ACM40418 Certificate IV in Veterinary Nursing

via RPL FastTrack

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Are you an experienced Vet Nurse without a formal qualification?

If you’ve been working at the same level as a qualified Vet Nurse in a practice for several years, this Veterinary Nursing RPL FastTrack program is designed to recognise your prior learning and skills to give you the formal qualifications you deserve.

This method of certification will suit you if:

  • You have already completed many units towards the ACM40418 Certificate IV in Veterinary Nursing and wish to graduate
  • You have relevant veterinary nursing knowledge, including anatomy & physiology, terminology, anaesthesia, pharmacology, surgical and medical nursing knowledge
  • You have good veterinary nursing skills across all areas of the profession
  • You’ve been working at least three years at the same level as a qualified nurse (i.e. You have 4 or 5 years worth of experience in total)
  • You’ve been undertaking a variety of continuing education seminars and courses regularly
  • You qualified overseas and your qualifications can be partially or completely mapped to our Cert IV
  • You have other relevant work experience

This ACM40418 Certificate IV in Veterinary Nursing is offered by UQ Skills (RTO 1511) with the expert training, assessment, recruitment and support services provided by ACVN.


apply now

Ready to get the recognition you deserve?

To be eligible to enrol in this course, you must:

  • Be over 18 years of age
  • Be employed in a veterinary clinic as a veterinary nurse
  • Hold a Cert II or III in Animal Studies OR another animal care related qualification of the same level or higher
  • Provide evidence of your work in a veterinary practice as a Veterinary Nurse at ACM40418 Certificate IV in Veterinary Nursing level (i.e. not as a kennel hand or ward assistant, trainee Vet Nurse etc.) for a minimum of 3 years full time, or the part time equivalent. Evidence must be provided. We recommend at least 5 years of nursing experience prior to undertaking RPL.

Please note: If you do not hold a Cert II or higher in an animal care related course, you may be asked to complete the Direct Entry Application prior to your enrolment being accepted.


Veterinary Nursing RPL FastTrack allows you to demonstrate your existing knowledge and skills. You’ll be required to provide evidence to show your current competencies and skills. If you’d like to learn more about being a Veterinary Nurse, then we’d suggest combining the Veterinary Nursing RPL FastTrack with full study subjects. It is extremely important to realise that the RPL process is not a study course. It is only a method of assessing your existing skills and knowledge, not adding to them.

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ACM40418 Certificate IV in Veterinary Nursing

For this qualification to be awarded, you must complete 21 units of competency. Seventeen of these are core units, and the remaining four are electives.

The core units you must complete are:

  • ACMGAS307 Identify animal anatomy and physiology for animal care work
  • ACMGAS308 Communicate effectively with client and team members
  • ACMVET202 Carry out daily clinic routines
  • ACMWHS301 Contribute to work health and safety processes
  • ACMINF301 Comply with infection control policies & procedures in animal work
  • ACMVET401 Coordinate veterinary reception duties
  • ACMVET402 Apply imaging routines
  • ACMVET403 Perform clinic pathology procedures
  • ACMVET404 Perform practice office procedures
  • ACMVET405 Coordinate and perform surgical nursing routines
  • ACMVET406 Nurse animals
  • ACMVET407 Carry out medical nursing routines
  • ACMVET408 Provide nutritional support for animals
  • ACMVET409 Provide specific animal care advice
  • ACMVET410 Carry out veterinary dental nursing procedures
  • ACMVET413 Prepare for anaesthesia and monitor animal anaesthesia and analgesia
  • ACMVET416 Assist with the preparation of veterinary drugs and poisons

Your four electives will be discussed with you prior to enrolment as you may have credits from other qualifications we can use here, reducing your workload and cost.

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Enrolling is very simple!

  1. Click on the ‘Apply Now’ button below.
  2. Fill out the application form and attach evidence as requested.
  3. Check your email account for the enrolment package, emailed once we accept you onto the program. This may take a few days, but if you haven’t heard back from us within a week, contact us!
  4. Fill out the enrolment and payment forms, and post or email it back in to us.

Once your enrolment and payment has been processed, you will receive an email from us with all the information you need to access the Learning Centre and begin the RPL process.

If you’ve been working at the same level as a qualified Vet Nurse in a practice for several years, this Veterinary Nursing RPL FastTrack program is designed to recognise your prior learning and skills to give you the formal qualifications you deserve.

