QLD Advocacy update - Dr Robyn Whitaker, Governance and Advocacy Officer

It was so nice to visit Brisbane in December and meet AVA committee and other members in person at the President’s Drinks function.

During my visit I also had the opportunity to meet with Dr Allison Crook and Dr Fiona Thompson of DAF/BQ. We had an extremely productive discussion on progressing a pilot program to assist with the laboratory sample transport costs of suspect EAD cases from regional locations.

Other EAD preparedness matters were also reviewed and BQ are very keen to strengthen communication and consultation with AVA QLD in 2023. I look forward to working with the QLD Division Committee and BQ to assist this further.

Amendments to the QLD Animal Care and Protection Act 2001 came in to effect on 12th December 2022. Many of the changes in this Act have been welcomed by the AVA. There will now be a process where the regulations that sit under these amendments are developed.

With input from the AVA QLD Division, and relevant SIGs, we will advocate for aspects of these regulations that impact our profession. These include cattle pregnancy testing & spaying by non-veterinarians and the issuing of certificates for “regulated procedures”. Read more about the changes to the Act here.

Other information of importance shared with members was confirmation of ehrlichiosis in a dog in Townsville. Read more here.

The AVA Advocacy Plan for 2023 has now been approved. The plan addresses the wellbeing and sustainability issues that the veterinary profession faces in the key areas of:

• The problem: a historic and ongoing pathway to a reduction in veterinary services and knowledge
• The solution: intervention points to break the pathway to a reduction in veterinary services and knowledge

The framework of the plan recognises that we achieve change in this by increasing veterinary influence in animal industries and government and demonstrating value and evidence to external stakeholders.

Regular updates on National and QLD advocacy work can be found here on the AVA website.