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Veterinary Nurses

Veterinary Nurses care for animals under treatment and in temporary residence at veterinary facilities and assist Veterinarians to perform procedures and operations.

Agriculture & environmentLicensed workANZSCO 3613
$1,667/wkMedian full-time pay
18kPeople employed
+12% ▲Growth to 2035
58%Work full time
28Median age
Source: ABS · JSA, 2025-26ABS (Australian Bureau of Statistics) Labour Force via Jobs and Skills Australia (JSA), February 2026; ABS Employee Earnings and Hours May 2025; JSA Employment Projections, May 2025 base. ANZSCO 3613.More about our sources: How we check our facts

What they do

The main tasks of this occupation, from the national occupation standard.

holding animals to allow examination and treatment by veterinarianscleaning and sterilising examination tables and equipmentpreparing instruments and handing them to the veterinarianassisting veterinarians to administer anaesthetics and oxygen during operationsplacing animals in cages for recovery from operations and monitoring their conditiongiving medications to animals
Source: JSA occupation profileTask list from the Jobs and Skills Australia occupation profile for ANZSCO 3613 (ANZSCO task statements).More about our sources: How we check our facts

The outlook

Room for 2,100 more people in veterinary nurses by 2035 ▲

The field grew 5.8% in the year to February 2026, adding about 1,000 workers. Most of the jobs are in NSW and VIC, with QLD third.

Source: JSA · ABS, 2025-26ABS (Australian Bureau of Statistics) Labour Force via Jobs and Skills Australia (JSA), February 2026; ABS Employee Earnings and Hours May 2025; JSA Employment Projections, May 2025 base. ANZSCO 3613.More about our sources: How we check our facts
17.5k2025
18.6k2030 PROJ.
19.6k2035 PROJ.

Getting in

Most veterinary nurses came through a certificate or diploma. 60% did.

A university degree is rare here: 15% hold one. The trade qualification is the standard way in. These are the nationally recognised courses mapped to this occupation, with the number of registered training providers that offer each one.

Source: JSA · training.gov.auEducation split: JSA (Jobs and Skills Australia) occupation profile, using ABS (Australian Bureau of Statistics) Census data, ANZSCO 3613. Qualification mapping and provider counts: training.gov.au, the national register of vocational education, October 2026. Listed providers are current registered training providers (private providers and TAFE institutes).More about our sources: How we check our facts

Nationally recognised training · most offered first

ACM40418Certificate IV

Certificate IV in Veterinary Nursing

Animal Care and Management Training Package · licensed work.

See 23 providers
ACM50219Diploma

Diploma of Veterinary Nursing

Animal Care and Management Training Package · licensed work.

See 2 providers

Licensed work: several of these courses lead to work that also needs a state or territory licence. Training is the first step; licensing rules are set by each state.

Providers are shown in A-Z order on each course page. A listing is not a recommendation.

Jobs open right now

18k Australians do this work. See who is hiring this month.

Search job ads by state

Each link opens seek.com.au in a new tab, showing ads posted in the last month. SEEK is a job site; we link there because that is where most Australian jobs are advertised. We have no commercial relationship with SEEK.

Source: ABS · JSA, 2025-26State chart shows people employed, not current job ads. ABS (Australian Bureau of Statistics) Labour Force via Jobs and Skills Australia (JSA), February 2026; ABS Employee Earnings and Hours May 2025; JSA Employment Projections, May 2025 base. ANZSCO 3613.More about our sources: How we check our facts

People employed by state, 2025-26

NSW4.7k
VIC4.3k
QLD3.9k
WA1.3k
SA1.2k
TAS0.3k
ACT0.2k
NT0.1k

Occupations near this one

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