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Update on the Workplace Staff Shortage – May 2023

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With the AVA Annual Conference coming up, it’s a good time to release some current figures to update the trends that Kookaburra Veterinary Employment is seeing in Australia, for the “State of the Market” panel discussion.

Vets

table showing Australian permanent vet jobs advertised with kookaburravets.com from 2014 to 2023

Of the current 735 open vet vacancies, 131 have been continuously advertised for more than 8 months.

In the last 3 months (February, March, April 2023), 1125 jobs have been advertised.

  • 27% of these have been filled by Kookaburra,
  • 2% have been filled by other advertising, or through personal contact
  • 9% have been removed because the clinic either gave up looking or restructured their clinic staff to cope – although some clinics are now reporting having a reduced workload, following the post-covid boom
  • 62% are still available.

As of 30th April 2023, 52 clinics had been advertising continuously for longer than 2 years without filling their vacancy

table showing comparison of three 3 months periods of job listings in 2020, 2021 and 2023

Vet Nurses

In March 2020 we had 236 vet nurse jobs listed.
In April 2021 we had 337 vet nurse jobs listed.
As of May 9th 2023, we have 316 vet nurse jobs listed.

Discussion

Kookaburra has noted the following factors

  • An increase in the numbers of vets required to cover the workload in individual practices
  • An increase in the numbers of new clinics opening – both corporate, and privately owned. 10 years ago Kookaburra had roughly 2100 clinics listed in Australia – we now have over 2600.
  • Many of the practice owners and managers that we talk to on a daily basis are highly stressed by the workforce shortage, and many are also resigned to having great difficulty hiring suitable new staff

Kookaburra circulated a Salary survey in the winter of 2022 and one of the questions we asked was about future plans (see chart below).
26% of vets (63 vets ) who responded to the Kookaburra Vets Salary Survey 2022 said they were planning on leaving general practice by 5 years’ time, either retiring, leaving the profession entirely, taking a break, or moving into another area of the veterinary industry.
In the 2019 survey, 24% of responding vets (142 vets) were planning on leaving general practice by 5 years’ time. That’s a lot of vets leaving general practice – and it doesn’t seem to be slowing down at all.

(copy of the full Salary Survey 2022 report available here: https://www.vetsuppliersdirectory.com.au/salary-survey-2022/ )

Chart showing survey results - 5 year plan

Author:
Wendy Nathan
Kookaburra Veterinary Employment

This information includes the views and opinions of Kookaburra Veterinary Employment and is of a general nature only. Factual information is believed to be correct at the time of writing, however, should not be relied upon and any person should confirm details with the relevant authorities and through their own research prior to acting on any of the suggestions in this article.

15/05/2023 |

TOOTHFEST 2023 – How to & What’s New in Equine Dentistry & some small animals too!

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Toothfest 2023 Logo

Set on the beautiful Coffs Coast, Opal Cove beachfront resort will provide the backdrop to our cutting edge conference showcasing new techniques and research from world leaders in dentistry and surgery of the head.

Are you:

  • Already enjoying Equine Dentistry, but want to update your knowledge and learn more
  • New to Equine Dentistry and want an overview of what it’s all about and how to do it?
  • Very experienced and knowledgeable in equine dentistry, and want to hear the cutting edge new techniques and research from world leaders in dentistry and surgery of the head?
  • In mixed practice and would like to know the fundamental “How to” in Equine Dentistry, but not the “What’s New”? So maybe the “How to” in Small animal dentistry would suit?

If you answer yes to ANY of these, then ToothFest is for you!

  • PLUS Social events nightly!
  • PLUS Trade show display!

August 1-5, 2023 – Opal Cove Resort, Coffs Harbour NSW

Event Website: https://toothfest.com/

PLUS 2 day wetlab in Equine Dentistry August 7-8, 2023 at EVDS, South Grafton (limited to 30 registrants)

To Register – Contact our Team Today at: events@evds.net.au

Phone: 02 6642 4700

12/05/2023 |

Superannuation – Australia

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Piggy BankSuperannuation is money put aside and saved while you’re working, to provide an income later in life when you retire.

From 1 July 2023, the super guarantee rate rose from 10.5% to 11%. Employees who think superannuation hasn’t been paid can make a complaint to the ATO.

The Superannuation Guarantee

In Australia, Employers must pay Super (the Super Guarantee) for

  • employees 18 years
  • employees under 18 years working more than 30 hours a week.
  • some contractors paid primarily for labour, even if they have an ABN

The Super Guarantee is currently 11.0% of ordinary time earnings – this includes some bonuses, allowances, some paid leave, but not generally not overtime. It will increase by 0.5% each year up to 12% . Employers are obliged to contribute this minimum percentage, but can contribute more. Full time, part time, and casual employees are all included.

Removal of the $450 threshold has now come into force, so Super must be paid for employees as above irrespective of their weekly wage.

SuperStream

Contributions must be made on at least a quarterly basis, by the quarterly due dates. Employers must pay and report super electronically in a standard format and meet SuperStream requirements, and pay into a complying super fund.