This method of certification will suit you if:

  • You have relevant veterinary nursing knowledge, including anatomy & physiology, terminology, anaesthesia, pharmacology, surgical and medical nursing knowledge
  • You have good veterinary nursing skills across all areas of the profession
  • You’ve been working at least three years at the same level as a qualified nurse (i.e. You have 4 or 5 years worth of experience in total)
  • You’ve been undertaking a variety of continuing education seminars and courses regularly
  • You qualified overseas and your qualifications can be partially or completely mapped to our Cert IV
  • You have other relevant work experience

This ACM40418 Certificate IV in Veterinary Nursing is offered by UQ Skills (RTO 1511) with the expert training, assessment, recruitment and support services provided by ACVN.


apply now

    Ready to get the recognition you deserve?

    To be eligible to enrol in this course, you must:

    • Be over 18 years of age
    • Be employed in a veterinary clinic as a veterinary nurse
    • Hold a Cert II or III in Animal Studies OR another animal care related qualification of the same level or higher
    • Provide evidence of your work in a veterinary practice as a Veterinary Nurse at ACM40418 Certificate IV in Veterinary Nursing level (i.e. not as a kennel hand or ward assistant, trainee Vet Nurse etc.) for a minimum of 3 years full time, or the part time equivalent. Evidence must be provided. We recommend at least 5 years of nursing experience prior to undertaking RPL.

    Please note: If you do not hold a Cert II or higher in an animal care related course, you may be asked to complete the Direct Entry Application prior to your enrolment being accepted.


Veterinary Nursing RPL FastTrack allows you to demonstrate your existing knowledge and skills. You’ll be required to provide evidence to show your current competencies and skills. If you’d like to learn more about being a Veterinary Nurse, then we’d suggest combining the Veterinary Nursing RPL FastTrack with full study subjects. It is extremely important to realise that the RPL process is not a study course. It is only a method of assessing your existing skills and knowledge, not adding to them.

apply now

ACM40412 Certificate IV in Veterinary Nursing via RPL FastTrack

For this qualification to be awarded, you must complete 23 units of competency. Nineteen of these are core units, and the remaining four are electives.

The core units you are required to RPL are:

  • ACMCAS410A Conduct companion animal training classes
  • ACMCAS304A Capture, handle and transport companion animal
  • ACMGAS301A Maintain and monitor animal health and wellbeing
  • ACMGAS303A Plan for and provide nutritional requirements for animals

Other electives can be discussed with us, and you may have credits from other qualifications we can use here, reducing workload and cost.

apply now

Enrolling is very simple!

  1. Click on the ‘Enrol Now’ button below.
  2. Fill out the application form and attach evidence of your employment.
  3. Check your email account for the enrolment package, emailed once we accept you onto the course. This may take a few days, but if you haven’t heard back from us within a week, contact us!
  4. Fill out the enrolment and payment forms, and post or email it back in to us.

Once your enrolment and payment has been processed, you will receive an email from us with all the information you need to access the Learning Centre, then your folders will arrive by overnight courier.

Nationally Recognised Training

This qualification is delivered by ACVN on behalf of the University of Queensland, trading as UQ Skills, RTO ID: 1511. UQ Skills is the Principal RTO and this course is on the UQ Skills scope of registration, as documented through a written third party agreement. For more information refer to the FAQ.

Recognition of prior learning (RPL) could mean you’re eligible for a full or part qualification for the ACM40418 Certificate IV in Veterinary Nursing.

It’s a great way to avoid duplication of training or to identify gaps in your skills and knowledge.

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Frequently asked questions

The RPL FastTrack is delivered entirely by distance education using our online ‘Learning Centre’. Once we grant you access, all the necessary information to complete the FastTrack is available in the Learning Centre for you to download.

Each RPL area requires certain evidence to be supplied:

  • Expect to complete written case studies and short answer questions.
  • Workplace-based assessments for practical skills will be completed at the clinic in which you work via video assessments. Don’t stress, we will provide you with full details of what to include.
  • Additional evidence will also need to be supplied, such as copies of Anaesthetic records, hospital charts etc that you have completed and Third Party Reports from the vets and nurses you work with.
  • If you have other evidence that you feel satisfies the requirements of the unit (other course certificates etc), you may submit this instead of what we ask. Just be aware, that if it is insufficient or we deem it does not demonstrate the right level of skill and knowledge, you will need to reenrol in the unit (including paying again) and complete the RPL process we provide.

