Melbourne Veterinary School accreditations

The Melbourne Veterinary School is accredited by the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA), the Australasian Veterinary Boards Council (AVBC) and the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS). Find out more about what accreditation means and the process we go through to maintain it.

Current accreditation status

Full accreditation was first achieved in 2006, and renewed in 2013.

Following the virtual re-accreditation in May 2021, the School reverted to "Accredited with Minor Deficiencies" with AVBC and "Probationally Accredited" with AVMA and RCVS. These are not adverse decisions and do not affect the degree status of current students and graduates. Some deficiencies were identified which are largely due to the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. We expect to receive accreditation outcomes from the 2023 site visit in 2024.

  • Last Site Visit: 2023 (AVMA, AVBC and RCVS)
  • Our students' NAVLE results: 92% 5-year average pass rate (find out more)

Additional information can be found at the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) website and the Australasian Veterinary Boards Council website.

Frequently asked questions

  • Why is the DVM accreditation under probation?

    The Melbourne Veterinary School is registered with the three major accreditation bodies: the AVMA (American Veterinary Medical Association), the RCVS (Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons) and the AVBC (Australasian Veterinary Boards Council). Following a joint review of Melbourne Veterinary School's accreditation conducted in mid-2021, some deficiencies were identified which the school has been actively working to address. The School's accreditation status is currently "Accredited with Minor Deficiencies" with AVBC and "Probationally Accredited" with AVMA and RCVS.

    Being asked to remediate a small number of deficiencies is common when accreditation reviews of this sort are conducted. The School underwent a full review and audit in July  2023 and we are looking forward to receiving the outcomes from the accreditation bodies.

  • What is being done to ensure DVM accreditation is maintained?

    The Melbourne Veterinary School has reviewed the DVM program to align with the three major accreditation bodies, the AVMA, the RCVS and the AVBC.

    We have introduced an action plan to ensure all accreditation requirements are satisfied and will be working towards this for the next 12 months with a team of staff dedicated to defining and facilitating clinical skills teaching across each species and across the curriculum. This team provides regular progress updates based on clear outcomes-based evidence to the accreditation teams.

    As an example, work is underway to address the curriculum for production animal teaching. This related to the need for the School to provide increased clinical teaching in beef cattle medicine and production animal herd health, in addition to the current satisfactory provision for individual production animal medicine and dairy cattle herd health. To ensure the best outcomes for our students and accreditation we are working in partnership with industry and government agencies to provide real world clinical opportunities for final year veterinary students in population health management of Australia’s major production animal species.

  • When will we know the outcome of the accreditation process?

    The School is providing regular progress updates to the accreditation organisations. Following the full review and audit of Melbourne Veterinary School in July 2023 we expect to receive the outcomes from the accreditation bodies in 2024.

  • If accreditation is not confirmed how does this impact commencing and current students?

    Melbourne Veterinary School takes its accreditation status very seriously, and the school is actively working to remediate the identified deficiencies to ensure this doesn’t eventuate.

    In the unlikely event that accreditation is not confirmed in 2023, the School will continue to work with the accreditation agencies to remediate any outstanding deficiencies.

If you have further questions about our accreditation, please contact us.

What does accreditation mean?

American Veterinary Medical Association

Accreditation from the AVMA means that the University of Melbourne Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM) degree is recognised in the United States and Canada, making our graduates eligible to sit the North American Veterinary Licensing Examination (NAVLE) – a prerequisite for all veterinarians who seek to practise in North America.

Find out more in our Guide to the NAVLE, including our students'  passing rates in previous years.

Australasian Veterinary Boards Council

The Melbourne Veterinary School is recognised by the Australasian Veterinary Boards Council through the Veterinary Schools Accreditation Advisory Committee (VSAAC), making Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM) graduates eligible for registration with the Veterinary Surgeons' Board in each state and territory in Australia, and in New Zealand.

Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (UK)

The University of Melbourne Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM) degree is recognised by the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons for the purposes of registration to practise veterinary medicine in the UK, and countries in Asia that accept degrees recognised by the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons. The latter include Singapore and Hong Kong.

School structure and organisation

The Melbourne Veterinary School’s DVM program is nationally and internationally accredited by the Australasian Veterinary Boards Council (AVBC), the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) and the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS).