Head of Osteopathy – Establishment Programme Lead

BCom, BAppSc (Human Biology), MOst, PGDipHE — OCNZ and ACC Registered Osteopath

Matthew brings almost 30 years of allied health experience — in clinical practice since 1997, across New Zealand, Australia, the UK and the USA — to his role as Head of Osteopathy at SPCNM, where he is leading development of the College’s new osteopathy programme launching in 2027. He is also founder and director of Unity Osteopathy, based in Parnell, Auckland.

His path into osteopathy began after a back injury led him first into sports massage and body therapy training at the New Zealand College of Massage, then to a multi-disciplinary clinic in London where he encountered osteopathic practice for the first time. That exposure brought him home to complete a Master of Osteopathy at Unitec Institute of Technology. Matthew has since undertaken extensive advanced postgraduate study in the US and Australia with leading manual medicine practitioners, and holds registration with the Osteopathy Board of Australia.

Matthew has taught at undergraduate, postgraduate and continuing professional education level for 20 years. He spent 8 years on the teaching faculty of the New Zealand College of Massage, heading its musculoskeletal anatomy and research methodology departments, and later served as a clinical tutor on Unitec’s Master of Osteopathy programme. He was a contributing author to Integrative Pain Management: Massage, Movement, and Mindfulness Based Approaches (Handspring Publishing), and a peer reviewer for several manual therapy academic journals. Matthew’s clinical and educational depth underpins his work shaping SPCNM’s postgraduate osteopathy curriculum and its pathway to accreditation.

Matthew has also held governance roles with a number of NGOs and incorporated societies across Australia and New Zealand, including the Ancestral Health Society of New Zealand, the Australian Association of Massage Therapists, and Osteopaths New Zealand.