Canberra, Australia
The Australian Veterinary Association (AVA) has welcomed a $12 million investment by the federal government to bolster our national response to potential outbreaks of H5 Avian Influenza in recognition of National Biosecurity Week.
AVA acknowledges the importance of the $100 million investment to strengthen surveillance, preparedness and response capability to H5 bird flu and urges the Albanese Government to further invest in the veterinary workforce as frontline responders.
"Veterinarians are Australia's first line of defence in the detection of animal disease outbreaks, and they play a critical role in protecting Australia's biosecurity," said AVA President Dr Gemma Chuck.
"Whilst this funding is being provided to states and territories to purchase critical equipment to support a swift response, a robust and available veterinary workforce is required to enable rapid mobilisation in the event of an outbreak," said Dr Gemma Chuck. Importantly, veterinarians also underpin $90 billion in agricultural production and export market activity and are influential in maintaining Australia's world leading biosecurity standards.
Urgent investment in the veterinary workforce is needed to protect our export industry, fortify our biosecurity standards and bolster our response to disease outbreaks. The AVA calls on the Albanese Government to:
- Invest $24 million per year in a HECS/HELP forgiveness scheme as an incentive for newly trained vets to relocate to regional areas after graduation. This will partially or fully forgive their tertiary education debt upon relocation.
- Invest $12.2m per year to include vet students in the Commonwealth Prac Payment Scheme that will offset costs associated with rural or regional placements to build a robust and available veterinary workforce.
- Recognise and resource veterinarians as a frontline biosecurity defence by establishing a national veterinary workforce strategy to address critical skills shortages, especially in rural and remote Australia.
"We encourage Ministers Collins, Watt and Clare to support our request noting that with over 75% of new or emerging diseases in humans originating in animals, vets are more important than ever in the protection of human health and the public and they must be supported in this critical work," said Dr Chuck.
As National Biosecurity Week is celebrated across the nation, the AVA urges every Australian to consider the critical role our veterinary workforce plays in advancing Australia's biosecurity defences and protecting the health of our livestock, wildlife, pets and people.
