(nbcg yi), and wetenschappelijke artsen vereniging voor acupunctuur in nederland (wavan). new zealand although there are no regulatory standards for the practice of tcm in new zealand, in the year 1990, acupuncture was included in the governmental accident compensation corporation (acc) act. this inclusion granted qualified and professionally registered acupuncturists to provide subsidised care and treatment to citizens, residents, and temporary visitors for work or sports related injuries that occurred within and upon the land of new zealand. the two bodies for the regulation of acupuncture and attainment of acc treatment provider status in new zealand are acupuncture nz and the new zealand acupuncture standards authority. singapore the tcm practitioners act was passed by parliament in 2000 and the tcm practitioners board was established in 2001 as a statutory board under the ministry of health, to register and regulate tcm practitioners. the requirements for registration include possession of a diploma or degree from a tcm educational institution/university on a gazetted list, either structured tcm clinical training at an approved local tcm educational institution or foreign tcm registration together with supervised tcm clinical attachment/practice at an approved local tcm clinic, and upon meeting these requirements, passing the singapore tcm physicians registration examination (stre) conducted by the tcm practitioners board. taiwan national research institute of chinese medicine in taiwan, tcm practitioners are physicians and are regulated by the physicians act.they are able to diagnose, write prescriptions, and dispense chinese medicine independently. under current law, those who wish to qualify for the chinese medicine exam must have obtained a 7-year university degree in tcm. the national research institute of chinese medicine, established in 1963, is the largest chinese herbal medicine research center in taiwan. united states as of july 2012, only six states lack legislation to regulate the professional practice of tcm: alabama, kansas, north dakota, south dakota, oklahoma, and wyoming. in 1976, california established an acupuncture board and became the first state licensing professional acupuncturists.