Veterinary Services and Animal Care industry

The revised version (version 3) of the New Zealand Diploma in Veterinary Nursing (Level 6) with strands in Companion Animal Veterinary Nursing, and Equine Veterinary Nursing has now been published. The proposed changes were implemented as follows:

• The Graduate Profile Outcomes (GPOs) have been reduced from 20 to 6. There is no loss of content as the GPOs were consolidated into fewer, broader statements that incorporated the previous detail, and allowed for a more flexible, achievable programme suitable for a range of delivery methods.
• General Conditions for the Programme section were clarified, for example, details on theory vs. practical assessment, as well as the species required for assessments was clarified to enable more workable and achievable outcomes.

For more detailed information of the specific changes, please see the change report on the NZQA website.

Thank you to everyone who was involved in the review of this qualification, and who provided feedback on the draft.

You can view the full qualification document here.

In October 2024, we began the review of the New Zealand Diploma in Rural Animal Veterinary Technology (Level 6) with the goal of rationalising and simplifying its graduate profile outcomes, ultimately allowing for greater flexibility in programme design. 

As part of the review, public consultation was conducted with industry stakeholders and educational providers to gather feedback. 

The revised version (Version 3) of the qualification has now been published. The proposed changes were implemented as follows: 

• Graduate profile outcomes were revised and replaced. 

• The practical requirement was changed from attendance at two veterinary clinics to one, with a strong recommendation that learners attend a minimum of two veterinary clinics. 

• The requirement for comparative analysis of a range of animal species was removed and included as special conditions for graduate profile outcomes. 

You can view the full qualification document here – Qualification Overview 

Thank you to everyone who was involved in the review of this qualification, and who provided feedback on the draft.