AVA Submission - Australian Centre for Disease Control (CDC)

The AVA has provided a submission to the Australian Government on the establishment of a Centre for Disease Control (CDC).
Our submission emphasises the essential role veterinarians play in protecting Australia’s biosecurity, zoonotic disease surveillance, antimicrobial resistance (AMR) mitigation, and emergency animal disease preparedness.

We recommend that the CDC’s structure includes:

• Formal veterinary representation in key governance and advisory bodies.

• Integrated One Health coordination across human, animal and environmental health sectors.

• Improved surveillance and data-sharing mechanisms that recognise the realities of veterinary practice, including capacity constraints in regional and remote Australia.

• Adequate workforce and funding support for veterinarians contributing to outbreak response and ongoing public health activities.

By embedding veterinary expertise within the CDC, Australia will strengthen its ability to prevent, detect and respond to emerging threats that sit at the intersection of human and animal health.

A copy of the AVA submission is available here