President’s message from Dr Diana Barker – November 2023

The AVA invests substantial resources and funding to champion improvements in our profession. I'm pleased to share with you the AVA 2023 Workforce Survey, and I urge each of you to participate. This survey is a crucial initiative aimed at capturing the insights and perspectives of every member of our profession.

Now in its seventh iteration, the survey serves as an invaluable tool, providing comprehensive data essential for understanding current trends and challenges within our field. It is our primary source for profiling our profession, and the collected data informs our advocacy efforts and guides membership activities. The survey is anonymous, and we will freely share the results with the profession next year.

Despite the essential public services provided by veterinarians, there is currently no centralised workforce planning for the profession in Australia. The AVA is actively addressing this gap, with the AVA Workforce Survey offering essential data to advocate for and plan the future of our profession.

Meaningful change requires the active participation of an engaged membership. Your involvement in the AVA 2023 Workforce Survey is a crucial step toward ensuring an accurate representation as we collectively plan for the evolving needs of our workforce.

For the first time, the 2023 survey will encompass detailed inclusive demographic data. This is an area where we previously lacked information, and we anticipate that this year's survey will result in a more accurate portrayal of the veterinary profession, facilitating how the AVA can best support and represent our members.

I strongly encourage you to complete the survey and share the link with your colleagues. Only veterinarians who have graduated (i.e., hold a degree registerable in Australia) and currently permanently reside in Australia should participate. The survey will take between 10-20 minutes to complete.

Additionally, I would like to remind you that applications to commence the AVA Chartered Veterinary Practitioner program in 2024 will close on December 8, 2023. As I recently shared,  feedback from students enrolled in the pilot program has been excellent, representing a diverse mix of practice owners, recent graduates and more experienced vets employed by others.

Thank you for your ongoing commitment to the advancement of our profession.