WORKING IN
NEW ZEALAND
AND OVERSEAS

Working in New Zealand

Legislative Guidelines

New Zealand has no legal regulation of veterinary nurses or other allied veterinary professions, and there is no protection of title for these professions.

  • Overseas trained veterinary nurses, veterinarians, or untrained persons may legally work in veterinary practices in New Zealand, but may not be eligible for Registration with the AVPRC. See the Join the Register section of this website for more information about registering with an overseas qualification.

  • Professional responsibility for the provision of animal healthcare services falls to the veterinarians under the Veterinarians Act 2005. Regulation of veterinarians is overseen by the Veterinary Council of New Zealand.

  • There is no specific list of tasks that veterinary nurses or other allied veterinary professions can do; it is up to the veterinarian to delegate within their authority under the Animal Welfare Act 1999 and Animal Welfare (Care and Procedures) Amendment Regulations 2020.

See Minimum Practicing Standards for more information.

Voluntary Regulatory Guidelines

Voluntary regulation and registration are in place in New Zealand and applies for allied veterinary and animal healthcare practitioners who are working in clinical veterinary practice, affiliated animal healthcare services, animal healthcare education, and animal healthcare industries 

Allied professionals should also practice in line with the following:

See the Join the Register section of this website for more information about registering.

 

Working Overseas

New Zealand qualified veterinary nurses and technicians may use their qualification to work overseas. Below are some counties where this is possible, and how to go about demonstrating eligibility to work. 

 

Australia

Statutory registration is in place for veterinary nurses working in Western Australia and is overseen by the Western Veterinary Surgeons’ Board. See this link for information on registering in Western Australia. 

Voluntary regulation of veterinary nurses and technicians for the rest of Australia is overseen by the AVNAT registration scheme through the representative body Veterinary Nurse Council of Australia (VNCA). 

For information on working in Australia, see here.

Common Australian qualifications include:

  • Cert IV in veterinary nursing (1-2 years)

  • Diploma/advanced certificate in veterinary nursing (1-3 years)

  • Bachelor’s in veterinary technology (3 years)

USA

Each state in the USA has slightly different requirements for regulating (credentialing) veterinary technicians. Many do not have protection of title, nor do they have strict legislative requirements for only employing registered staff. Visit the AAVSB for information on how to obtain requirements for each state.

Common North American qualifications include:

  • Certificate or Associate Science degree in veterinary technology (2-3 years)

  • Bachelor’s in veterinary technology (veterinary technician) (4 years)

  • Bachelor’s in veterinary technology (veterinary technologist) (4 years)

The representative body for veterinary technicians in the USA is called National Association of Veterinary Technicians (NAVTA).

Canada

Statutory regulation is in place in Alberta, but not presently elsewhere in Canada. 

Voluntary regulation of veterinary technicians for the rest of Canada is overseen by Registered Veterinary Technologist and Technicians of Canada (RVTTC/TTVAC).

Registration is restricted to those who graduate from an OAVT (Ontario Association of Veterinary Technicians) or CVMA (Canadian Veterinary Medical Association) accredited programme and who take the Veterinary Technician National Exam (VTNE).

For more on working in Canada, contact the regulatory body for the area you are interested in. 

Common North American qualifications include:

  • Certificate or Associate Science degree in veterinary technology (2-3 years)

  • Bachelor’s in veterinary technology (4 years)

 

South Africa

Statutory regulation and protection of title is in place for veterinary nurses, veterinary technicians, veterinary technologists, and animal health technicians overseen by the South African Veterinary Council. Regulations can be found here. 

Common South African qualifications include:

  • Diploma in veterinary nursing/technology (1-3 years)

  • Bachelor’s in veterinary nursing/technology (3 years)

Information for veterinary nurses, including information about how to register in South Africa, can be found here. 

United Kingdom

There is statutory regulation of veterinary nurses in the UK overseen by The Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS) . 

For information on working /registering in the UK, see here.

Common UK qualifications include:

  • Veterinary Care Assistants and Animal Nursing Assistants (over 1 year)

  • Vocational veterinary nursing diploma (over 2-3 years)

  • Foundation or a bachelor’s degree (over 3-4 years)

  • Diploma in Advanced Veterinary Nursing (Dip AVN) -post graduate study

  • Certificate in Advanced Veterinary nursing (Cert AVN) – post graduate study

The representative body for veterinary nurses is the British Veterinary Nurse Association (BVNA).

Ireland

There is statutory regulation of veterinary nurses in Ireland overseen by the Veterinary Council of Ireland (VCI).

For information on working/registering in Ireland, see here.

Common qualifications in Ireland include: 

  • Veterinary Care Assistants (over 1 year)

  • Vocational veterinary nursing diploma (over 2 years)

  • Bachelor’s degree (over 4 years)

The representative body for veterinary nurses is the Irish Vet Nursing Association.

 

Other areas of Europe

Most European nations do not regulate veterinary nursing/technology but those with a qualification accredited from ACOVENE can usually work anywhere in Europe.  

See ACOVENE for more information.