Country vets handed $65,000 to pay HECS debts

“The jobs aren’t in the middle of the outback.’’ Why $200,000 salaries aren’t enough to lure vets to country towns.

A pet frenzy during the pandemic has led to a shortage of vets. Picture: iStock

Country vets will have their university tuition fees paid off if they work for a veterinary business struggling to fill jobs paying more than $200,000 a year.

Apiam Animal Health wants to hire 50 more vets for its 73 clinics across Australia. It will pay off Higher Education Contribution Scheme debts of up to $65,000 for 10 new or recent graduates who agree to work in remote or ­regional areas for four years.

Apiam managing director Chris Richards said he was tired of waiting for the federal government to waive HECS debts for country vets, as it had for rural doctors, nurses and some teachers. He said he could not fill senior veterinary jobs paid more than $200,000 a year, or find enough junior vets earning $100,000.

Dr Richards said the company employed 320 vets and had recruited veterinarians from South Africa and Britain but could “employ another 50 tomorrow to meet demand”.

“There are plenty of jobs on offer well over $200,000 but we just can’t get anyone,” he said. “The jobs aren’t in the middle of the outback. We’re talking about places like Ballarat, Bendigo, Dubbo, Dalby or Queensland’s Fraser Coast.”

Starting this month, Apiam will pay off $65,000 in HECS debts for 10 young veterinarians willing work in the country for four years. “We know student debt is a huge issue for most veterinary graduates,” he said. “We have some vets several years into their careers still burdened by huge student debts in excess of $100,000.

“We are therefore offering the same support to these valuable team members to ensure that they remain in regional Australia and continue to apply their skills in under serviced regions.”

Dr Richards said he hoped the HECS payment scheme would lure some of Australia’s most talented vets to work in rapidly growing regional areas.

“There aren’t enough graduates to keep up with changes in the veterinary industry,” he said.

“We have a lot of people going into part-time employment, pet numbers have increased during the pandemic, and the existing workforce has been working extremely long hours so some vets have been burnt out or gone back to the city.”