NSW Division President’s Update

Parliamentary Inquiry, New Vet School, Changes with Branches and Divisions, THRIVE kicks off

The parliamentary inquiry into the vet shortage has happened across two days this week, with vets and other people involved with the industry fronting a committee of NSW upper house MPs. The AVA was represented by myself, as well as Dr Cristy Secombe and Dr Robyn Whitaker. It was a great opportunity to support our submission and provide the solutions and leadership that vets across the state have been asking us. It was heartening to see many of the other witnesses at the inquiry reference the great work the AVA has been doing and point to our submission to provide guidance.

You may have seen the news that Southern Cross University hopes to start a new vet school based in Lismore, NSW. The course is in development with the aim to take in the first lot of students in 2025. Details are light at the moment, but Dr Jon Hill who is leading the establishment of the program will be meeting with both NSW and QLD division committees to discuss the introduction of the new school. We look forward to sharing more information as it becomes available.

In 2021 the AVA had a significant restructure. This led to a reduction of funding and guidance as to how branches and divisions would function in the AVA. This has affected branch events and divisions across the country. In the past few weeks, the board has provided a statement of purpose for the function of divisions and branches. The division committee and several branch representatives are currently working to understand the changes and provide feedback on how the new structure can function and lead to a healthy grass-roots AVA. The division committee doesn’t think the balance is there yet, but we will continue to push for the importance of branches to the AVA. If you have had any involvement with branches or events I would strongly encourage you to read the statement of purpose and provide your feedback to the division committee via liz.gemes@ava.com.au

Lastly, the THRIVE wellness program is launching, and NSW practices are some of the first to benefit. The pilot running across 50 veterinary practices is going to be visiting workplaces and providing industry-aware mental wellness training. The goal is to extend this across every veterinary practice in the country. I’m particularly excited to get hands on with the training in my own team and am hopeful about the impact it will have on the industry as a whole.