Comments Off on Job Categories for VNs, Techs & Support staff
Every job listed on the main Kookaburra Vet Employment website is also listed on the Kookaburra Jobs App – and you can view them in a list, or on a map.
This orange pin indicates a job suitable for a vet nurse, vet tech, practice manager, and all other support staff roles like reception, client care, animal attendant
An open orange pin indicates a temporary, locum or short-term contract job
This red pin indicates an Industry vacancy – one not necessarily based in a veterinary clinic, but where knowledge or qualifications in the industry would be useful
An open industry pin indicates a temporary, locum or short-term contract job
Filtering Job Categories
To narrow down your job search, you can apply and save a filter for the jobs displayed in the app. Your filter settings are automatically remembered. The categories available are:
Clinical Nursing (mostly GP but including shelter, charity)
Practice Management, Business Management, Administration
Industry / Non clinical eg. pet insurance, sales
Telemedicine / Remote or Work from Home
Grooming
Animal Attendant
Kennel Hand, Stable Hand
Any other job suitable for a vet nurse
The list can be sorted with the newest jobs at the top – so it’s easy to keep an eye on new vacancies, which become live on the app as soon as they’re processed by Kookaburra during the day. Getting your job application in first helps to make a great first impression.
The Kookaburra Jobs app is available on both the App Store and the Google Play Store
So you’ve been searching through the abundance of job ads listed on Kookaburra’s site or App and have found yourself a dream job – Yay you!
Now what?
How do you convince the Recruiter that you are the person they have been looking for… the one they NEED?
Let’s look at ways to impress and not depress them. Resumes are not known to be exciting discussion points, but they are necessary at some point.
Whether you’re a graduate looking for first employment, someone moving to a new location, seeking a career change or making a career progression, you will need to update your resume, and just like everything, the standards and formats change, so it’s important to be current and move with the times.
Resume or CV? We mostly use the word Resume here in Australia, and for the purpose of this article we’ll use Resume.
It’s beneficial to view your Resume as the clever marketing tool of You.
This article mainly concentrates on the Resume, but at the end I’ll also touch on the very important ‘Cover Letter’ which can have an impactful way of creating a first impression.
Regardless of whether you are applying with a small independent or a large company, unfortunately if your resume or cover letter doesn’t make the cut in comparison to others, and instead bores or confuses the reader into a micro-sleep – you may not get to an interview.
It starts at the top..
The top third of your resume is where you have a brief moment to captivate & intrigue the reader with a Profile section.
Profile.
This is a summary section where you can use a few sentences to highlight your skills and experience & achievements. Also cater your profile to address the qualities or skills being required in the application.
Use keywords which are used in the Job Description in the ad so it resonates with the recruiter – speak their language.
Write the Profile in ‘first person implied’ . This is taking the “I” and “My” out and replacing with a verb. This sounds powerful, shows action and outcomes. A bit like someone announcing you walking into a room!
Eg: “Qualified Cert IV Vet Nurse with 15 years experience working with small animals, supporting vets in surgery in procedures such as IV catheter & blood collection. Friendly and understanding with animals and humans alike – owner of 2 dogs & 3 cats! Enjoys a dynamic fast paced workplace and implementing systems and changes to streamline an effective and productive clinic. More than advanced in the operation of Ezyvet & Vet Radar. Looking for further career progression in a community minded & progressive clinic. “
Speak from the heart. Recruiters are looking for glimpses of you so don’t be afraid to bring your personality or story into this section. This is where you can drop in insightful facts about yourself eg “Grew up loving animals working on a dairy farm”
Be Factual. It sort of goes without saying, but don’t say you can do something which you can’t! It will catch up with you eventually.
Avoid using clichés or filler jargon such as : – passionate, diligently, thoroughly, strategic, team player, strong work ethic, detail oriented.
Adjust your Profile section for each individual application to best market yourself for each particular role and work place.
Under the Profile
Contact Details, Name, Email & Mobile.
For privacy purposes you don’t need to place your home address. Most contact is done by phone or email – there will be no snail mail acknowledgement or rejection letter. You can put your address on your Contract when you get the job
You could put your Residing Suburb/City if you want the recruiter to know that you are within a reasonable distance showing your short travel is not an issue.
Ensure your email is professional or industry related DON’T USE your tomboypartay@ email you’ve had since uni!
Side Note: Make sure your message bank message is professional – it might need an update as well
Employment History Section
List your previous employment from most recent at the top.(Recruiters comment that this area is often ordered incorrectly and makes for a confusing read)
For each previous employment show:
The Company Name
Your role there
Start Month & Year, Finished Month & Year
An overview or summary of your responsibilities and achievements, which will be directly applicable to the job you are applying for now.
Only show a maximum of your past 15 years work history
Education Section
Again, the most recently completed at the top. The recruiter may find it fascinating where you spent your high school years, but they are really more interested in your most recent study & education.
Course or qualification & Institution’s name, & year graduated
Any short courses which may show more specialised attention to a certain area or skill
Skills
A small section normally at the bottom of the page.
It’s a list of your proficiencies for the recruiter to highlight your abilities quickly.
List these skills in bullet point form.
