misconduct concerns may include situations where a licensee:  

• Makes sexual comments, jokes, or gestures  

• Makes sexualized comments about a patient’s body or sexual activity   

• Asks a patient for dates or sexual contact  

• Gives unwanted hugs, kisses, or other physical contact  

• Provides treatment to areas without a clear reason or without informed consent  

• Has sexual contact with a patient 
  

If you are affected by sexual misconduct, you can apply to access support through the College. 

Under the Health Professions and Occupations Act (HPOA), CCHPBC operates monitoring programs essential to public protection and professional accountability. Our monitoring functions encompass two distinct areas:

1. Compliance monitoring
2. Unauthorized practice monitoring 

Compliance monitoring

Compliance monitoring ensures that licensees adhere to all undertakings, agreements, disciplinary orders, and conditions placed on their practice authority, including practice restrictions, supervision requirements, and remedial education obligations. Through systematic verification, regular reporting, and proactive oversight, we track compliance with disciplinary orders and intervene when non-compliance threatens public safety. 

Unauthorized practice monitoring 

Our unauthorized practice monitoring program fulfills the statutory duty under the HPOA’s requirements to identify, investigate, and take action against persons who perform restricted activities or aspects of practice without authorization, use protected professional titles without entitlement, provide false or misleading information about their qualifications, or otherwise contravene the HPOA’s prohibitions on unauthorized practice (sections 371-377). This involves investigating complaints, gathering evidence, entering into compliance agreements, seeking court injunctions when necessary, and referring serious violations for prosecution with penalties that can include fines and imprisonment. 

Both monitoring programs work in concert to protect the public from harm, maintain the integrity of regulated health professions, and ensure that only qualified, authorized practitioners provide health services to British Columbians within their designated scope of practice. 

The Health Professions and Occupations Act (HPOA) establishes the Health Professions and Occupations Regulatory Oversight Office (HPOROO), a new, independent office separate from health profession regulatory colleges, including CCHPBC.

Within the HPOROO, the Health Professions Discipline Tribunal oversees the discipline process for regulated health professions in B.C.

The Director of Discipline leads the Discipline Tribunal, which is also independent from the colleges.

The Discipline Tribunal’s role is to: 

• Decide on requests from health profession regulatory colleges to issue citations 

• Approve agreements to resolve certain cases without a hearing 

• Hold disciplinary hearings when necessary 

• Hear appeals from disciplinary hearings 

• Decide what information should be made public after each case is finished 

Submit a regulatory report (duties to report) 

The Duties to Report Licensees division of the Health Professions and Occupations Act outlines circumstances in which licensees, and non-licensees in some cases, have a duty to submit a regulatory report with respect to another licensee. 

The Act requires that a licensee must make a regulatory report with respect to another licensee if the first licensee has reasonable grounds to believe that:

• the other licensee is not fit to practise; 

• the continued practice of a designated health profession by the other licensee presents a significant risk of harm to the public; or 

• the other licensee has committed an act of sexual misconduct, sexual abuse, or discrimination. 

If you’re not a health professional yourself, you may still have a legal duty to report.

If you are an employer or a business partner, and you believe a licensee poses a serious risk to the public, or has committed sexual misconduct or discrimination, you are required to make a formal report if any of the following happened:

• You fired them, or suspended or restricted their ability to work 

• You ended a business or professional partnership with them 

• You were about to take any of those steps, but the licensee quit, walked away, or ended the relationship first before you had the chance.
  

To confirm that the person you are making a regulatory report about is a CCHPBC licensee, please check the CCHPBC Public Registry. If the person is a licensed by the College, you may use the Regulatory Report Form – For Licensees (PDF). Using the form helps the College capture all the information we need to properly review and act upon your report. This is a fillable PDF form that you can complete and submit by email to complaints@cchpbc.ca.

However, if you are unable to use the form you may submit your regulatory report through the following options:

• Email: complaints@cchpbc.ca 

• Mail, addressed to: Intake & Support Programs Administrator, Office of the Registrar, College of Complementary Health Professionals of BC (CCHPBC), 900-200 Granville Street, Vancouver, BC V6C 1S4 

• Fax: 604.608.9726
  

You must provide your name and contact information when submitting your report. CCHPBC will not share your personal contact information (i.e., personal email address, phone number, and home address) with the licensee. For more information regarding CCHPBC’s collection, use, and disclosure of personal information, please see our Privacy Notice. 

While regulatory reports cannot be made anonymously, you may apply for an Identity Protection Order, which may keep your name and/or details about you confidential from the licensee you are reporting, and/or other parties. 

If you are concerned that someone may be providing regulated health services without authorization, or using a reserved professional title without being licensed, you can contact the College. You do not need to be certain that unauthorized practice or title misuse has occurred to contact us. You can report concerns by:  

• submitting an online complaint or report form  

• calling or emailing the College 
  

If you contact us, we will review the information and determine what steps are appropriate under the legislation and bylaws.  

After a complaint is submitted:
 

• We review your complaint and let you know what will happen next.  

• If the complaint moves forward, the licensee is told about the complaint and can respond.  

• We may collect records or other relevant information.  

• You will have an opportunity to review the licensee’s response and provide a response to it if you have new information to add.   

• The complaint is reviewed under the laws that govern the College.  

• A decision is made and you will be told the outcome.  

If a complaint moves forward, the licensee is told about the complaint and given an opportunity to respond. The College only shares information that is needed to follow the law and make sure the process is fair to everyone involved. You can learn more about identity protection, including how to apply, in the Identity Protection section above.  

In some cases, you can ask to withdraw your complaint. Depending on the situation, the College may still need to review or continue looking into serious concerns to help protect the public. We can explain this to you before you make your decision to go forward with a complaint. 

You can still contact the College about concerns that happened in the past. 

The length of time depends on the details and complexity of the complaint. Some complaints are resolved more quickly, while others take longer if more information needs to be gathered. We will keep you informed about what to expect as your complaint moves forward.   

You can contact the College to ask questions or get information. You do not have to decide right away whether you want to make a formal complaint.