Senate Rural and Regional Affairs and Transport Legislation Committee, , 8:23:30 to 8:29:32
The department discusses long-standing veterinary shortages and the initiative to deliver a national veterinary workforce data snapshot by July 2027 to inform future policy decisions.
Topics: Biosecurity, Employment
Speakers: Dr Beth Cookson, Justine Saunders, Senator Paul Scarr, Unknown Speaker
just considering the the worst case scenario which we hope doesn't occur. Uh, has the department or have you undertaken [clears throat] any modeling on how many private vets would be available for surge capacity if H5 was to reach poultry or livestock? Have you done any analysis in terms of how you'd mobilize vets to to respond?
>> Yeah, there hasn't been specific modeling that I'm aware of about the veterinary workforce. Um however we do have a very wellestablished um emergency response um arrangements within Australia. Um there are um veterinarians employed with state departments um who are responsible for managing the outbreak and and for example in the H7 outbreak there were veterinarians um alongside other professionals involved in the managing the outbreak in poultry um for H7 in 2024 and 2025. Um so those veterinarians undertake a range of functions within those response structures. Um and that's all um managed under those existing arrangements. Um there are also mechanisms in place for um private veterinarians to be engaged by those response jurisdictions should they have a need to and there's some standardized guidelines about how um that would occur. Um but of course it is um a business decision for those private veterinarians um and an employment decision by the jurisdiction. So they're actually directly engaged in the response by the state or territory that's leading the response in their terri in their jurisdiction.
>> So one of the reasons I asked the question is there's a shortage of vets quite a long-standing shortage of vets in Australia. That's correct, isn't it? >> Is is that improving? Is anything being done to address that?
Um yeah, we're certainly um
>> is it coming up in your discussions in terms of
>> I might just jump in before certainly the issue of our workforce capacities is forefront of mind nationally through the national bio security committee and we do talk routinely about where those gaps exist. A key focus has been on bet veteran officers, but as it relates to preparedness for potential spillover with H5, noting localized plans are what is necessary, the jurisdictions have not elevated this as a significant issue in our preparedness for this event. So is if I can just make that point. Sure. And then of course in relation to the veterinary workforce, we have embarked on some work which includes actually doing some stock take activities around the country to better understand the nature of the risk. So the right right proportionate responses can be developed. Once again recognizing that we are part of a federation and any response to enhance our cap capacity will be led at a jurisdictional level but we will certainly seek to coordinate and show leadership in relation to how we can address these issues over the coming years. But Beth can talk more specifically to some.
>> Just before we move to um to Beth, uh can I just um can you provide on notice any output from that stock take process you referred to?
>> It's underway at the moment, Senator. And I think we're proposing to complete the stock take in the next 12 months if I'm correct. Correct me if I'm wrong.
>> Yeah. that um yes veterinary workforce shortages um have been recognized as a long-standing issue. Of course, it's not um an issue that just affects um government services or this type of sure >> response. The majority of veterinarians work in um private practice and we know that there's also um a malistribution element to the veterinary workforce particularly in rural and regional um areas. So we do engage regularly with the Australian Veterinary Association and the Australasian Veterinary Board Council. Um we've had long-standing engagements with them to understand the issue and to um um work with them on what um policy levers if you like or actions could help to alleviate the veterary workforce shortage. Um it's also not unique to Australia. Um I would say that there is um a a global um veterinary workforce issue with many of the partner countries that we work with particularly through our Quads Alliance in um Canada, the United States, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. So we're also sharing lessons with them. Um in Australia um since 2024, my office has been involved in trying to bring together the relevant um stakeholders. Obviously it's a complex multiffactoral issue and it and it needs to be resolved um throughout the profession. Uh so we have um coni convened um two roundt discussions so that we can understand what's needed. Um we have um um funded an independent task force to to help us to design what um information needs there are to help inform the policy choices. Um and some of those policy choices sit within other departments including for example the department of education. Um and as a result of that uh we have agreed that the department will initially lead um a snapshot of veterary workforce data. Um the main feedback we get when we're talking about the the options to help um alleviate some of these issues is the lack of available data to inform those policy decisions. So it is the first step that we need to undertake. Um and we have committed to um the Commonwealth um through my office leading that work um with the aim to deliver a first national veterinary data snapshot um by um July 2027. Um so we're just progressing that now after the agriculture senior officials committee um have agreed to us doing that and we'll be looking to um engage more broadly on um sort of sustainable um approach to doing that so that we so that we have longitudinal data.