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Vet Nurses
Should veterinary nurses be regulated in Australia?
On 16 May 2019, the Australasian Veterinary Boards Council (AVBC) will co-host, with Transport Canberra and City Services (TCCS) and the ACT Veterinary Practitioners Board (the Board), AVBC’s Annual General Meeting, associated workshop and Registrars’ meeting. Information on the AVBC can be seen through the following link: https://avbc.asn.au/what-we-do/
At the workshop, the Board is scheduled to lead a panel discussion with all AVBC members on whether it is time for Australian jurisdictions to regulate veterinary nurses.
Veterinary nurses working in Australia are currently only registered and regulated in Western Australia through a legislated occupational licensing scheme. According to the Commonwealth Department of Education and Training, veterinary nurses make up 42 percent of the veterinary services workforce in Australia, with a reported 9300 working veterinary nurses in 2018.
In the ACT, there is currently no requirement for veterinary nurses working with animals to hold any qualifications in veterinary science or care. Nurses can, at their own initiative or facilitated through their workplace, obtain a Certificate IV in Veterinary Nursing at the Canberra Institute of Technology. The certificate takes 18 months to 2 years full time to complete. There are no legislated acts of veterinary science identified in the ACT that can be performed by nurses at veterinary premises.
To inform the panel discussion regarding veterinary nurses, the Board would like to obtain the views of the veterinary profession in the ACT on whether they believe it is time for Australian jurisdictions to regulate veterinary nurses. Please note the results of this survey will only be used to inform the panel discussion.
The Board kindly requests that you complete the survey to help inform this important discussion. The survey will be open until 26 April 2019.