The Australian Veterinary Association (AVA) has called on the Government to further support regional veterinary students and graduates.
It welcomed the Federal Government’s changes to HELP debt indexing but noted that more specific support is needed to ensure rural and regional Australia has the veterinary services it needs.
Dr Diana Barker, President of the AVA, said veterinary clinics across regional Australia are closing their doors or cutting back on clients because they can’t find enough staff.
“Veterinarians did the hard yards during COVID. We were recognised as essential, and the whole veterinary sector worked hard to keep clinic doors open so animals could get the care they needed. But we need some help now if veterinary services are going to be sustainable in the regions.”
AVA Workforce Survey Data being released later this month echoes this, with almost 40 per cent of job vacancies for veterinarians taking 12 months or longer to be filled.
The AVA is advocating for an education debt forgiveness scheme (estimated cost $4.8m per annum) to support graduate veterinarians working in rural and regional areas and university placement support (estimated cost $13.5m per annum) for veterinary science students to be afforded the same placement support that teaching, nursing, and social work students will receive.
“These are not expensive measures. But a small investment today can help to solve a serious long-term shortage of vets in rural and regional areas. We know that if students can be assisted to see practice rurally, there is evidence that they will return to work in rural and regional locations,” said Dr Barker.
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