AVA advocates for veterinary students following exclusion from Prac Payment Scheme

The Australian Veterinary Association continues to call for the inclusion of veterinary students in the Commonwealth Prac Payment scheme, after the Federal Government left them off the list of eligible professions in May.

From July 2025, the payment will offer funds to support teaching, nursing and social work students on university placements.

AVA President Dr Sally Colgan and Head of Public Affairs and Advocacy Dr Alice Marshall attended the University Accord Public Hearing this week to address the exclusion, saying placement poverty disproportionally affects veterinary students.

"Excluding veterinary science students from the recent funding promise to support teaching, nursing and social work students during university placements overlooks the critical role veterinarians play, which, like human healthcare and education, is essential to the Australian community,” Dr Colgan shared with the Inquiry Committee.

“Prac placements are compulsory, currently self-funded, hugely varied in nature, and many placements must be undertaken during university holidays due to the intense and demanding full-time curriculum.”

Australian accreditation standards mandate 52 weeks of placement during a 5–6 year veterinary course, leaving up to 3,000 student vets facing the very real threat of ‘placement poverty’.

According to AVA’s Early Careers Membership Officer Dr Ragaei Shenouda, a student survey conducted earlier this year shows financial stress is one of the major personal challenges faced by vets.

“84% of participants listed financial stress as their primary concern, with a third of those respondents listing financial stress as their only stressor,” Dr Shenouda said.

“73% of participants also listed financial concerns as the main challenge they recognised their colleagues were facing.

“Rising costs of extramural placements was listed as one of the main contributors to their financial stress, with cost of housing and university tuition as related stressors.”

The AVA addressed the veterinary workforce crisis, noting 43% of vacancies in regional areas remained unfilled for 12 months or longer.

“It is through exposure to rural and regional practice that students understand and appreciate the value of working in these areas. Without a strong workforce our public health, biosecurity, food safety, animal welfare, and the social licence to operate, is at risk,” Dr Colgan explained.

“Experience and access to rural livestock industries and the communities they serve, cannot be gained from a metro base.”

“Self-funded prac placement is a considerable barrier to completion and failure to complete has direct implications on the veterinary workforce.”

The AVA is calling on the Committee to build a better and fairer tertiary education system by including veterinary students in the Commonwealth Prac Payment Scheme. The Inquiry Committee is due to report back to the Federal Senate on its findings and any recommendations by 3 October 2024. The AVA will continue to provide updates on this Bill as they become available.