For vet nurses · Australia
Go independent. Not alone.
You already have everything you need to run your own visits, except the permission and the paperwork. Here is what it takes, in order.
- 1Your scope
- 2What you need
- 3What it pays
- 4Hours that fit
- 5The tools
- 6Not alone
Written for Australia. Change your country at the top of the page and every step follows.
The short version
You’re already the practice.
The clinic bills your hands at practice rates and pays you the award. The skills, the calm and the clients who ask for you by name are yours, and every one of them comes with you when you leave.
Going independent does not mean leaving the profession. It means running your own visits, at your own rates, in the hours that fit your life, with the pet’s vet where the law requires it.
Step 1 · Your scope, in Australia
On your own account, and with the vet.
Veterinary nursing is not a registered profession in Australia, except in Western Australia, which registers nurses. What you may do on your own is nursing care within your scope. What the law restricts, you do on the direction of the pet’s vet.
On your own account
- Nail clips and hygiene care
- Welfare, weight and mobility checks
- Senior and palliative comfort care
- Client education and home-care coaching
With the pet’s vet
- Injections, fluids and prescribed medicines, on the vet’s direction after the vet has seen the animal
- Sample collection and post-operative care as instructed
- Never on your own account: diagnosis, prescribing, vaccination, surgery
Rules differ by state. Western Australia registers nurses and sets the supervision level for each act. Check your state’s rules before you take on restricted work.
Step 2 · What you need, in Australia
The paperwork, listed. Nothing hidden.
We do not arrange this for you. We tell you exactly what it is, and once you have it the portal keeps it current for you.
Your business
- An ABN as a sole trader (free, same day)
- GST registration once turnover passes $75,000 a year
- Tax put aside as you go, and an accountant or a sole-trader tax service
- Business-use cover on the car you drive to visits
Your cover and your standing
- Professional indemnity and public liability in your own name, extending to in-home work. A broker will size it. Store the certificate in your profile and get a reminder before it expires.
- Your Certificate IV (or higher). AVNAT registration is optional and shows on your profile.
- Your state’s rules on restricted acts, and in Western Australia, registration as a veterinary nurse
General information, not advice. An accountant and a broker will confirm what fits you.
Step 3 · What it pays
The award is the floor.
From 1 July 2026 the award pays a Certificate IV nurse $32.13 an hour. A home visit sells for more than that on public price lists, and you keep what you charge.
You set the rate.
Award figure: Animal Care and Veterinary Services Award 2020, clause 15.2, Level 4, from the first full pay period on or after 1 July 2026. Prices are examples from published price lists, checked 9 September 2026, not a promise of income.
A visit is 20 to 45 minutes of clinical time. The award pays for the hour. Independence pays for the visit.
Step 4 · Hours that fit
A few hours here, a few there.
“Going back to full shifts in clinic felt daunting. Honestly, it felt inaccessible. What I needed was a few hours here and a few there.”
Set your working hours, block time off, and let the calendar sync to your phone. School pick-up is a block on the calendar, not a negotiation.
Step 5 · The tools
Run the book from day one.
Bookings and your own client portal
Requests land in an inbox. Confirmed visits flow into a calendar built for the road. Your clients book and pay through your portal.
Clinical records made for visits
Structured notes with vitals, photos and a private nurse-only note. Send the visit as a PDF to the owner or the referring vet.
Invoices and payouts, handled
Invoices auto-draft when a visit is done, with the right tax on them. Payouts and earnings on one dashboard.
Compliance kept current
Registration, insurance and CPD tracked with renewal alerts. Your qualification stored once and shown on your profile.
Step 6 · Not alone
Independent does not mean by yourself.
The founding cohort
Nurses have been running real books on Qwoll since July. The first of them are paying for it, and they shape what we build next.
The monthly catch-up
A standing call with the four of us and whoever wants to come. Bring a case, a question or a complaint.
Nurse-founded, Australian-owned
Built by people who have worked the floor. Australian compliance, Australian payments, Australian support.
Straight answers
The questions we get asked first.
- What can I do as an independent nurse?
- Nursing care within your scope of practice, with the pet’s vet where the law requires it. No diagnosis, prescribing or vaccination. Restricted acts differ by state, so check your state’s rules.
- What insurance do I need?
- Professional indemnity and public liability in your own name is the norm for any independent practitioner. A broker sizes it. Your portal stores the certificate and reminds you before it expires.
- Do I need an ABN?
- Yes, to invoice as a business. This is general information, not advice. An accountant will tell you what fits your situation.
- Do I have to leave my clinic?
- No. Many nurses start with a few visits a week around a clinic roster and grow from there.
- Does Qwoll find me clients?
- Not yet. Today Qwoll is the tools to run the clients you have. Your own clients never carry a Qwoll fee.
- Where does Qwoll work?
- Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, the United States and Canada. Set your country at the top of the page and this page changes with it.