In WA only, there is a legal requirement for nurses who are working in a veterinary practice to be registered with the Vet Practice Board (WA). Vet Nursing Students no longer need to register with the Vet Practice Board. A list of duties that are allowed to be performed by a Vet Nursing Student under veterinary supervision is shown below.
The veterinarian who is providing the supervision needs to be approved by Applied Vocational Training, in writing, prior to performing the duties listed below.
It should be noted that people performing acts listed below are acting illegally if AVT does not have written consent from the supervising veterinarian.
You can download our AVT Supervising Veterinary Authorisation Form (to be signed by the veterinarian and returned to AVT by the student), using the link below.
Veterinary Practice Regulations 2022 | Part 4 Authorised persons | Division 2
Subdivision 2 — Veterinary nurse students
23. Acts of veterinary medicine veterinary nurse students are authorised to carry out
A veterinary nurse student is authorised to carry out an act of veterinary medicine specified in Schedule 5 in circumstances where:
(a) carrying out the act of veterinary medicine is required as part of the veterinary nurse student’s course of study; and
(b) the act of veterinary medicine is carried out under the personal supervision of a veterinarian; and
(c) the veterinarian who is providing the supervision — (i) is approved in writing by the registered training organisation with which the veterinary nurse student is enrolled to supervise the carrying out of the act of veterinary medicine; and (ii) has given written consent to providing the supervision;
Veterinary Practice Regulations 2022
Schedule 5 — Acts of veterinary medicine: veterinary nurse students [r. 23(1)]
Veterinary Practice Regulations 2022 | Schedule 4 — Acts of veterinary medicine: veterinary nurses [r. 7]
Division 1 — Acts authorised to be carried out under personal supervision of veterinarian
Division 2 — Acts authorised to be carried out under direction of veterinarian
Veterinary Practice Board of WA Health requirements
Due to the nature of a Veterinary Nurse’s work and the environment in which they work, the Veterinary Practice Board of WA will request and assess information about an applicant’s health and wellbeing and the management of any condition prior to registration. Disclosure is strictly confidential and considered on a case by case basis.
The leader in delivery of Australian Nationally Recognised Qualifications including ACM20121 Certificate II in Animal Care (formerly Animal Studies), ACM30122 Certificate III in Animal Care Services, ACM40818 Certificate IV in Veterinary Nursing and ACM40322 Certificate IV in Animal Behaviour and Training.
Applied Vocational Training (AVT) delivers a range of qualifications and short courses for students wishing to pursue a career working with animals.
AVT is a Registered Training Organisation based in Perth, Western Australia, providing on-campus and online courses to students studying throughout Australia. More about us →
We acknowledge the traditional owners of the land where our campus is based, the Whadjuk people of the Noongar Nation. We pay our respects to Elders past, present and emerging and we commit to walking alongside our indigenous brothers and sisters. We extend that respect to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders in our community.
Applied Vocational Training (AVT) is proudly a Registered Training Organisation (RTO 5273).