This application is for an Initial Assessment of your ELIGIBILITY to undertake the professional examinations in veterinary science. It is NOT an application to sit the AVE.

Assessment of eligibility to undertake the examinations is STEP 1 in the process, followed by:

STEP 2: Preliminary Examination – called the AVE Preliminary MCQ Examination, a computer-based multiple choice question examination; and
STEP 3: Clinical Examination – called the AVE Final (Clinical) Examination.

If you are assessed as eligible, you will be placed on an AVE candidates’ contact list and will receive information from the AVE Coordinator from time to time, including application forms for upcoming examination sessions.

Background

The eligibility assessment is conducted by the Australasian Veterinary Boards Council Inc (AVBC) for overseas trained veterinarians who wish to practise their profession in Australia or New Zealand and who do not have a primary veterinary qualification which is recognised for registration here.

The AVBC assesses your eligibility by checking the following:

That you have a minimum 4-year primary veterinary qualification from a veterinary school on the AVMA ECFVG®-list of veterinary colleges or the World List of Universities;
That you are registered or eligible to be recognised as a veterinarian of good professional standing in the country you studied your primary qualification;
That you have current English language proficiency to the standard required by AVBC.

Detailed information about the Australasian Veterinary Examination can be found in the “Information for AVE Candidates” Booklet.

Preparing your application

You must provide supporting documents that meet specific standards with your application. Download our supporting evidence checklist to ensure you have everything ready to apply.

Are you ready to apply for an AVE Eligibility Assessment?

Supporting Document Requirements

Your documents must meet the following requirements:

Colour scan of the ORIGINAL document No black and white documents will be accepted unless the original document is black and white.
Resolution: >300dpi/ppi – find out how to check the resolution of a document here.
Include all edges and corners
All text must be readable
Have visible security features (such as the issuing authority’s official stamp, seal, signatures, hologram etc)
.pdf format
Each document must be provided in a separate pdf.
Where a document has more than one page and/or side, please ensure all pages and sides are scanned and combined into the one file.
Name each file with your SURNAME and content. For example, SMITHApplicationform.pdf, SMITHPassport.pdf, SMITHTranscript.pdf
Compressed files (e.g. zip) will not be accepted

Your assessment will be delayed if your documents do not meet the above requirements and, in all cases, the AVBC reserves the right to request to see the original document(s).

Digital documents

Some official documents that have been issued digitally may not meet our resolution standards.

In these cases, the applicant must ensure that AVBC can verify these documents; this means providing AVBC with any relevant weblinks and passwords.

You may need to organise for the issuing authority of these documents to contact AVBC directly (ave@avbc.asn.au) in order to verify the authenticity of these documents.

Passport photo requirements

You are required to provide two copies of a colour passport photograph, taken within the past twelve months:

A colour scan of the original photo at a resolution of 300dpi
A colour scan of a page including a copy of the same photo together with a certifier’s signature.

Follow these steps:

Create a single-page document with a colour photocopy of your passport photo at the top of the page.
Beneath the photograph, request a person who is eligible to certify documents to certify that “This is a true photo of you
Ensure that your certifier has included a legible signature, together with contact and registration details and an email address.
Scan the entire page in colour, at 300dpi.

Frequently Asked Questions

Supporting Documents

What if I cannot provide a colour scan of the ORIGINAL document?

Under these circumstances you must provide a colour scan of the document which has been certified as a copy of the original and scanned at >300dpi/ppi.

What is a certified copy?

A certified copy of an original is clearly authorised as a true copy of the original by an appropriate person.

A person on the list of authorised witnesses is generally acceptable to the AVBC to certify a document. Persons include Justices of the Peace (JP), Notaries public, legal practitioners, veterinarians and admissions officers of all Australian universities.

To have your copies certified you will need to present both the original and the copy of each document to the person certifying the copies.

Each copy of the document must be certified separately and must include the following:

the words “certified true copy of the original”.
the signature of the certifying officer.
the name and address, and provider/registration number (where applicable) of the certifying officer legibly printed below the signature.
the certifier’s email address and telephone number.

From the details provided, it must be possible for AVBC to contact the certifying officer if necessary.

What if my documents are not in English?

If your supporting documents are written in a language other than English, you must provide:

All supporting documents in the original language;
Official English translated versions of all documents.

The translations must be included in the .pdf file for the documents to which they refer (extract translations will not be accepted).

All scanned documents (both in the original language and translated) must meet the supporting document requirements previously outlined.

Please note that AVBC reserves the right to request applicants to provide translations completed by a translator in Australia, accredited by the National Accreditation Authority for Translators and Interpreters (NAATI).

What if I want to use an agent?

AVBC normally deals directly with applicants seeking an assessment of their qualifications. Australia’s privacy legislation prohibits AVBC from discussing your application with other people (i.e. a third party) unless you authorise us to do so. If you want someone, such as a family member, registered migration agent, legal practitioner or exempt person to deal with AVBC on your behalf, you need to attach a letter or form signed by you authorising this person (by name) to act as your agent. A relevant form (No. 956) is available for download from the Department of Home affairs website here: https://immi.homeaffairs.gov.au/form-listing/forms/956.pdf

The Assessment Process

What happens after you receive my application?

We will acknowledge receipt of your application by email. If we are satisfied that your application is complete, we will process the payment of your application fee and complete the assessment. Your AVE Eligibility Assessment outcome letter will be emailed to you upon completion.

What if there are any issues with my application?

If there are any problems with your application form or any of your supporting documents, we will be in touch by email to let you know, with guidance on how to resolve any issues.

Can I ask for my assessment to be reviewed?

If you disagree with the assessment once it has been provided, you may request a review. Your request must be in writing and a review fee will be required. Your request for a review should include the reasons why you disagree with the assessment and any supplementary information or documents that you consider support your claim. For further information about the review process you should contact ave@avbc.asn.au

How long will the assessment take?

An assessment of your eligibility may take up to six weeks to process. We will be doing our utmost to work through applications as quickly as possible. Processing of your AVE eligibility assessment application will be delayed if your application is incomplete.

Information for AVE Candidates & Fees

Further Questions

Please refer back to this website for updates or contact the AVBC via email: ave@avbc.asn.au