Pet owners warned of merger that could impact vet complaint-handling

2 months ago 12

Victoria’s pet owners are being warned about a state government plan to fold the body that handles veterinary complaints into a broader authority covering professions such as architects, surveyors and business registrations.

Veterinary and animal welfare groups say the proposal could weaken complaint handling, disciplinary decisions and the welfare of the 4200 veterinarians registered across the state.

Lort Smith Animal Hospital chief executive Frances Mirabelli.

As part of a broader overhaul of Victoria’s public service, the government will merge the Veterinary Practitioners Registration Board of Victoria – known as the VetBoard – which handles industry complaints and sets industry guidelines, into a new regulator which also covers other professions.

The board investigates complaints against vets, oversees disciplinary processes and sets professional standards for a workforce central to animal welfare, food safety and biosecurity.

But industry leaders warn that moving specialist oversight into a broad, multi-profession body would leave Victoria as the only Australian jurisdiction without a specialist, independent veterinary regulator.

One of the state’s largest veterinary employers, the Lort Smith Animal Hospital, described it as a “potentially dangerous cost-cutting exercise” which could impact millions of Victorian pet owners.

Victoria has more than 4200 registered vets.

“Vetboard Victoria plays a crucial role in regulating the veterinary profession, ensuring that professional standards are maintained throughout the industry,” Lort Smith chief executive Francis Mirabelli said.

“This will be to the serious detriment of the veterinary profession as well as affecting the millions of Victorian pet owners who are concerned for their pets’ care, and the people who care for them.”

Mirabelli said the veterinary industry had one of the highest levels of suicide, and vets already worked in a “challenging and emotionally charged” industry.

“Complaints made to the board are often extremely complex in nature and if not handled efficiently and correctly, can have devastating impacts on the professionals being investigated.”

An Australian Veterinary Association (AVA) survey in 2021 found about two-thirds of vets have experienced a mental health condition and nearly 70 per cent have lost a colleague or peer to suicide.

AVA Victorian division president Dr Cathy Deague said animal regulation required an understanding of clinical decision-making, prescribing and dispensing, animal health, disease surveillance and emergency response.

“These are highly specialised areas that differ significantly from the regulatory needs of other professions,” she said.

“If these nuances are not reflected within a new multi-profession framework, there is a serious risk that safeguards will be undermined.”

Deague said the AVA was not consulted before the proposed merger.

“The creation of a Victorian-specific, multi-profession regulator risks significant uncertainty, and will undermine wellbeing, and veterinary care for the 69 per cent of Victorians who have an animal.”

Two industry sources, speaking to The Age on the condition of anonymity to discuss negotiations, said the vet board was seeking a meeting with the government to clarify how specialist regulatory functions would be preserved under the proposed model, but was yet to meet.

A Victorian government spokesperson said bringing the agencies under one umbrella would end “unnecessary duplication”.

“Victoria will always protect animal welfare and will always have high-quality veterinary services,” they said.

“We’re making sure our public service is laser focused on Victorians – good schools, good healthcare, safe communities and real help with the cost of living.”

Unlike many of the bodies slated for consolidation, the Vet Board is not taxpayer funded, and operates on a cost-recovery basis through registration fees. Over the past three years, it has recorded a cumulative surplus of $1.36 million.

The Allan government asked top bureaucrat Helen Silver to lead an independent review into streamlining the Victorian public service, with the aim of reining in employee costs, which ballooned from $18.8 billion in 2014-2015 to an estimated $38 billion in 2024-2025.

The government said the cuts would save more than $4 billion over the next four years but would not affect frontline services.

In a statement to The Age, Vetboard Victoria president Dr John Harte confirmed the merger plan and said they were working with stakeholders and the government to “ensure continuity, stability and the integrity of veterinary regulation”.

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