5 by 5 – what’s next in AVA advocacy?

Our member consultation project to identify five strategic advocacy priorities for the next five years is now complete, after discussions at Policy Advisory Council, our Group Summit and the member forum in Cairns. Our next step is to articulate interim and longer term goals and objectives.

The strategic priorities provide clarity about ‘what we want’ and ‘what matters’ as we build a stronger AVA advocacy program to support the future of the profession. They will be an important element of our strategic plan, and in the short term will be basis of the 2013 federal election policy platform. We will continue to work on the range of other advocacy priorities that are important to specific groups of members and jurisdictions, and work to balance all of those priorities against available resources.

Planning an effective veterinary workforce

It’s essential that the nation has the right number of vets to meet the needs of Australia’s animals and their owners, and that those vets are where they’re needed. Three new veterinary schools have been established in the last 10 years, and the student population at the others has grown in that time, so a large number of new veterinarians are beginning to enter the profession.

Our goal is centralised, effective workforce planning for the veterinary profession with implementation strategies agreed to by immigration authorities, veterinary schools and veterinary boards.

Ensuring economic sustainability

Treatment options are expanding and there is an increasing reliance on sophisticated technology and therapies. Pet owners consider their pets as members of the family, and are more willing than before to consider spending money on them. Pressures on farmers to ensure productivity and high animal welfare standards have not resulted in increased reliance on professional veterinary support. Many who service the livestock market feel obliged to make concessions to maintain demand. There are community perceptions that veterinary services are ‘expensive’, while in reality remuneration is at a much lower level than in other professions.

To ensure the health and welfare of both food and companion animals, and protection of communities and food sources against disease, veterinary practices must be economically sustainable and veterinarians must be adequately rewarded for their work.

Our goals are to improve graduate salaries in comparison to other professions, increase average annual veterinary remuneration above CPI, increase practice sustainability and attain higher pet insurance coverage.

Filling the gap in government veterinary services

A progressive reduction of direct investment in animal health by Australian governments in the last 20 years has increased the risks to public health for consumers of animal products, and to the health and welfare of food animals. Private practitioners now carry significant responsibility in both initial detection and ongoing surveillance for animal diseases. Yet we have no clear model or consistency across jurisdictions for partnership between governments and private veterinarians.

Our goal is to develop a model of effective partnership between governments and private veterinarians across all jurisdictions to ensure effective surveillance, early detection and management of disease.

Better regulation

Our system of varying legislation, registration and boards in each jurisdiction is a complex structure for a small workforce of 10,000 veterinarians. In some states the law allows invasive procedures like use of power tools in equine dentistry, pregnancy testing in cattle, and spaying cattle to be undertaken by non-veterinarians. A commitment by the Council of Australian Governments to national recognition of veterinary registration has taken far too long to be implemented, and this should be fast-tracked.

Our goal is sensible and consistent regulation, across all jurisdictions, that protects the welfare of animals and the rights of consumers to a quality veterinary service. There is significant support among AVA members for national legislation (or at least harmonisation across jurisdictions) and national veterinary registration.

Fighting antimicrobial resistance

Antibiotic resistance is a global issue and the veterinary profession accepts its responsibility to work alongside human health professions to fight resistance at every opportunity. Veterinarians rely on antibiotics to treat animals and prevent suffering in pets, livestock and other animals. It is critical that they retain access to the medications they need, and that they prescribe them responsibly.

Our goals are to ensure the government accurately monitors and reports antimicrobial use and antimicrobial resistance in all species, while the AVA successfully demonstrates the profession’s responsible stewardship of antimicrobials, and provides resources to enhance prescribing practices.

With these five priorities at front and centre of our advocacy program, we look forward to seeing some significant progress in the issues that our members have told us are most important to them. You’ll hear more in our member communications, discussion forums and at AVA events about our progress, and we look forward to hearing more from members about what matters most.

Graham Catt
Chief Executive Officer

This article appeared in the July 2013 issue of the Australian Veterinary Journal