President's message from Dr Sally Colgan - September 2024

^{With Dr Anna Judson, BVA President}

It’s been another busy month with the end of year quickly approaching. However, there’s still a lot of big projects on the agenda for 2024 and we are not slowing down! I know we are all looking forward to Monday’s meeting to vote on the proposed changes to the AVA Constitution, which are approved and supported by the AVA Board.

Modernising and streamlining the AVA Constitution is an important step in aligning with the requirements of the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission and the Corporations Act. Please review the documentation and register via this link (by 5pm Sunday). You can appoint a proxy, however the proxy form needs to be submitted no later than 1pm AEST today, Saturday 28 September.

Also coming up on Monday is the release of the NSW Government’s response to the NSW Parliamentary Committee’s recommendations following the Inquiry into the Veterinary Workforce Shortage in NSW. The 17 findings and 34 recommendations released at the end of June were overwhelmingly supportive of our profession and showed a genuine understanding of our concerns, as outlined in the AVA response to the recommendations. We look forward to the NSW Government’s response and will report back to you next week.

One of the recommendations focused on funding for clinical training for veterinary students. This has been a prominent topic this year with the announcement in May of the Commonwealth Prac Payment Scheme. The AVA has been strongly advocating for the inclusion of veterinary students in this scheme, which is currently only available for teaching, nursing and social work students.

On Tuesday, I attended the Inquiry into the Universities Accord (Student Support and Other Measures) Bill 2024 Public Hearing. With Dr Alice Marshall, AVA Head of Public Affairs and Advocacy, we addressed the exclusion and disproportionate impact on veterinary students. It was a great opportunity to highlight the challenges veterinary students face in balancing a demanding curriculum with financial pressure, coupled with substantial HECs debts on graduation.

^{With Dr Alice Marshall, AVA Head of Public Affairs and Advocacy}

We also impressed upon the Committee that rural and regional prac placement is vitally important to our training, assists in getting vets into equine, large animal and mixed practices post-graduation, and that without vets in these all areas, all types of practice and industry suffers. We strongly urged the Government to reconsider the exclusion of veterinary students from the scheme, with the Committee due to report back to the Senate on its findings and any recommendations by 3 October 2024.

An important part of the AVA President’s role is building relationships and collaborating with our international counterparts. This month I spent some time in the UK, attending the International Equine Veterinary Association Presidents Meeting and meeting with the British Veterinary Association (BVA).

^{With Dr Roger Smith, Immediate Past President BEVA}

Representatives from 16 nations gathered in Liverpool during the British Equine Veterinary Association (BEVA) Congress, to share national updates and discuss global equine veterinary practice related issues, with a focus on recruitment and retention and Social Licence to Operate (SLO).  

^{International Equine Veterinary Association Presidents Meeting, BEVA Congress 2024}

Back in London, I had a highly engaging and productive meeting with BVA President Dr Anna Judson and Director of Policy and Governance Dr Amelia Findon, where we covered a wide range of topics. It was a great opportunity to share common experiences, but also to better understand the nuances of some different challenges facing our UK colleagues, and to appreciate the enormous amount of effort the BVA expend advocating for the profession.

^{With Dr Malcolm Morley Senior VP BVA and Dr Esther Skelly-Smith, Past President North of Ireland Veterinary Association}

Dr Sally Colgan
AVA President