Registration information

• Application timeframes
• How to apply
• Registration fees
• Using other Australian registration to work in Victoria

Application timeframes

Each month, the Board considers applications for the registration of veterinary practitioners.

Lodge your application by the cut-off date for the appropriate Board registration date below. If you have missed a cut-off date or need to be registered earlier than the next Board registration date, you can request fast track processing of your application. This takes up to 7 days and a fast-tracking service fee is payable:

• GRADUATING SOON? Apply now to be registered the day after your university awards your degree. Please lodge your application no later than 2 weeks before the date you will be awarded your degree. Application form: New graduate registration
• VETS RECENTLY RELOCATED TO VICTORIA: If you are registered in South Australia or the ACT, you must register immediately after you move to Victoria. If registered in NSW, NT, Queensland, Tasmania or WA, you must lodge an application at least a month before your current registration expires. Application form: General registration

Application cut-off dates for Board registration dates are:

• 23 January 2023 for registration on 14 February 2023
• 26 February 2023 for registration on 14 March 2023
• 24 March 2023 for registration on 11 April 2023
• 21 April 2023 for registration on 9 May 2023
• 26 May 2023 for registration on 13 June 2023
• If transferring interstate registration which expires 30 June, 5 June 2023 for registration on 1 July 2023 
• 23 June 2023 for registration on 11 July 2023

How to apply

Select the option that applies to you from the following list:

• General registration is for people who have been awarded a degree in veterinary science or medicine recognised by the Board, as listed on the Australasian Veterinary Boards Council (AVBC) document, qualifications generally recognised. The list also indicates which qualifications also require an applicant to have passed the North American Veterinary Licensing Examination (NAVLE). Applicants may also need to demonstrate their English language competency. To apply for general registration, select from the list below:
  • You are a new graduate applying for first time registration as a veterinary practitioner
  • You are a practising veterinary practitioner who has never registered in Victoria before
  • You are a veterinary practitioner who was previously registered in Victoria
      
• Specific registration is for people who do not qualify for general registration in Victoria whose circumstances are covered by Section 7 of the Victorian Veterinary Practice Act 1997. Examples: offered a job to teach at the University of Melbourne; offered a study or research position at the University of Melbourne; offered a voluntary or paid position to get clinical experience for the Australasian Veterinary Examination practical clinical exams, and have already passed the preliminary multiple choice questions (MCQ) written examination.
  
  • Apply for specific registration
    
    
• Specialist registration is for veterinary practitioners who hold general registration in Victoria who have completed a specialist training program and want to practise in Victoria as a specialist in a particular field of veterinary medicine.
  
  • Apply for specialist registration
    
    
• Non-practising registration is for veterinary practitioners registered in Victoria who are ceasing practice in Victoria either temporarily or permanently but who want to stay connected to the Victorian veterinary profession.
• Apply for non-practising registration
  
  

Registration and other service fees

After you have submitted your application, we will send you a payment email containing a link to pay your fees online. Fees include an application fee and a registration fee (plus fast-track fees if you apply late or need to be registered earlier than the next Board meeting held the second Tuesday of every month). Refer to current fees at: Registration fee schedule

Using other Australian registration to work in Victoria

Veterinary practitioners with current registration in another Australian State or Territory sometimes come to Victoria to work temporarily. If your principal place of residence is in another State or Territory, the Victorian Board recognises your interstate right to practise as giving you the right to practise in Victoria. You would not have to apply for registration in Victoria as long as you continued to live in the State or Territory and your registration there remained active. The law covering these circumstances is section 3A of the Victorian Veterinary Practice Act 1997. The general term for the right to practise in Victoria with an interstate right to practise is "national recognition of veterinary registration".

However, if you relocate so your principal place of residence is in Victoria, you would have to apply for registration in Victoria before your registration in the other State or Territory expired. This is required under section 4(1A) of the Victorian Veterinary Practice Act 1997.

Note to international vets including from New Zealand: Recognition of interstate veterinary registration does not extend to people registered in other countries. If you are working as a veterinary practitioner in another country, you cannot come here and immediately start working without first registering in Victoria. Vets from New Zealand, UK and the US will likely have degrees that are recognised for registration in Victoria, but they must apply for registration in Victoria if their principal place of residence will be in Victoria and they want to practise here.