Identify skills required from the Job description and list those which you fulfill. Basically this shows how you ‘tick the recruiters boxes’ so to speak.
If there’s an Applicant Tracking System (ATS) used to scan the resume, it may assist to have keywords appearing from the job’s ad to highlight your application.
Finally – The Cover Letter
Spend some time on this. It’s a super important letter of introduction which will introduce your resume. Often ‘optional’ , it is recommended to include a Cover Letter..
It’s your chance to grab the recruiter’s attention with your personality and story. Speak from your heart directly to the recruiter to show how perfectly you fit the role.
One of the big reveals that recruiters are looking for is… your WHY. In this letter address:
WHY you are applying as in why you were attracted to apply
WHY you would be perfect in this role
WHY do you want to work for this company/business. Have you heard good things about the company? If you are applying for a role in a large company – have you worked for this company previously?
Why did all your previous life experiences bring you to this point right now to apply for THIS job.
In addition..
Who are the hirers? Be prepared, by doing a little bit of research. So much information is available to us so you can look at the company’s website, Facebook, Google reviews, Instagram & LinkedIn This will give you an indication of the culture and values of the workplace which can help you write your Cover Letter & resume.
The Best Resumes are clean and simple. No need to put in it that time your Poodle won best haircut last year at the Dog show. This does not make you a good candidate for the job – unless you are applying for a Dog Grooming position!!
Don’t rinse and repeat your Cover Letter. Repeating, duplicating and sending out the same general information is boring and lazy & the reader gets the impression that little effort has been made.
Good luck with your applications and remember to ask after your submissions if there is any feedback on your application format or gaps in the information delivered so you can improve – they may give you feedback.
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.
From 1 July 2026 employers must pay superannuation contributions on payday, with funds received by the employee’s super fund within seven business days.
At the moment, employers need to pay employees’ super contributions at least every 3 months and into the employee’s nominated account. Under the new rules, employers will need to pay employees’ super contributions at the same time they pay their salary or wages so that the contributions reach the employees’ nominated account within 7 business days. There are some exceptions, for example the first super contribution for a new employee will need to be made within 20 business days of the salary or wages being paid.
Super guarantee is calculated as 12% of QE (Qualifying Earnings), which includes OTE (Ordinary Time Earnings) and other payments. The ATO is the primary enforcement agency for the compulsory super guarantee. The ATO is responsible for implementing the new rules and has prepared a fact sheet about the changes.
As a reminder about who should be receiving Super payments from their employer, 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
Temporary residents (eg. working holiday makers) are also eligible for superannuation.
For more information about Superannuation in Australia, see our previous article published in December 2025 – Superannuation – Australia.
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.
Comments Off on Emergency Animal Diseases Guide 2025 update
There is a useful resource for vets produced by the Department of Agriculture and Australia’s Animal Health Laboratory. The 2025 update includes new chapters on diseases and syndromes that have emerged or increased in importance since the previous edition.
The EAD field guide provides information on important emergency animal diseases that either are rare or do not exist in Australia, to help vets include appropriate EADs in their differential diagnoses. Early identification and reporting is critical to minimise harm and to identify currently high risk exotic diseases such as African Swine Fever.
There is also information on the Outbreak website about emerging diseases for vets to watch out for – which may be particularly useful for vets who are travelling Australia performing locum work, or who graduated overseas.
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.
Comments Off on Preparing for Salary Conversations – VNs & Support Staff
Pay discussions are a common source of anxiety, both for employees when talking to a current employer or during a search for a new job, and for employers. Preparing yourself with some general knowledge ahead of time can help reduce uncertainty and make these conversations feel less daunting.
Veterinary support roles are often advertised without pay rates, making “competitive remuneration” difficult to assess.
Most veterinary practices in Australia fall under the Animal Care and Veterinary Services Award 2020, which sets minimum employment conditions and is usually updated each July.
In addition, all employees are covered by the National Employment Standards (NES), which outline minimum entitlements regardless of award or contract.
The Animal Care and Veterinary Services Award 2020 covers Veterinary Surgeons, Practice Managers, Veterinary Nurses, Receptionists, Animal attendants and Assistants, & Animal care industry inspectors. The Award covers arrangements such as, but not limited to those below:
minimum wage rates
allowances
payment for extra hours worked
on-call and provision for a communication system
rosters & RDOs
annual leave
Periods of notice, redundancy
Clothing for work
Travel and use of own vehicle
Meal breaks
Sick leave
Parental leave
Public holidays
Dispute resolution
Award Rates for Practice managers, Veterinary nurses, Receptionists, Animal attendants and Assistants (01Jul25)
Classification
Minimum ordinary hourly rate $
Introductory level
24.28
Level 1
24.95
Level 2
26.96
Level 3
28.12
Level 4
30.68
Level 5 – Practice Manager
32.23
Penalty rates apply for Saturday afternoons, Sundays, and public holidays.
Casual (locum) veterinary nurses should receive a 25% casual loading.
Introductory-level roles progress to Level 1 within a maximum of three months.
For up-to-date and detailed information, you may find these official resources helpful. If you’re unsure how the Award applies to your situation, the Fair Work Ombudsman website also offers tools and guidance to help you check classifications and minimum pay rates.
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.
