The Minns Labor Government is seeking community feedback on proposed reforms to the state’s veterinary framework designed to modernise veterinary services and better support the people who care for our animals and the communities that rely on them.
The proposed changes recognise the vital role veterinarians play in animal welfare, primary production and the many industries that depend on healthy animals across the state.
The Veterinary Services Bill 2026, which will be introduced to Parliament later this year, will provide a clearer framework for mobile and telehealth veterinary services, streamline complaints and investigation processes, and, for the first time, establish a regulatory framework for veterinary nurses and technologists.
A consultation paper has today been released on the Have Your Say and NSW Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development website, with submissions closing 3 July 2026.
Feedback will help inform the development of improvements to the legislative framework for veterinary services, including to:
- increase workforce capacity and capability, by introducing a registration scheme for veterinary nurses and technologists in NSW that recognises their critical contribution to the veterinary sector;
- improve access to services, particularly in regional and remote areas by providing a clear licencing pathway for mobile and telehealth services in the delivery of veterinary care;
- better protect the mental health and wellbeing of the veterinary workforce, including through a modern, fair and supportive framework for managing complaints and investigations; and
- deliver transparent, risk-based and contemporary regulation through a modern Veterinary Services Board that regulates and supports the sector as a whole.
The reforms are aimed at strengthening a system that safeguards animal health and welfare and are built on extensive analysis and feedback, including evidence provided to the Parliamentary Inquiry into Veterinary Workforce Shortages in NSW, and delivers on all of the Inquiry’s recommendations to improve the regulatory framework.
The proposed Bill will respond directly to growing pressures in the sector, including high levels of stress and burnout, workforce shortages, and limited access to veterinary care in regional and remote NSW.
Separately the Minns Government has made substantial progress on other recommendations of the Inquiry that focus on the attraction and retention of veterinarians and improving access to veterinary care, with work underway including:
- expanding The Welcome Experience program resulting in 39 veterinarians and vet nurses relocated to regional areas across the state to date
- investing in improved mental health support for vets, and educational materials for vets and pet owners
- providing subsidised regional veterinary care through the Animal Welfare League NSW
- funding to enable more than 90 scholarships for veterinary students to study in regional NSW, and
- developing incentives to attract and retain new District Veterinarians within Local Land Services who provide essential on the ground expertise to protect livestock, support farmers, and respond to disease risks.
To view the consultation paper and provide feedback, visit the Have Your Say website at https://www.haveyoursay.nsw.gov.au/veterinary-practice-regulatory-framework.
