Registration renewal
Renewal dates and process
The Board registration year for vets with general, specialist and non-practising registration is from 1 July to 30 June (financial year registration). It is your responsibility as a registered veterinary practitioner to apply to renew your registration (section 12 of the Veterinary Practice Act 1997).
The 2026-27 renewal period is from 29 May to 31 July 2026 - with late fees applying from 1 July:
- You will receive notifications to the email address and Australian mobile number recorded on your account on 29 May.
- To renew - sign into your account via www.vetboard.vic.gov.au/myaccount - your username is your registration number; you can re-set your password via the 'Forgot password?' link.
CHANGE OF NAME? Complete this form: Change of name
- Please renew before 30 June as late fees equivalent to half the registration fee will apply from 1 to 31 July.
- The last day to renew is 31 July. On 1 August, we will remove the names of veterinary practitioners who have not renewed their registration from the Register of Veterinary Practitioners. After 31 July, veterinary practitioners who have not renewed but still wish to be registered in Victoria must lodge a re-registration application: Re-register in Victoria.
Non-standard registration: if you have conditions on your registration, Board staff will email you separate instructions about renewing manually.
Other renewal options
Click on the option (+) that applies to you below:
If you have temporarily stopped practising in Victoria, e.g. if you are on parental leave, are working in a different profession or have moved overseas for a short period, your options are to:
- Keep up your general registration so you can return to practice at any time to take locum shifts, etc. This also means you can continue treating your own animals. This is recommended if you are definitely only going to be away from practice in Victoria for a year or less because of the administration required to reinstate your general registration and the fact that there is a minimal cost difference between keeping your general registration and the other options below.
- Voluntarily surrender your registration by completing this form: Surrender vetboard registration
Apply to re-register a month before you are ready to return to practice. Fees to re-register include an application fee as well as registration fees. Application form: Re-register in Victoria
- Apply to convert to non-practising registration: Non practising registration
Your name would remain on the Register of Veterinary Practitioners and you would continue to receive communications from Vetboard Victoria. As with Option 2, re-register a month before returning to practice in Victoria. Fees to re-register include a conversion processing fee as well as registration fees. Application form: Re-register in Victoria.
For 2026-27 renewal, the comparative costs associated with the above options were:
- $631 to maintain general registration
- Moving to non-practising (NP) registration then converting back to general registration
- Now: $67 to convert to NP + $171 non-practising fee
- Later: $67 to convert back to General + either $631 registration fees if you convert back before 31 December or $315 reg fees if you convert back after 1 January 2027
Total = either $936 before 31 Dec or $621 from 1 Jan ($10 saving but time required to convert back to General from NP)
- Surrender registration now then re-register later:
- Now: nothing
- Later: $251 application processing fee plus either $631 registration fees if you re-register before 31 December or $315 reg fees if you re-register after 1 January 2027
Total = either $882 before 31 Dec or $567 from 1 Jan ($64 saving but time required to re-register).
If you are retiring from practice, you have 3 options in relation to your registration:
- Retain your general registration to treat your own or family and friends' animals.
- Voluntarily surrender your registration by completing this form: Surrender your registration. We'll remove your name from the Register on 30 June.
- Apply for non-practising registration starting 1 July: Non-practising registration in Victoria. Persons with non-practising registration pay a reduced fee. Your name would remain on the Board's register and you will continue to receive communications from us. Vets with non-practising registration in Victoria have conditions on their registration and may not do the following:
- carry out veterinary procedures, including treatment of their own animals
- provide veterinary services
- purchase, possess or supply scheduled drugs under Victorian Drugs, Poisons and Controlled Substances law, and
- exercise authority requiring registration as a veterinary practitioner.
If you are employed in a role because of your veterinary qualifications, registration should be assumed to be required.
Veterinary practitioners work in many fields, not solely clinical practice. Generally, registration is required when a person is employed because they hold a veterinary qualification and others are aware that they are a vet and call on their expertise in that capacity, whether paid or unpaid. This includes, but is not limited to, vets employed or consulted:
- to teach or undertake research in veterinary science
- by government agencies for their veterinary expertise
- as veterinary pathologists
- in the veterinary pharmaceuticals field
- in laboratories
- in insurance assessing veterinary insurance claims
- to be on committees in their capacity as a vet, e.g. committees of peak veterinary organisations such as the Australasian Veterinary Boards Council, an animal ethics/welfare committee; or a government policy committee or working group.
Registration fees and payment
Registration fees for the 2026-27 year will be listed on our website when finalised: Vetboard fees
If you are in hardship and wish to discuss your financial circumstances, please contact us before renewing and no later than 15 June 2026.
How to surrender your registration
You can voluntarily surrender your registration by completing this form: Surrender vetboard registration
We will remove your name from the Register of Veterinary Practitioners on 30 June.
Compliance declaration including CPD
When you apply to renew your registration, you must complete a compliance declaration about your suitability to practise as a veterinary practitioner.
You must answer 'True' or 'False' to each of the statements in the declaration. If you answer 'False', a free text field will appear for you to explain why. We will communicate with you separately about your statement. Usually a declaration is noted and does not impede renewal from proceeding. Sometimes we may require more information from you.
One of the statements in the compliance declaration is, ‘I have participated in Continuing Professional Development (CPD) programs sufficient to demonstrate maintenance of competency in my chosen field of work, and I have retained documented evidence of all completed CPD for the required period. Requirements: Board Guideline 10’.
All vets with general registration in Victoria must undertake required CPD over a rolling 3-year cycle. You must retain CPD records for at least 3 years from date of completion. Refer to requirements at Continuing professional development for veterinary practitioners in Victoria.
If you have graduated within the last year, it is understood you will not have completed 3-year CPD requirements. You can choose 'True' to the CPD statement if you have undertake some CPD in the last year including induction to a practice and CPD planning.
Vets in non-clinical roles employed based on their qualifications are required to be registered (see above) and must undertake CPD to maintain competency in their field. Example: if you sit on an animal ethics committee overseeing the health and welfare of laboratory animals and biosecurity in laboratories, CPD could include acquiring and maintaining knowledge of: the relevant animal species, pain relief and appropriate anaesthesia and analgesia for those species, prescription and administration of veterinary medicines for those animals (including appropriate administration of antibiotics as vets are antimicrobial stewards) and infection control.
Contact us
If the above information does not answer your questions, you can email the Board at [email protected] or complete a contact form.