The veterinary industry in Australia is in crisis.
There is a dangerous cycle of poor pay and working conditions that exists in the industry that has led to a serious problem with mental health - with one vet committing suicide every 12 weeks.
Although there is no shortage of trained vets in Australia, there is a shortage of vets willing to work in the industry – particularly in rural areas.
The greatest risk factors for veterinarians suffering poor mental health or burning out are high job demands, poor organisational justice, inadequate reward and recognition, poor change management and a lack of organisational support - all of which may be positively influenced industrially by the introduction of enterprise bargaining, the improvement of the Award, and the enforcement of existing workplace health and safety laws.
Professionals Australia aim to educate and empower veterinarians to work together on improving these factors.
It is time for change. It is time to Break the Cycle.
High job demands
Organisational injustice
Insufficient reward and recognition
Poor change management
Lack of organisational support
High job demands
Difficulty in recruiting leads to understaffing and skill shortages, which in turn puts pressure on veterinarians to work excessive and unsociable hours – often negatively impacting on professionals’ work/ life balance.
In a UK study, the presence of a union recognised for bargaining reduced job demands, with the incidence of people working long hours significantly reduced. The number of work-life balance practices was significantly higher in unionised vs non-unionised workplaces (mean 5.7 v 2.9) (Bryson and Forth).
Organisational injustice
Poor organisational justice relates to factors such as unfair treatment or favouritism between employees. The presence of a union Enterprise Agreement, with negotiated and agreed provisions for payment, progression, promotion and disciplinary measures alleviates many of these concerns.
Every Enterprise Agreement includes a clause regarding dispute resolution, which allows disputes to be raised and representatives to be involved, and can lead to escalation to the level of the Fair Work Commission. The Fair Work Commission has the power to arbitrate and rule on the dispute independently, helping to alleviate the power imbalance between employees and employers that can lead to injustices occurring.
Insufficient reward and recognition
With low pay rates, and no overtime penalties in the Award, the remuneration of veterinarians is far below that of other professionals.
Reward and recognition may also be negotiated in an Enterprise Agreement, and are underpinned by the National Employment Standards and the
Modern Award system. Modern Awards are open for review every 4 years, and Unions and other interested parties may make submissions to vary the award so that the award better meets the modern award objectives (
FAIR WORK ACT 2009 - SECT 134 The modern awards objective (austlii.edu.au); or to remove ambiguity or uncertainty.
Reward and recognition are key factors identified in veterinarians leaving the profession and are a psychosocial hazard meaning poor pay comparative to the work value causes psychological harm. Better pay alone cannot solve mental health issues, but better pay can also help to alleviate some of the pressures of work life balance by enabling lifestyle supports.
Poor change management
Another factor cited by veterinarians leaving the profession is poor change management. Poor change management is not just poor practice, it is a serious psycho-social risk, a major reason for burnout and employee intention to leave, and in some cases it contravenes with industrial and/or workplace health and safety provisions around worker consultation.
Read more about psychosocial hazards in the vet industry here.
Under the Workplace Health and Safety Act, 2011, Sections 47-49, employers have a duty to consult with workers who may be affected by a change that could impact the physical or mental wellbeing of a worker, and workers must have to opportunity to contribute to the decision making process. Local Union delegates and WHS representatives have the training and the power to raise and enforce issues such as these, protecting the mental health of employees in their organisation.
Lack of organisational support
Another factor commonly cited by veterinarians leaving the profession is that there is a lack of organisational support. Again, this is a factor that unions have been able to improve elsewhere. Organisational support encompasses issues such as a lack of emotional support from supervisors, but also issues such as a lack of equipment, skills, training, correct policies and time to do the job properly. Many enterprise agreements have clauses relating to upskilling and training, and even workload management, and relate back to internal policies.
The issues covered, coupled with client incivility, moral injury, and poor support leads to many veterinarians abandoning the profession in their early career, further exacerbating staff shortages and working hours for those left behind.
Union members in your workplace and across the industry can work with employers to introduce solutions to the problems veterinarians are facing, and together we can Break the Cycle.
Here are some practical steps you can take right now to help our campaign to Break the Cycle for veterinarians across Australia:
- Take our employment and remuneration survey and help us gain a deeper understanding of the state of the industry and share the survey with your networks.
- Sign up to receive our Break the Cycle campaign updates.
- Join your union – the more members we have, the stronger our voices will be in conversations with employers, industry bodies and government.