You will complete your ACM40418 Certificate IV in Veterinary Nursing via RPL FastTrack over 6 months. As you are providing evidence of your existing knowledge and skill, you should not have to do any study to prepare. If you find you are needing to study to meet the requirements, then the FastTrack is not the right pathway for you and you should discuss transferring to the full study subjects for those areas you find yourself studying for.

Additional fees apply if you want to extend your RPL access past 6 months. A maximum of an additional 6 months applies to all RPL extensions.

You will be given 6 months to complete your RPL FastTrack requirements, and if you need more time, that’s ok! Arranging an enrolment extension is easy, however be aware that it attracts a fee.

Yes, but you may find it extremely difficult to provide the right evidence as we require videos of you performing tasks, written case studies on patients you are nursing, and third party reports from vets and nurses you currently work with.

We suggest doing some short courses, or look at the full study ACM40418 Certificate IV in Veterinary Nursing to brush up on your skills.

If you have completed units of competency elsewhere relevant to your ACM40418 Certificate IV in Veterinary Nursing, we will apply these credit transfers to your course.

You will not be required to pay for enrolment in these units.

If you’ve already completed an ACM20117 Certificate II in Animal Studies (Veterinary Assisting) or Certificate III in Animal Studies (Veterinary Nursing), or commenced your ACM40418 Certificate IV in Veterinary Nursing with another training organisation, it’s vital you supply us with a copy of your transcript as part of your application. This will allow us to give you an accurate price and tell you exactly what units you’ll need to complete. A certified copy of the transcript must be supplied with your enrolment for the credits to be applied.

It is important to remember, this program is not a course, and we will not teach you prior to being assessed. We do not provide any learning materials like you would receive if you were an ordinary student studying in full. For this reason, if you are not completely confident in your skill and knowledge for a unit, discuss it with us prior to undertaking the RPL process. Once the RPL process has started, there is no refund of fees. If you are deemed as ‘RPL Not Granted’, you will have to pay and enrol in the full unit like an ordinary student, as the payment you have made was for the RPL process.

We will, however, provide you with an RPL guide for each unit you enrol in, this will enable you to collect and provide the evidence we need.

As a Veterinary Nursing RPL FastTrack applicant, you’ll get online access to our ‘Learning Centre’ to complete all your necessary units. Each unit has it’s own online area for you to upload your evidence to. These allow our Nurse Educators to assess your level of theoretical and procedural knowledge in each of your enrolled units.

You’ll only need to complete those units of competency required to make up your qualification. For each unit, you will be required to gather evidence from your workplace including examples of work, videos of you undertaking specific tasks, and third party reports from Vets and qualified Nurses you work with daily. For some units, you may be asked to undertake a short written assessment where you can demonstrate your knowledge. We provide you with full instructions for each unit on what you are required to do and submit.

Once we have all your evidence, you will be required to participate in a ‘Competency Conversation’ with one of our Nurse Educators. This can be via phone, skype or in person. These conversations will ask you a range of questions relating to the unit/s of competency. You may be asked to discuss your clinic’s policies and procedures; what you would do in a particular situation; to explain a piece of nursing knowledge or to tell us about a case you have nursed. Once again, we provide you guidance on what areas we will include questions on.

After the ‘Competency Conversation’, the Nurse Educator will determine if RPL is granted – meaning you have demonstrated the required level of knowledge and skill with enough evidence to support the decision. If you are unable to provide sufficient evidence, or do not demonstrate an adequate level of skill and knowledge, the Nurse Educator will result you as an ‘RPL Not Granted’. Our Nurse Educators will then talk you through what you need to do to gain competency. This often means you will need to study and pass the subject related to the area you require competency in.

Yes! We welcome international students.

As an international student, payment plans are not available. You will be required to pay the full course fee prior to starting. We also do not offer the pay in full discount to international students however we do not charge you extra for resources to be sent to you, or for bank fees.

It is your responsibility to ensure that you can legally perform the practical tasks required in your country. In some countries, like the UK, it is illegal for a non-qualified person to perform some of the practical skills necessary to complete the course. Check with your local veterinary surgeons board.

If you are completing placement, you will also need to arrange your own insurance and provide evidence of this to us.

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After achieving this qualification candidates may undertake:

Unfortunately there is no government funding for qualifications obtained via RPL.

Veterinary Nurse Solutions, trading as the Australian College of Veterinary Nursing (‘ACVN’), has a third party arrangement with UQ Skills which is a Registered Training Organisation (RTO). UQ Skills is a business within the University of Queensland under the Faculty Science. In this arrangement, UQ Skills is the ‘Principal RTO’.

