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Certificate in Client Care ServicesEDUCATION EXPERT: NATALIE WOOLLEY ACADEMIC DIRECTOR BTrngDev, DipVET, DipVN (ECC & Surgical), ISFM AdvCertFB, CGC, TAA, MHFA, RVN Natalie Woolley is the Academic Director of the Australian College of Veterinary Nursing (ACVN), where she leads the training and assessment, continual improvement and quality control of our veterinary nursing education programs. A highly experienced veterinary nurse and educator, Natalie brings over 25 years of clinical and education experience spanning emergency and critical care, surgical nursing, animal behaviour, and vocational education. With a strong interest in animal behaviour and welfare, Natalie holds formal qualifications in both canine and feline behaviour, including the International Society of Feline Medicine Advanced Certificate in Feline Behaviour (with Distinction). Her clinical career has taken her through general practice, emergency and critical care, specialist settings, and private behaviour consultations for dogs and cats with anxiety and aggression disorders. Natalie maintains clinical contact with specialty emergency nursing, keeping her clinical skills current alongside her education role. Natalie joined ACVN in 2012 and has grown from Casual Assessor through Nurse Educator and Program Coordinator to her current role as Academic Director. She has co-authored ACVN subjects in animal welfare and behaviour and contributed extensively to course content across her areas of clinical expertise. Her focus is on helping veterinary nursing students build skill, knowledge and resilience through evidence-based teaching and learning, delivered in a way that makes clinical application practical and relevant for every student. When not at work, Natalie dedicates her time to competing in Scent Work trials with her three border collies Lexie, Jovie and Split; gardening; or curling up on the couch with a good book and her cat, Baci. She also keeps chickens. You might be surprised to learn she is a former bodybuilder and a dedicated Formula 1 fan. Natalie’s work spans veterinary nursing education, animal behaviour and welfare, and specialist clinical practice. Her primary areas of expertise include: Natalie holds formal qualifications in both canine and feline behaviour. She has worked as a behavioural trainer conducting private consultations for dogs and cats with anxiety and aggression disorders and her current work at ACVN includes co-authoring the animal welfare and behaviour subjects. Outside work, she competes in Scent work, Lure coursing, tricks and SprintDog trials with her border collies, applying evidence-based training principles in practice. Drawing on a Diploma of Veterinary Nursing in Emergency and Critical Care and ongoing clinical contact with emergency nursing, Natalie brings current, hands-on ECC experience to her education role. Her clinical work covers triage, primary assessment and stabilisation, anaesthetic management of complex cases, inpatient management, and pain assessment. She is RECOVER Basic Life Support certified. Natalie’s focus is on translating clinical practice into structured, evidence-based learning that builds practical competence, critical thinking and professional resilience in veterinary nursing students. Natalie continues to support nurse training and mentoring of local and interstate nurses with some mentoring relationships spanning more than a decade, highlighting her compassion and joy in seeing nurses grow and succeed. Natalie has extensive clinical experience in both general practice and specialist settings in scrubbed surgical assisting, anaesthetic monitoring, theatre coordination, and post-operative patient care. Natalie is an invited speaker at the 2026 ANZCVS Science Week, presenting on the impact of species on the use of the Mellorater app, a research-backed animal welfare monitoring tool based on the Five Domains Model developed at the University of New England. Her work developing ACVN’s animal welfare subject connects directly to this applied research interest, bridging the gap between welfare science and practical veterinary nursing education. Natalie Woolley contributes to the advancement of veterinary nursing practice and education through conference presentations, clinical education development, and applied animal welfare research. Her contributions include:
A qualified veterinary nurse in Australia earns a minimum of $30.68 per hour if employed [...]
As vet nurses, we know feeding cats isn’t just about filling a bowl—it’s a chance [...]
Breeding has been described as equal parts stress and fun – and they aren’t wrong!! [...]
Imagine this: you’re a vet nurse with a growing number of breeders coming to you [...]
Fluid therapy treatment is one of the backbones of medical therapy in veterinary medicine and [...] Natalie has contributed to many subjects in the following courses: These courses form part of nationally recognised veterinary nursing training delivered through the Australian College of Veterinary Nursing. She has also written the content for the following courses, which are delivered by the Australian College of Animal Care: Natalie holds formal qualifications in training and development, veterinary nursing, animal behaviour, and vocational education and training.
NATALIE WOOLLEY
Areas of Expertise
ANIMAL BEHAVIOUR, TRAINING AND WELFARE
EMERGENCY AND CRITICAL CARE NURSING
EVIDENCE-BASED VETERINARY NURSE EDUCATION
SURGICAL NURSING AND PERIOPERATIVE CARE
ANIMAL WELFARE ASSESSMENT AND THE FIVE DOMAINS MODEL
Professional Leadership & Industry Contributions
SOME ARTICLES BY NATALIE
How much do vet nurses get paid?
Feeding for Function: The Science Behind Feline Behaviour and Therapeutic Nutrition
Understanding Breeding Practices and Reproduction: Key Insights for Breeders and Vet Nurses
Breeding Practices and Reproduction: A Perspective on Supporting Breeders
Veterinary Nursing Cheats for Monitoring Fluid Therapy
LEARN FROM NATALIE
QUALIFICATIONS & CREDENTIALS
Higher Education
Veterinary Nursing & Animal Care
Education and Training
OTHER CREDENTIALS