Office Hours: 9 to 4:30 by appointment only
email: admin@avbc.asn.au The AVBC Inc. assumed the functions and finances of the former Australian Veterinary Boards Conference from 20 December 1999. The Conference was set up in 1985 to provide the various state and territory Veterinary Boards the opportunity to discuss mutual problems / issues and to assist in the standardisation of acceptable veterinary practice and other issues affecting the practice of veterinary science in Australia. As veterinarians are a fairly mobile profession and are required to register separately in each state/ territory in which they wish to practise, (and adhere to the particular legislation in force in that jurisdiction), such a meeting was held on an annual basis to assist in introducing nationally acceptable standards by agreement. In 1988 the then New Zealand Veterinary Surgeons Board made an application to become a participant and commenced attending meetings in 1990. The AVBC Inc. has no legislative power to impose any decisions made at meetings on any participating Boards. The annual conferences have in the past provided a venue for general reporting and have addressed specific issues, for which over time there has been Australia-wide agreement, for example the recognition of overseas qualifications. Functions of AVBC Inc. (1) to accredit veterinary schools and courses leading to a degree in veterinary science or medicine; 2) to assess the suitability for practice in Australia and New Zealand of persons with foreign veterinary qualifications; (3) to advise and make recommendations to the veterinary boards in Australia and New Zealand in relation to:
(4) to provide advice on matters concerning
the occupational regulation of
veterinarians, including general and (5) to encourage standardisation and quality assurance of veterinary services to the community in all jurisdictions.
Structure of AVBC Inc. The state and territory Veterinary Boards of Australia, the Veterinary Council of New Zealand, the Australian Veterinary Association Ltd (AVA) and the New Zealand Veterinary Association Ltd (NZVA) are members of the AVBC Inc. Each member sends a delegate (usually the President of each Veterinary Board in Australia and the Veterinary Council of New Zealand). These delegates have a specific role to put the point of view that their organisation has instructed them to present and must vote appropriately. The AVA and the NZVA are not contributors to the financial support of the AVBC Inc. and are not entitled to vote.
In May 2008, the AVBC set up a new Constitution and adopted new committees and by laws. The Executive Committee was replaced by a Management Committee whose function is taking responsibility for day to day governance issues. The new Finance Committee established to take responsibility for developing policies regarding the appointment of auditors and determination of budget and reporting templates. The Communications and Liaison Committee to create guidelines for appropriate dissemination of information related to the role and activities of the AVBC to stakeholders whilst minimizing unnecessary expense related to promoting the Council to veterinarians.
The four standing committees became Standards Committees under the 2008 by laws. They are the Veterinary Schools Accreditation Advisory Committee (VSAAC), the Advisory Committee on the Registration of Veterinary Specialists (ACRVS) and two standing committees which oversee the National Veterinary Examination (NVE): NVE Panel in Veterinary Science and NVE Board of Examiners.
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