President’s message from Dr Gemma Chuck: September 2025

09 Oct 2025

We all knew this year was going to be a momentous one! It began over 12 months ago with your frank and fearless feedback obtained via the 2024 Stakeholder Survey, and now we are excited to have reached an important milestone: the revised Stage 3 Constitution proposal has been approved by the AVA Board and is now available to the membership before voting later this month.  

Stage 3 Constitution Reform 

The culmination of the Stage 3 Reform is the 2025 Constitution Vote which will be held on Thursday 30 October at 1pm AEDT. You will have received an email this week with instructions on how to register to vote, along with documents that outline the proposed changes. I want to thank everyone who has been involved in the reform process, in particular the Constitution Reform Working Group (CRWG), the AVA Board and all the members who provided feedback via Townhalls, emails and formal submissions.  

The revised Stage 3 Constitution Reform proposal directly addresses feedback from members through this extensive consultation process, will strengthen our governance, more closely reflect how we work today, and better position our profession for the years ahead. 

If you have any questions about the revised proposal, please consider joining one of our upcoming Member Q&A sessions. We plan on having two sessions to allow as many members to participate as possible: 

As an AVA member, you will need to register for the 2025 Constitution Vote using this link, or you can contact AVA Member Services Team if you have questions or need assistance: members@ava.com.au or ph. 1300 137 309. 

Your vote is your voice and all voices matter. Be sure that your voice is heard so that together we can build a thriving veterinary profession. This is probably the most important thing you can do as an AVA member: shape the future and be part of the change.  

Council of Presidents “Vetogether” 

Last month, the Special Interest Group and Division Presidents joined me for an informal online gathering to openly discuss a variety of topics, including the Stage 3 Constitution Reform and upcoming membership model changes. The AVA is a “Community of Communities” and it was fantastic to see so many passionate AVA advocates in one ‘virtual room’, sharing thoughts and insights about current projects. After all the work done to date, I was encouraged to hear such positive sentiment about the Constitution Reform. We are hoping to hold more regular “Vetogether” gatherings in the future as they provide a valuable opportunity for open interaction and two-way engagement. A special thank you to the Council of Presidents for their positive contribution and ongoing commitment to the AVA. 

External Activities 

Over the past month, the AVA has been proud to support some influential public awareness campaigns relating to our profession. 

The Animal Medicines Australia Pets in Australia 2025 report confirmed considerable growth in the number of companion animals in Australia as well as emphasising the role of vets as trusted sources of information for many pet owners. The report also highlighted the impact of the rising costs of living on companion animal ownership. It was very encouraging to see that veterinarians have risen two places in the 2025 Governance Institute of Australia’s Ethics Index 2025. We are now ranked as the 5th most ethical profession in our nation, which reflects the strong level of trust our clients and communities have for us. However, despite this high level of trust, many Australians underestimate the pressures and challenges of our profession. Shining a light on the extraordinary work of vets is at the heart of the new Boehringer Ingelheim “Value Your Vet” campaign. The message is raw and impactful and the AVA is proud to support this initiative. If you’re not aware of this, check it out here. If this resonates with you, feel free to share it on your clinic social media channels. 

Campaigns and initiatives such as these provide us with independent information about our clients and most importantly, what they think about us. Based on member feedback, one of our strategic goals is to raise public awareness about the important work that we do. We can only do that if we truly know our people, both within and external to our profession. I look forward to sharing more on this early next year as we build our advocacy efforts towards Championing our Profession for a vibrant and thriving future.  

I look forward to seeing many of you over the next month at the Member Q and A sessions and, most importantly, on Thursday 30 October at 1pm (AEDT) for the Member Vote on the Stage 3 Constitution Reform. Let’s do this! 

Dr Gemma Chuck   

AVA President