Veterinary Nurse and Technologist Awareness Week – making progress towards wider registration

It’s timely that we’re celebrating Veterinary Nurse and Technologist Awareness Week. The past few months have seen a number of key steps towards wider veterinary nurse registration in Australia.

Firstly, the NSW Parliamentary Inquiry into the veterinary workforce shortage formally recognised the important role that veterinary nurses play in the sector and in assisting to resolve the shortage of veterinarians. In its final report it included 4 recommendations for the regulation and registration of veterinary nurses and technologists.

Secondly, the Working Party for the Regulation of Veterinary Nurses and Veterinary Technologists convened in August this year. The working party is chaired by our long-time volunteer and former VNCA president, Jane Bindloss, and includes expertise from the Australian Veterinary Boards Council (AVBC), Veterinary Nurses Council of Australia (VNCA), and AVA.

Finally, the NSW Government, in its response to the Parliamentary Inquiry, supported moves for a nationally consistent registration scheme for veterinary nurses and technologists. It also gave ‘in principle support’ to the Inquiry’s other 3 recommendations on regulation in NSW.

While there is still a long way to go before we have regulation across the country, on this Veterinary Nurse and Technologist Awareness Week, we can celebrate a number of significant milestones on the path to regulation.