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By: Daniel Harrison-Pinder 28th March 2019

Is My Degree Recognised In Australia Or New Zealand?

If you’re considering bringing your skills as a veterinarian to Australia or new Zealand, you’ll need to be eligible to register your qualification in either country.

Currently, there is a strict list of recognized qualifications, which included degrees from the following countries:

  • Australia
  • New Zealand
  • USA*
  • Canada*
  • UK
  • Ireland
  • South Africa
  • West Indies*
  • Mexico*
  • France*
  • Netherlands*
  • Germany**
  • Denmark**

*NAVLE required for working in Australia

**Qualification only recognized in New Zealand

 

For all information on which specific degrees are recognized from which dates, you can view the following documents issued by each countries veterinary body

Australia

Download (PDF, 604KB)

New Zealand

Download (PDF, 33KB)

 

If your veterinary qualification isn’t listed above, there are a variety of conversion courses you can study to be able to practice in Australia or New Zealand

National Veterinary Exam (NVE)

  • Held once per year in Queensland
  • Registerable in both Australia and New Zealand
  • You must be able to pass an Occupational English Test with 350 points, or an IELTS with a grade 7
  • More information about costs, dates and the tests can be found here: https://avbc.asn.au/nve/

Educational Commission for Foreign Veterinary Graduates (ECFVG)

  • Allows your degree to be registered in many countries
  • Must be able to pass an English language test
  • Consists of a 225 multiple choice test followed by a hands on medical skills assessment
  • More information can be found here: https://www.avma.org/ProfessionalDevelopment/Education/Foreign/Pages/default.aspx

Statutory Membership Examination (Membership by exam RCVS)

  • Only offered to veterinarians unable to register in the UK (Not offered to veterinarians with degrees from the above countries as well as most of Europe)
  • Must be able to pass an English language test with the same options as the NVE English testing
  • One of the cheaper tests at AUS$4,611 (2,500 GBP), as both NVE and ECFVG are in excess of AUD$10,000
  • Closing date for applications is 14th Feb, with written exams held over 3 days in April and clinical, oral and practical exams held over June and July
  • More information can be found here: https://www.rcvs.org.uk/registration/applications-veterinary-surgeons/statutory-membership-exam/