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.
Comments Off on Veterinary Employment Figures – 2026
Job data collected and tracked by Kookaburra Veterinary Employment for permanent vacancies in Australia reveals an easing of the shortage of veterinarians relative to the numbers of vacancies available, over the last 2 years. The hardest year to fill a vet vacancy was 2023, and since then, clinics have gradually been receiving more applicants and filling their vacancies in less time.
The bad news for vets graduating from university this year is that less clinics will now consider training a new grad. One conclusion that could be drawn from this is that many clinics don’t see value in employing a new graduate or perceive new grads as a burden on their practice, and they will try to avoid it if there are vets with some experience available. Alternatively, it’s possible that practices are already weighted heavily towards less experienced associates.
Kookaburra Vet Employment also has a limited amount of data on veterinary nurse and support staff vacancies. Anecdotal reports from clinics have suggested that it is increasingly difficult to source veterinary nursing staff this year, and this is supported by the increasing number of vacancies being advertised.
Vets
As of 26th August 2026 there were 431 open vet vacancies advertised with Kookaburra. 78 jobs had been continuously advertised for over 8 months (18% ).
In the 3 months February, March, April 2026, 693 jobs were advertised.
51% of these were filled by 9th of May
8% were removed because the clinic either gave up looking or restructured their clinic staff to cope, or had a downturn in business
41% were still available as of 9th May
On 30th April 2023, 52 clinics had been advertising continuously for longer than 2 years without filling their vacancy, but by 26th August 2026, only 12 clinics had been continuously advertising for longer than 2 years without apparently filling their vacancy.
Vet Nurses
In March 2020 we had 236 vet nurse jobs listed. In April 2021 we had 337 vet nurse jobs listed. May 9th 2023 we had 316 vet nurse jobs listed. June 26th 2024 we had 236 vet nurse jobs listed. August 26th 2026 we had 344 vet nurse jobs listed
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.
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