If not paid on time, the super guarantee charge may be payable. An employee’s super contribution is counted as being paid on the date the fund receives it, not the date a clearing house receives it. This means that if a quarterly payment is due on 28th October for example, payment may need to be made up to 10 days prior.

Contractors

Many Vets work as contractors, have an ABN (Australian Business Number) and invoice clinics for their work. However, for Superannuation purposes, they may still be considered an employee and entitled to the Super Guarantee from their employer if they are paid wholly or principally for their labour and skills, perform the work personally, and are paid for hours worked, rather than to achieve a result. To work out whether super applies, see Employee or contractor | Australian Taxation Office (ato.gov.au)

Temporary Residents

Temporary Residents ARE entitled to the Super Guarantee. This includes Working Holiday Makers.
When Temporary Residents leave Australia, they may be entitled to claim the super paid for them back, as a DASP – Departing Australia superannuation payment. For more information visit Departing Australia superannuation payment DASP | Australian Taxation Office (ato.gov.au)

Additional Contributions

You can add your own money into your super savings, and low or middle income earners may be eligible for government co-contributions.
Employees can initiate a salary sacrifice arrangement with their employer (pre-tax), or make their own personal contributions. There is a cap on Concessional contributions (which includes Super Guarantee payments from your employer), currently $27,500.

Tax on Super

Concessional Contributions – 15%

These are super contributions made before tax, and include super guarantee from an employer, salary sacrifice, personal contributions claimed as an income tax deduction. The cap on concessional contributions has been $27,500 since 1st July 2021 – more than this attracts extra tax

Non-Concessional Contributions – not subject to tax

These are super contributions made after-tax eg. spouse contributions or personal contributions not claimed as an income tax deduction. There is a cap on these too.

Keeping Track of Super using MyGov

Employees can nominate which Super fund they wish to have their contributions paid into and provide that information to the employer. They can now do this online in myGov, or find a standard form here Superannuation standard choice form | Australian Taxation Office (ato.gov.au) . A myGov account https://my.gov.au  is a central portal to which you can link Medicare, Centrelink, Child Support, ATO (Australian Taxation Office), My Health Record & other government agencies. You need a fair amount of information in order to link these agencies all in to your account, so make sure you have all your paperwork handy. Once done, you can see what Superannuation Fund accounts you have and keep track of them through the ATO link in MyGov.

Stapled Super Funds

A stapled super fund is an existing super account linked, or ‘stapled’, to an individual employee so that it follows them as they change jobs. Employers should offer employees a choice of super fund, however, for employees who don’t choose a super fund (this may include contractors), or who may not be eligible to choose a super fund (for example, temporary residents), the employer should request the stapled super fund details for an employee from the ATO using ATO Online services. This has been a requirement since 1st November 2021. For more information visit the ATO website.

More Information

For more information about all aspects of super for employers and employees, including how to find lost super, visit https://www.ato.gov.au/Super/

Author:
Wendy Nathan
Kookaburra Veterinary Employment

This information includes the views and opinions of Kookaburra Veterinary Employment and is of a general nature only. Factual information is believed to be correct at the time of writing, however, should not be relied upon and any person should confirm details with the relevant authorities and through their own research prior to acting on any of the suggestions in this article.

10/08/2023 |

iM3 introduces ACE – The Advanced Centre for Education

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This state-of-the-art facility was built to promote engaging education.

Specifically designed for teaching & advancing veterinary dentistry.

The iM3 Advanced Centre for Education (ACE) strives to help veterinarians and nurses become highly skilled and component in the practice of veterinary dentistry.

Introduction to vital pulp therapy (Friday 24th February 2023) @ iM3

Drs Anthony Caiafa and Kayoko Kuroda

Course outline
This workshop will offer participants, detailed knowledge of the dental materials and the procedural steps involved in performing vital pulp therapy (VPT) in a general practice setting.

The workshop will consist of a lecture and wetlab. Participants will be able to perform the VPT procedure on extracted canine teeth, as well as radiographically monitor each step of the procedure. Tutors will be available to give one-on-one assistance during the wetlab component of the workshop.

Learning outcomes for vital pulp therapy (VPT) workshop

  • Determine the indications/contraindications for performing VPT in dogs and cats
  • Understand the functions of the pulp and its response to injury
  • Have knowledge of the dental materials used for VPT
  • Understand the steps involved in performing a successful VPT procedure
  • Develop and implement review protocols to monitor the success of the VPT procedure
  • Have knowledge in the discipline of restorative dentistry and the placement of tooth-coloured restorations

Introduction to root canal therapy (PM Friday 24th/25th February 2023)

Course outline
This course is designed to offer veterinarians, at an introductory level, an understanding of the discipline of endodontics, and to allow them to offer clients, an alternative to tooth extraction.

Follow up courses and training is highly recommended after this introductory course

 

Course objectives

  • What is the discipline of endodontics?
  • Describe the use of visual, tactile, and radiographic tests required to obtain a diagnosis of pulpal disease
  • Understand the use of rubber dam and other isolation techniques for root canal therapy
  • Understand the types of endodontic hand files and their limitations
  • Understand filing techniques, including the use of rotary (mechanical) files
  • Explain the importance of removing bacteria and residual canal debris
  • Understand the 3-dimensional filling (obturation) of the root canal system
  • Understand the importance of the final restoration to seal the root canal system from bacterial ingress

 

If you have any interest in attending a lab in 2023, please contact iM3.

