From the desk of the Australian Chief Veterinary Officer: April update

With World Veterinary Day falling on 26 April, I have been reflecting on the Australian veterinary profession, our community and camaraderie, the challenges we face as a sector, and the ongoing efforts to address them.

This year’s theme, ‘animal health takes a team,’ underscores the importance of collaboration and partnerships in delivering effective veterinary care. It also acknowledges the vital contributions of veterinary nurses, technicians, researchers, and other allied health professionals in the provision of veterinary services.

The State of Australia’s Veterinary Profession

Veterinarians provide critical services that underpin animal health, welfare, and productivity. As veterinarians, your expertise is therefore also fundamental to food security, public health and wellbeing, and biosecurity efforts, including emergency animal disease surveillance and response activities. Yet, despite playing such a vital role, the veterinary profession in Australia—and globally—is facing significant workforce challenges.

Anecdotal evidence and reports from industry stakeholders highlight several key issues: workforce shortages, particularly in rural and regional areas; long hours and fatigue; mental health struggles; significant student debt; relatively low remuneration and conditions; cost of living pressures associated with lengthy work placement requirements as students; evolving work preferences; and increasing demand for veterinary services alongside rising client expectations.

Compounding these challenges is the fragmented governance of the veterinary profession in Australia. No single agency or entity holds overarching responsibility for the profession or its workforce issues. Furthermore, Australia lacks a comprehensive national dataset on the veterinary workforce—an essential tool for effective advocacy, evidence-based policymaking, and strategic workforce planning. Such data is also critical to meeting Australia’s international reporting obligations, including those to the World Organisation for Animal Health.

Veterinary Workforce Data and Governance Roundtable

As Australia’s Chief Veterinary Officer, I am committed to supporting and championing initiatives that support the development of a national veterinary workforce data solution. Recognising the urgency of this issue, my office and I facilitated the Veterinary Workforce Data and Governance Roundtable in August 2024 in Canberra.

One of the key outcomes of the roundtable was consensus on the need to establish a Veterinary Workforce Data Taskforce to investigate and recommend a preferred approach for veterinary workforce data collation, storage, analysis, and sharing. This collaborative initiative directly aligns with the spirit of World Veterinary Day, reinforcing the importance of teamwork in addressing sector-wide challenges.

Veterinary Workforce Data Taskforce

On 14 February 2025, the Veterinary Workforce Data Taskforce (the Taskforce) was formally established. Over a 12-month period, the Taskforce will focus specifically on data related to the veterinary profession. While the role of paraprofessionals and allied veterinary health professionals is crucial, data related to veterinary nurses and technicians will not be included in this initial scope.

The Taskforce’s activities will include:

• Stakeholder mapping and consultation on data needs to develop a national minimum viable product;
• Auditing current data sources and analysing limitations for potential future data collection;
• Exploring options for data storage, custodianship, analysis, and dissemination; and
• Examining legislative and regulatory requirements and associated limitations.

Dr Helen Scott-Orr has been appointed as the Independent Chair of the Taskforce. With her extensive experience across the veterinary sector, including expertise in veterinary workforce issues, Dr Scott-Orr is well-suited to guide this important initiative.

The membership requirements of the Taskforce were considered during the roundtable and in setting the terms of reference and include representatives from the Australian Veterinary Association, the Australasian Veterinary Boards Council, Veterinary Schools of Australia and New Zealand, the Veterinary Practitioners Registration Board of Victoria, the Veterinary Surgeons Board of Queensland, the New South Wales Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development, and the Australian Government Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry.

It is intended that the initial findings and recommendations of the Taskforce will be considered at a second roundtable, to be held later this year.

Why This Taskforce Is Important

A strong, sustainable veterinary workforce is essential for Australia’s animal health, biosecurity, and agricultural industries. Without accurate workforce data, it is difficult to advocate, plan and ensure that veterinarians are supported in their critical roles, now and in the future. The establishment of the Taskforce is an important step toward addressing these gaps.

As Australia’s Chief Veterinary Officer, it is a privilege to champion this effort and support key parties coming together to drive meaningful change. The insights gained from this Taskforce will be a key tool in shaping future policies and workforce initiatives, ensuring that Australia’s veterinary sector remains strong, well-resourced, and equipped to respond to emerging animal health threats.

Looking Ahead

As we celebrate World Veterinary Day and reflect on the theme of teamwork, genuine pan-stakeholder collaboration is one of the keys to overcoming the challenges faced by the profession.

By working together—across government, industry, academia and the private veterinary sector—and being equipped with robust data, we can strive to ensure that veterinarians are supported with the policies and resources needed to sustain a strong, sustainable and resilient profession. Strengthening veterinary services will not only benefit animal health and welfare but will also bolster Australia’s biosecurity and food security systems for the future.

Please join me on 26 April in celebrating our veterinary profession and acknowledging the work that we all do to safeguard animal health, welfare and production in Australia.

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