Veterinary Society

About AVBC

The Australasian Veterinary Boards Council Incorporated (AVBC Inc.) was incorporated in Victoria in December 1999. It is an incorporated association by agreement of the state and territory Veterinary Boards of Australia and the Veterinary Council of New Zealand to provide for a legal entity which has the authority to speak and act on behalf of all registering authorities and to facilitate the devolution from the then National Office for Overseas Skills Assessment.

Functions of AVBC Inc.

The purposes of the Council are:

(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:

(a) the accreditation of veterinary schools and of courses leading to a degree in veterinary science or medicine;
(b) assessment of the suitability for practice in Australia and New Zealand of persons with foreign
veterinary qualifications; and
(c) uniform criteria for recognition of qualifications for registration;

(4) to provide advice on matters concerning the occupational regulation of veterinarians, including general and
specialist registration; and

(5) to encourage standardisation and quality assurance of veterinary services to the community in all jurisdictions.

Skills Assessment

If you wish to apply to migrate to Australia as a Veterinarian under the General Skilled Migration visa categories, you will need to have your skills assessed by AVBC. AVBC will assess your skills as "suitable" or "not suitable" for your nominated occupation against the requirements it has established.

Your skills assessment must be included with your visa application to the Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC), and you must be prepared to show DIAC all the documentation you have relied upon when seeking a skills assessment. You should keep a certified copy of your skills assessment and all other relevant documentation for your own records.

Successfully migrating to Australia as a Veterinarian is no guarantee of membership of the Australian Veterinary Association or employment in Australia as a Veterinarian. Requirements additional to those for migration may need to be met. You should apply for an assessment if your qualifications fall in the category of qualifications immediately acceptable to Veterinary Registration Boards. If you are seeking to apply for migration to Australia under the General Skilled Migration programme, you should complete the skills assessment application form (updated July 1, 2011).

You should use this form to apply for an assessment of your skills and qualifications to determine if they are suitable for the occupation of veterinary science for migration purposes. A comprehensive knowledge of English is essential to the practice of veterinary science in Australia. Native speakers (born and educated) of English from the UK, Ireland, Canada, USA, New Zealand and South Africa may apply for exemption from the OET/IELTS English language test.

If your first language is not English, a pass in all four sections of the Occupational English Test (OET) with a B pass or higher or score of band 7 in all sections at the academic level of the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) will satisfy the requirements. Should you fail to achieve the required standard in either of these examinations, you must re-sit the entire examination. The Board of Examiners does not permit re-sits of sub-sections of the examination.

Please note that under migration law, you will need to apply for this assessment whether your qualifications were gained overseas or from an Australian tertiary institution. AVBC is the only relevant assessing authority for migration purposes which, following an assessment process, can issue you with an assessment statement required by the immigration authorities. AVBC can only provide advice on applying for a skills assessment. All other questions relating to migration should be directed to DIAC .

You should carefully read the Explanatory Notes to the Application then complete the application form and send it together with the documentation listed therein and the fee (money order, direct deposit or bank cheque in Australian dollars) by post to:

Australasian Veterinary Boards Councils Inc (AVBC Inc)
Level 8, 470 Collins Street
Melbourne, VICTORIA 3000
AUSTRALIA

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