WHATEVER VET YOU WANT TO BE, THERE'S A VIPA PRACTICE FOR YOU
Our network spans the full spectrum of veterinary medicine - all independently owned, all high standard.
55 + Member Clinics across 5 states.
Small Animal / General Practice
The foundation of independent veterinary care, VIPA’s small animal practices offer high-quality first-opinion medicine in environments that prioritise balanced workloads, meaningful mentorship, and ongoing clinical development. Build lasting relationships with clients and their animals while growing your confidence in supportive, people-focused teams.
Small animal general practice is where many exceptional veterinary careers begin - and where many choose to build their entire careers. VIPA’s independent companion animal practices offer diverse, rewarding clinical work across medicine, surgery, diagnostics, preventative care, dentistry, imaging, emergency presentations, chronic disease management, behaviour, rehabilitation, and client communication. No two days are the same, and every case is an opportunity to build clinical confidence, practical skills, and sound decision-making. Veterinary careers span a wide range of practice settings and disciplines, making GP a strong foundation for long-term growth.
For early-career veterinarians, small animal practice provides an ideal environment to develop strong clinical foundations with meaningful mentorship, balanced workloads, and broad exposure to the full spectrum of companion animal care. You’ll work alongside experienced teams genuinely invested in your success, building trusted relationships with clients while growing your confidence as an independent clinician.
VIPA practices span metropolitan, regional, and rural Australia - each offering different but equally valuable learning experiences. Regional and rural companion animal practices can provide extraordinary hands-on opportunities, with broader case exposure, earlier involvement in surgery and emergency care, and faster growth in clinical confidence through real decision-making supported by experienced mentors.
And don’t underestimate the smaller independent practice. A one- or two-vet clinic doesn’t mean less support - it often means more personalised mentorship, closer working relationships, and direct investment in your success. Independent practice owners have a genuine stake in helping you thrive, creating workplaces where your growth, wellbeing, and long-term career satisfaction are a shared priority.
Emergency, Specialist & Referral
For students drawn to high-acuity medicine and complex case work, VIPA includes specialist and emergency facilities offering placements in surgery, internal medicine, and critical care.
If you’re the kind of vet who thrives on complexity, fast thinking, teamwork, and continuous learning, emergency and specialist practice can be an incredibly exciting place to begin your career. VIPA’s emergency and referral hospitals expose early-career veterinarians to advanced diagnostics, complex medical and surgical cases, emergency and critical care, specialist collaboration, and cutting-edge treatment options that you may not encounter in first-opinion practice.
Working in environments such as specialist referral centres and advanced hospitals means learning alongside experienced clinicians with deep expertise across surgery, internal medicine, imaging, orthopaedics, emergency medicine, and critical care. It’s a unique opportunity to build strong clinical reasoning, sharpen emergency decision-making, and see how multidisciplinary teams approach some of the profession’s most challenging cases.
For students considering this path, starting in emergency or specialist practice can provide an extraordinary learning curve. You’ll see high-acuity cases, advanced procedures, and collaborative case management in action, while developing confidence, resilience, and clinical depth under strong mentorship. Whether your long-term goal is emergency medicine, surgery, specialist training, or simply becoming a highly capable clinician, these environments offer a front-row seat to veterinary medicine at its most dynamic.
Equine
From elite sports horse medicine to mixed equine work in regional areas, VIPA's equine member practices offer immersive placements in a discipline that demands both clinical excellence and practical skill.
For veterinarians considering a career in equine medicine and surgery, VIPA’s equine practices offer exceptional opportunities to develop in a highly skilled, hands-on environment. Across first-opinion, ambulatory, emergency, referral, and specialist settings, equine practice can provide exposure to lameness investigations, sports and performance medicine, diagnostic imaging, reproduction, internal medicine, emergency care, and both elective and emergency surgery.
Equine practice suits veterinarians who enjoy variety, problem-solving, and working closely with owners, trainers, and high-performance animals. Whether your interest lies in racing, sport horse medicine, reproduction, surgery, or general equine practice, these environments offer strong mentorship, practical clinical experience, and clear pathways to advanced skills development. For students passionate about horses, it’s an exciting and rewarding career path where no two days look the same.
Mixed and Rural Practice
VIPA's rural members offer placements covering small animals, cattle, sheep, dairy, and more, in communities that genuinely need and value your skills.
Some of the most rewarding veterinary careers are built in regional and rural communities. VIPA’s mixed and rural member practices offer exceptional hands-on learning across companion animals, livestock, equine, dairy, and emergency care—often with broader clinical exposure and greater practical responsibility than you might experience elsewhere. With fewer referral options, you’ll develop confidence quickly, strengthen your decision-making, and gain invaluable real-world experience, always supported by experienced mentors.
But rural practice offers more than clinical variety. It offers connection. In smaller communities, you become more than just the vet - you become a trusted part of the community, building meaningful relationships with clients who know and value your work.
And in independently owned rural practices, your success genuinely matters. Practice owners are deeply invested in mentoring and developing confident clinicians, not only because they care about the future of the profession, but because growing strong, capable team members creates a healthier, more sustainable practice for everyone. Your development isn’t an afterthought, it’s a shared priority.