Opportunities exist for everyone to develop personal connections within and outside of work.

• Everyone’s behaviour towards other team members, animals, professionals outside the organisation and the public is guided by the professional principles of:=
  • Honesty and integrity. For example, everyone is honest in their professional and commercial dealings. They consider alternative approaches suitable to specific situations and communicate those without prejudice. They base their decisions and actions on the best data available and communicate any limitations of this. They respect the confidentiality and privacy of their interactions with owners and each other.
  • Self-management and Accountability. For example, everyone is mindful of their own health and wellbeing and takes steps to modify their practice if their performance and judgement may be impaired. They recognise the limits of their knowledge and experience and seek appropriate advice and support when needed, while remaining accountable for their decision making and actions. In making ethical decisions, they consider if, when, why, and how their own interests should be constrained.
  • For example, everyone demonstrates due regard for the welfare, beliefs, customs, perceptions, and cultural heritage of animal owners, team members and professional peers. They listen actively to owners and provide sufficient, clear and accurate information to enable informed consent for veterinary care. They make decisions that are in the interests of the individual animal and which also demonstrate due concern for individual and collective animal health and wellbeing, human health and wellbeing, the community and the environment.

• All registered veterinary professionals are aware of, and comply with, their professional responsibilities, privileges and obligations under the relevant Acts.

• All team members are proactive and supported in navigating ethically challenging situations, for example through peer discussion and continuing education.

• Everyone recognises the importance of genuine and productive veterinary-owner-animal (VOA) relationships to optimise animal health and welfare outcomes. Everyone complies with regulatory VOA requirements and works to foster shared understanding, effective collaboration and trust. Where this is not possible, refusal or termination of the VOA relationship demonstrates professional standards of behaviour.

Veterinary professionals are empowered to make well-justified decisions and take actions that meet their peers’ and public expectations appropriate to the context. Complaints are viewed as an opportunity for reflection and where necessary, growth.

• All registered veterinary professionals are familiar with the guidance provided by their relevant veterinary regulator/s about professional standards of veterinary practice.
• Everyone in the team respects diversity in veterinary professionals’ approach to their Everyone understands that there is more than one effective way to do many things.
• Everyone respects that professional judgement includes navigation of various owner, patient and environmental constraints and considerations, including:
  • animal health and wellbeing
  • public health and safety
  • environmental impact
  • currency of knowledge and practice
  • legal and regulatory compliance
  • healthy, supportive and collegiate work environment
• Everyone understands that upholding regulated professional standards refers to good practice which “meets peer and public expectations” across a spectrum of care, and not “gold” standard care in every case. Workplace peers are available to provide perspectives on what might be considered reasonable by professional peers; all veterinarians learn from and contribute perspective to others’ work.
• Everyone is empowered to ask questions to understand why patient health decisions have been made, and to contribute other ideas and suggestions.
• Everyone is encouraged and supported to identify and acknowledge the limits of their own expertise and ask for others’ assistance and perspectives.
• Professional decisions are made based on contemporary knowledge and evidence, to the extent that that exists. Innovation based on sound related evidence is acknowledged as necessary for both knowledge expansion and to suit very varied veterinary work contexts.
• Concerns about professional standards are investigated according to a consistent and fair process, always seeking first to understand reasons for behaviour. Peer or public concerns are heard attentively, and veterinarians are always given an opportunity to explain the rationale for their decisions and actions.
• Any complaint about professional standards that escalates to a state or territory veterinary Board is viewed constructively as an opportunity for independent and objective feedback to validate or strengthen practise. Support, including mentoring for that process, is facilitated where appropriate.

Leadership, management and workplace systems support everyone to meet their professional responsibilities including effective teamwork with animal owners and peers, and continued learning and development.

• Policies, systems, processes, decisions and procedures appropriately consider and prioritise
  • animal health and wellbeing
  • public health and safety
  • environmental impact
  • currency of knowledge and practice
  • legal and regulatory compliance
  • safe, healthy and collegiate teamwork
• There are systems, including technology where appropriate, to support professional standards of complete record keeping and communication. This includes informed medical and financial consent, communications with owners and peers, reasons for decisions, test results, outcomes, further plans and aftercare in accordance with regulatory guidance.
• Registered professionals are empowered to make decisions and act in a manner that reflects their own professional judgement, acknowledging that veterinary practitioners are individually accountable for their professional standards.
• All team members are helped to develop a good understanding of the regulatory considerations and constraints of veterinary work, including the veterinarian’s accountability and the public’s responsibilities. Resources such as fact sheets and checklists that help educate team members and the public about these responsibilities are utilised.
• Development and regular review of systems and policies that support professional standards occurs in consultation with all regulated professionals and other relevant team members to ensure they are practical, clear, comprehensive and efficient in supporting professional practice.
• All team members are supported by complaint review processes and constructive leadership, to approach complaints and adverse events as an opportunity for reflection and where necessary, systems improvement, team learning and personal growth.
• Continuing education support, such as allocated time, funding, agreed use, mentoring, and systems that assist review and learning , adequately reflects professional standards’ CPD requirements.

Workplace facilities and equipment, including in ambulatory contexts, enable delivery of professional standards of service.

• Facilities and equipment are selected, designed, installed, used, maintained and replaced with appropriate consideration and prioritisation of:
  • animal health and wellbeing
  • public health and safety
  • environmental impact
  • currency of knowledge and practice
  • legal and regulatory compliance, including medication storage/access
  • safe, healthy, supportive and collegiate teamwork
• Everyone contributes to ensuring that the workplace environment and equipment are appropriate for the veterinary services delivered there. This includes owners and managers’ role in the purchase and maintenance of facilities and equipment, and all team members’ role in their use, cleaning, maintenance and identification of necessary items or facilities for professional standards of care.

• Registered veterinary professionals are enabled to exercise their professional judgement when recommending, undertaking, referring or refusing veterinary services based on the appropriateness of facilities, equipment, and other physical aspects of a work environment including assistance.

• Everyone takes reasonable measures to ensure that anyone assisting to provide veterinary services has the knowledge, skills and capacity to perform the task.

• According to their role, everyone works to ensure workplace facilities and equipment minimise health and welfare risks to and from animals, including through attention to animal physical, emotional and mental needs, principles of biosecurity, and to preventing introduction of infection or parasites.

• Together, everyone works to deliver facilities and equipment that encourage development of respectful, trusting and productive veterinary-owner-animal relationships.