Page 3565 - Week 09 - Thursday, 23 August 2018
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address potential conflict of interest issues. The president’s role would be to guide meetings and ensure robust and equitable governance decisions.
Through discussions with the profession, the Australian Veterinary Association and the board, the ACT government amended the proposed bill to retain seven members on the regulatory board. Under the bill, the board’s composition now includes a president, who cannot be a person who works in a veterinary practice or has a material interest in a veterinary practice, four registered veterinary practitioners with continuous registration for a period of three years immediately prior to the day of appointment, one community representative who is not a veterinary practitioner, and one member who is not a veterinary practitioner.
To support the enhanced regulatory powers of the board under the bill, the government is proposing to appoint a lawyer or an individual with similar skills as the non-veterinary practitioner member to assist the board in applying the legislation to its work.
As part of the discussions on the composition of the board, considerable discussion occurred on the appointment requirements for the president. The discussion focused on whether the president position should be occupied by a veterinary professional or a person independent of the profession. To further review and consider the role of the president, in November 2017 the board’s president and government officials travelled to South Australia to look at how their regulatory veterinary board functioned with an independent president. South Australia is the only jurisdiction in Australia to operate with a non-veterinary president. The final bill reflects the outcomes of these discussions.
Under the bill, the president can now be a non-veterinary professional or a veterinary professional who does not work in a veterinary practice or have a material interest in a veterinary practice. This deals with the governance issue that has been identified in relation to potential or perceived bias of the presiding member if they are a veterinary professional.
The minister responsible for the legislation needs to be satisfied that members of the board have the skills and qualifications to ensure that it reaches its objectives. The ACT government believes the final composition of the board will provide the ACT with a strong board that utilises both veterinary and non-veterinary skills to administer and enforce the legislation equitably.
Feedback from consultation also focused on the appointment process for board members generally. The Chief Veterinary Officer referred the government to the 2015 World Organisation for Animal Health report Performance of veterinary services. The report states that ministerial appointees may impact board autonomy and decision-making.
The bill will proceed with the appointment processes being carried out in line with the ACT government’s recruitment protocols and with appointments being made by the minister. Through this process, all veterinary professionals can apply to the relevant ACT directorate to be a member, and the minister is required to consult with the board
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