For more information about our third party partner UQ Skills, go to:
https://uqskills.uq.edu.au/about-uq-skillsor
https://training.gov.au/Organisation/Details/1511

At all times, the Principal RTO is responsible for the quality of the training and assessment you will receive in compliance with Standards for RTOs 2015, and for the issuance of the Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF) certification documentation. These Standards set out the requirements that an organisation must meet in order to be an RTO and ensure the integrity and quality of nationally recognised training provided by registered training organisations.

What does this mean for students?

Who are students enrolled with?

Students are enrolled with UQ Skills as the principal RTO.

Who do students do training and assessment with?

All training is conducted by ACVN on behalf of UQ Skills, the principal RTO. All learning and assessment materials are developed by ACVN and approved by UQ Skills.

Who do the trainers and assessors work for?

All trainers and assessors are employed by ACVN, but are approved by UQ Skills.

What if a student needs to make a complaint?

In the first instance you can provide feedback and make a complaint directly to us, ACVN at info@vetnurse.com.au. You are also able to make a complaint or provide feedback directly to the Principal RTO, UQ Skills directly, at: uqskills@uq.edu.au.

Who issues qualifications and statements of attainment?

On successful completion of all course requirements students are provided with the appropriate qualifications and statements of attainment issued by the Principal RTO, The University of Queensland, trading as UQ Skills, RTO ID: 1511.

What if a student needs to have a qualifications or statement of attainment reissued?

Students can contact either ACVN and we can assist you to organise this. You are also able to directly contact UQ Skills to obtain a new copy of a certificate.

Choose your own path and create a course that suits you and your experience level.

You can study some of the course in full, and RPL other areas. Our Nurse Educators will assist you with creating the perfect program.

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Get Qualified!

PRICE INCREASE ALERT!

At ACVN, we’ve gone to great lengths to delay this announcement, holding off as long as possible. Nevertheless, due to the increasing costs associated with maintaining the exceptional quality of our programs, we find it necessary to make adjustments to our course prices starting in 2024.

January 2024 update:
If you are seeing this alert, then there is still time to secure the 2023 pricing. Enrol today!

21 units of competency

For this qualification to be awarded, you must complete 21 units of competency and it will cost a maximum of:

$6680


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Don’t need all 21 units?

If you have credits from previous study, you will pay a base fee of
$250

plus $270 x unit necessary.


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Important notes:

  • If you have never completed a ACM40418 Certificate IV in Veterinary Nursing, or part of a ACM40418 Certificate IV in Veterinary Nursing course, you will need to complete all 21 units and it will cost a maximum of $6680.
  • This price is all inclusive of administration and resource fees.
  • Prices current from 30th June 2023.
  • Prices will increase in 2024.
  • For EU and UK residents only: Prices displayed on this page do NOT include VAT. VAT will be calculated based on your country of residence at enrolment time.
  • There is no instalment option available for RPL FastTrack Program.
  • If you only need to complete a few units via RPL, or have relevant credit transfers from other qualifications, this option only requires a $250 administration and resource fee (regardless of the number of units you enrol in) and a per unit fee of $270.
  • It’s vital you include a transcript of your previous studies with your application to allow us to give you an accurate price. You will also need to supply a complete copy of your transcript at enrolment.

Our students are raving about our courses!

The staff are all so knowledgeable and really bring out the best in their students. The response rate for assessment is also fantastic!

Kelly Powell / Arana Hills, Queensland

The ACVN Nurse Educators are second to none. Where else could you ask a question on Facebook at 10pm at night and have a real Nurse Educator answer?

Jane Bracken / Mornington Peninsula, Victoria

I enrolled with ACVN to upgrade my Certificate IV and study for my Surgical Diploma. I have really enjoyed the in depth learning. The learners’ guides are easy to read and the educators are always available to help with any questions I have. I often find the educators go the extra mile to help and many of them work afterhours on the student Facebook group too.

Naomi Bosveld / Singapore

My first impression of ACVNwas that this is a college offering in depth study with great personal support for their students. I know now that I was 100 % correct in my assumption and have never looked back once. At times the criteria and expectations might be harder than with other institutions but this is only beneficial, making knowledge truly sink in.

Viola Reith / Rossville, North Queensland

OVERSEAS STUDENTS WELCOME!

You don’t need to be living in Australia to study with us. We welcome students from all over the world! You have the same student benefits as a local student, and we don’t charge you huge fees for being overseas. There are however, some considerations you need to factor in before enrolling with us. Please read the Overseas Student Information by clicking the button below.

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