Phone: 02 9420 5766 | Email: sales@im3vet.com | www.im3vet.com.au/

05/01/2023 |

2019 Salary Survey Results – Part 1

1

Kookaburra_Logo_stackedThank you to all the vets who participated in this year’s Salary Survey. There was a total of 595 respondents, compared to 336 in 2017.

Results have been published in 4 separate reports, of which this is the first:

  1. Pay Rates compared by practice type, location, experience level, numbers of years graduated, corporate vs non-corporate, and by job classification (full time, part time, locums, and contractors)
  2. Gender Differences
  3. Out of Hours and Extras
  4. Happiness and Future Plans

Minimum pay rates and conditions are set in the Animal Care and Veterinary Services Award 2010, which you can find using Google, or at https://www.fwc.gov.au/documents/documents/modern_awards/award/ma000118/default.htm

Methodology

The pool of vets was contacted by direct emailing the main clinic email for all the clinics in Australia in the Kookaburra database (1,909 clinics), direct emailing all the vets currently registered as job seekers with Kookaburra ( approximately 143), and by including advertising banners with a direct link to the survey on the Australian pages of the websites www.kookaburravets.com and www.vetsuppliersdirectory.com.au , and on all the correspondence sent out from Kookaburra during the survey period. We also asked the HR departments of the major Australian corporates to assist by distributing the link to the survey to their veterinary associates. In addition, it was posted on Facebook on two of the Australian Veterinarian network closed group pages (briefly, as it was considered to be ‘advertising’ and was deleted by admin).

The survey was open from 15th July to 20th August 2019. It was hosted on Survey Monkey and analysis of results was carried out in Survey Monkey and using Microsoft Excel Office 365. The survey was anonymous, and no IP data was collected. There was a total of 16 questions.

For a Key to the box and whisker plots used, please see the Appendix at the bottom of this document

To download this Report as a printable pdf please click here
https://www.vetsuppliersdirectory.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Survey-Results-2019-Part-1.pdf

Pay Rate All Practice Types

Pay vs Experience Level with scale

We wondered whether salary would be better correlated with another gauge of competence besides the numbers of years since graduation, so we asked respondents to self-assess their Technical Experience level according to the following scale, increasing in competence from 1 to 9, and then also including an option for non-clinical roles:

  1. Has broad theoretical knowledge, requires a more experienced vet to be available for discussion for consults/medicine, and guidance for surgery most of the time
  2. Confident for consults, requires guidance for surgery/procedures most of the time
  3. Confident for consults and routine surgery and seeks guidance for new procedures
  4. Confident for consults and routine surgery, able to work sole charge regularly
  5. Confident for consults, surgery, sole charge, and after hours emergencies
  6. Has or is working towards post graduate qualification in medicine, or other non-surgical qualification
  7. Has or is working towards post graduate qualification in surgery or ECC
  8. Has additional qualifications, supervises and teaches less experienced vets
  9. Has or is working towards specialist qualification
  1. Experienced in non-clinical / Industry roles

 

Years Graduated vs Experience Level with heading

Pay vs Experience Level

General Practice types vs years of experience with scale

Hourly Pay Histogram ft pt

Annualised Pay Histogram FT PT

Actual Pay Histogram FT PT

Hours Worked

Pay vs Hours worked with linear trend-line

Pay vs State2

Pay vs Location Category2

* Respondents gave the postcode for their current job. This was categorised according to the Australian Tax Office region and postcode definitions for the 2016-2017 tax year.

Locums

For data on Locums, we combined the data for vets classified as Casual with Self Employed Contractors. There was a total of 98 respondents in these 2 categories.

Locum Rates - vs Experience level

  1. Has broad theoretical knowledge, requires a more experienced vet to be available for discussion for consults/medicine, and guidance for surgery most of the time
  2. Confident for consults, requires guidance for surgery/procedures most of the time
  3. Confident for consults and routine surgery and seeks guidance for new procedures
  4. Confident for consults and routine surgery, able to work sole charge regularly
  5. Confident for consults, surgery, sole charge, and after hours emergencies
  6. Has or is working towards post graduate qualification in medicine, or other non-surgical qualification
  7. Has or is working towards post graduate qualification in surgery or ECC
  8. Has additional qualifications, supervises and teaches less experienced vets
  9. Has or is working towards specialist qualification
  10. Experienced in non-clinical / Industry roles

 

Locum Rates - Casual vs Contractor

Locum Rates - Corporate vs Non-Corporate1

 

Corporate Practices

Corporate vs non-corporate - small animal vs mixed practice1

Corporate Happiness

Corporate_practice_vs_year_graduated

Appendix

Key to Box Whisker plots

© Copyright Kookaburra Veterinary Employment

2nd September 2019

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04/09/2019 |
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