NSW Division President's Report - October 2024

Spring has officially sprung! So too has our official equine breeding season, and all the lovely warm weather joys - tick paralysis cases, bee stings, snake envenomation and so on. I do hope you are all managing to find some “down time” to balance the hard work.

September has been a big month for the AVA. The NSW Government handed down their response to the Report from the Inquiry into the Veterinary Workforce Shortage on Tuesday 1 October.

In the lead up to this, we met with the DPI and the Minister for Agriculture’s office to advocate for our profession. Specifically, this included:

• Asking for a formal review and public consultation on the Veterinary Practitioner’s Act 2003 to address many of the recommendations from the inquiry.
• Advocating for urgent strategies to address the unpaid work vets do in relation to strays and wildlife.
• Advocating for support for mental health initiatives to help the profession.
• Advocating for support for rural and remote veterinarians, and large animal veterinarians, in terms of attracting and retaining staff and maintaining biosecurity and animal welfare outcomes.
• Advocating for lobbying of the Federal Government in relation to those recommendations from the Report that were out of NSW Government jurisdiction.

The NSW Division met this month to discuss several issues, including how we could better support our student members and aid their transition to practice, how we could support our branches and the issue of council collection of strays. If you have any thoughts or feedback on these issues, please do reach out to us.

Thank you to all members who completed the AVA’s Membership Survey. Your responses have provided valuable insight into your experience with the Association and the opportunities for growth and improvement that exist. This information will be invaluable in shaping the future of the AVA.

Finally, we would love to hear from you how you are coping with the intravenous fluid shortage. If you haven’t already, you can complete the  AVA’s 2-minute survey on the shortage here. Your responses will help ensure the AVA’s Advocacy on the issue is accurate to the current situation and evidence-based.

 As always, please reach out if there is any way we can help.

Warmly,

Amy Lee

NSW Division President