Ms Niamh Muldoon:

I want to thank the Senator for his question. He made a few comments. First, we had nine authorised officers investigations last year. Where do they go and what happens to those investigations? If and when a matter of concern is brought to the attention of the Veterinary Council, invariably, if it is credible, we will initiate an authorised officers investigation. Those investigations are reported to the council. If there is a matter to be followed up, that might lead to District Court proceedings, which is exactly what happened. There would have been authorised officer investigations prior to the three sets of District Court proceedings initiated by the Veterinary Council. Often, our authorised officer investigations will conclude that there is no matter of concern or evidence of any wrongdoing as such. From time to time, there are matters of concern, and in that case, the Veterinary Council will take action, such as the three District Court prosecutions initiated last year.

Are all those matters concluded? Yes, they are. In two of those matters, the prosecution was success and a fine was imposed by the District Court. In the third matter, the individual entered a guilty plea and ultimately mended their hand in relation to operating from a premise that had been certified by the Veterinary Council. In that instance, the court accepted a donation to an animal welfare charity in lieu of a fine being imposed by the court. Those are three instances where authorised officers investigations were carried through to decisive action by the Veterinary Council in the public interest and in the interest of animal health and welfare that lead to an outcome, be that a fine or conviction.