SA Vet Bill passes the Upper House

The South Australian Upper House passed the Veterinary Services Bill 2023 bringing the new legislation an important step closer to coming into effect. Once enacted, the new legislation will modernise the regulation of the veterinary profession in South Australia and help cement the new operational and transparency measures the new Veterinary Surgeons' Board of SA has introduced this year.

Some of the key changes that will come in with the new legislation:

• A requirement that the Presiding Member of the Board be a veterinarian rather than a legal practitioner, along with the adjustment of the Board to be a skills-based board representing the diversity of the profession.
• Increased transparency of administrative processes (including complaints handling).
• A new function of the Board to provide information and advice to vets on relevant legislation, codes, standards, and guidelines
• A new function of the Board to work with other vet boards to promote uniformity and consistency in the regulation of veterinarians in Australia.
• A requirement for all veterinary premises to be registered.
• Removal of the current requirement for veterinarians to self-notify the Board when claims for damages or other compensation are made against them.

The Bill has also been designed to enable greater flexibility in the registration process, which has been an issue for recent graduates, and veterinarians seeking to return to work after a break.

Importantly, as many veterinarians in South Australia have already noticed, since the start of 2023 the Board has significantly adjusted its approach to transparency and engagement with the veterinary profession and complaints handling. The AVA would particularly like to particularly thank the new Presiding Member and Registrar of the Board for their work in bringing about these changes. The measures in the new legislation will help build on this.

During the Parliamentary debate on the Bill, the AVA worked with Minister Hon. Clare Scriven MLC, Hon. Nicola Centofanti MLC (Shadow Minister) and Hon. Frank Pangallo MLC on a series of further amendments to enhance the Bill. The suggested amendments were discussed with the Veterinary Surgeons Board of SA, which led to the modification of a number of the amendments.

Consultation on codes, standards and guidelines

We gained support from across the Parliament for the veterinary profession’s peak representative body, to be consulted by the Minister on veterinarian appointments to the new Veterinary Services Regulatory Board of South Australia. This is important as it ensures that there is an independent veterinary profession voice when Board appointments are made. An additional amendment passed will also require similar consultation on variation of codes, standards and guidelines. Further, any changes to codes, standards and guidelines will need to be reported to veterinarians within 30 days.

Medical fitness of veterinarian

Following discussions with Hon. Frank Pangallo MLC on the wellbeing of veterinarians, Mr Pangallo initiated amendments to clause 62 of the Bill. This relates to the existing requirement for health practitioners and employers to report a veterinarian to the Board if they believe they may be medically unfit to provide veterinary services. We have long been concerned that this requirement (which does not exist in any other state or territory) would act as a deterrent to veterinarians seeking health advice and support when they need it. The amendment negotiated here will remove this requirement on employers and will relax the obligation on health professionals.

Registration of mobile hospitals

We were also pleased to support moves by the Shadow Minister, Hon. Nicola Centofanti MLC, in her amendments to ensure that regulation of mobile veterinary hospitals are included in the new legislation. Significant advances have been made in recent years in the development of extensive mobile veterinary hospitals. These can be equipped busses or semi-trailers with extensive surgical facilities on board. While they are not yet commonplace, they exist and will become more prevalent. As they do so, it is important that they are also required to maintain certain facility standards.

The passage of the Bill is the culmination of over 4 years work across multiple governments and the AVA has been involved every step of the way. We are delighted that the Veterinary Services Bill has passed the Legislative Council and thank all MPs for their dedicated consideration. In particular, we thank the Minister Hon. Clare Scriven MLC, Hon. Nicola Centofanti MLC (Shadow Minister) and Hon. Frank Pangallo MLC for the work they have done with us on amendments to the Bill. These have helped to refine an already excellent Bill that will serve our state's animals and veterinary profession well for years to come.

We also thank the Veterinary Surgeons Board of SA for discussing the amendments with us. Their perspective on the operational impacts on them was an important consideration in the AVA SA Committee's final decisions on which amendments to support.

The next step is for the Bill to be considered by the Lower House, which is likely to occur in the second half of October. If you would like further information, please contact graham.pratt@ava.com.au.