Australian College of Veterinary Nursing

I have just completed my Cert 3 in Animal Care and I couldn’t be happier that I chose ACVN. The educators were extremely approachable, supportive, and always happy to help whenever I had questions. I work full time so learning online was perfect for me, and I never felt overwhelmed by the pace of the course or the workload - it was just right. I’m planning to start my Cert 4 soon and I am definitely going through ACVN again!

A Big THANK YOU to Yvonne and the ACVN team I’d like to express my deepest appreciation for Yvonne, who has gone above and beyond to guide me throughout my Cert III and Cert IV journey with ACVN (for 4 years!). She has been an incredible source of support, compassion, and kindness during what has been a very challenging time for me—both… Read more

academically and mentally.

Throughout the course, I faced multiple hurdles that really affected my mental health, but Yvonne consistently showed genuine care and understanding. Her ability to ease my anxiety and motivate me to keep going truly made a difference—honestly, she did a better job than the wellness coach in helping me find my footing again.

Beyond emotional support, Yvonne also took the time to teach me practical strategies to manage my workload and get through each module efficiently. Her patience, encouragement, and clear guidance not only helped me progress but also rebuilt my confidence in myself.

I also want to thank all the educators at ACVN who have been understanding and patient towards my situation throughout this journey. I really appreciate the help, advice, and kindness each of them has provided along the way.

Yvonne is an exceptional educator who embodies what genuine student support should look like, and I feel incredibly lucky to have had her as part of my Cert III and Cert IV journey.

ACVN offers a thorough, well-structured course- but it's best suited to people who have plenty of free time and a healthy budget. If you're juggling work or other major commitments, be prepared: the workload is heavy and the turnaround times can be fustrating. Cost considerations: -Gap assessments " ( what they call a third attempt at any… Read more

assessment) roughly cost $100 each. - If you fail a subject, you'll need to pay $300 to re-enrol. -These costs can add up quickly if you're balancing study with work or family life.

Assessments & Grading Timeline -When you need to resubmit an assessment ( which will happen with every assessment ) it will need to be done within 7days, even though they take over a month to grade it. - To pass, your work has to be 100% correct. Even small details can require a full resubmission.

The Course material is solid and you'll gain a lot of practical knowledge, but it demands significant time and financial flexibility. If you're not working or have ample savings and patience, ACVN can be a rewarding path. If you need to keep up with paid work or prefer faster turnaround times, it may feel like an expensive uphill climb.

Personally, I would choose a college that doesn't load students with these kinds of unexpected costs and delays.

Loved studying with ACVN!! – I would 100% recommend ACVN as the way to go!! Earlier this year, I completed my Certificate III in Animal Studies. However, due to personal setbacks, and COVID-19 restrictions it took me far longer than I ever imagined. A massive thank-you to all at ACVN for your unconditional support every step of the way. It is immensely appreciated!! Show details

Loved studying with ACVN – The Cert 3 with ACVN was extremely comprehensive (compared to some other providers). I liked the flexibility of studying online and I found all the tutors very supportive and helpful and the course material was excellent and the online platform easy to navigate. I highly recommend studying your Cert 3 with ACVN especially if you plan to continue into Cert IV and become a Veterinary Nurse.

I loved being an ACVN student – I’m a 35 year old mother of a 2 year old, who used to be a full time piano teacher for 15+ years. After my daughter was born, I decided it’s to make a big career change. ACVN was the best decision I ever made. I LOVE studying through them. Every single vet nurse I’ve met has said ACVN has a reputation for being a very challenging institution.… Read more

Thanks to their courses, I have had the best of the best training, which lead to a trainee position at my local clinic very quickly. The staff are so supportive and friendly, I love every subject on offer and each assessment has challenged my skills and knowledge, which I utilise every day in my job.

I cannot thank the nurse educators enough for helping me through the next chapter of my life. So much love to you!

Amazing TAFE – I am absolutely loving my studies through ACVN! The educators are so supportive and kind. It’s so in-depth for knowledge and really emphasises nurse skills within clinics. I am so impressed with the level of skills they expect and feel I’m going to be the best version of myself from studying through ACVN. It’s amazing that it’s all online too,… Read more

since working full time in a clinic leaves little room for campus study. It suits me and my lifestyle perfectly. You get what you put in which I think reflects more of an adult learning environment and more Uni feel learning compared to other tafes where everyone will travel along at a similar rate. You can go further into your learning if you wish and they have many options for smaller short courses that I plan to do post study.

The best place to study Veterinary Nursing ! – I studied Cert IV with ACVN and it was amazing. Extremly well structured , tutors and staff were always there when I needed and it was a perfect way to study. Prior to starting Cert IV with ACVN I studied animal care at a different college and found ACVN to be the better option. Very organized, thorough and I leant so much more with them! Highly recommend.

Amazing course and staff – Not enough space to say how much of a thank you to the entire staff getting me through my cert IV. YOU WERE AMAZING!! I really learnt so much more than other courses did and it prepared me to get my dream job. Thank you!

Great college – I would like to thank all ACVN Team and educators for all their help and support! I felt really supported throughout my whole course and absolutely loved it !! I would really recommended :)

Do Not Study Here – Do Not Study Here! I have never had such a terrible experience in my life. This collage only wants your money and does not care about their students success. You are told when you begin that all assignments will likely fail on the first attempt. You then only get one more try and if you still do not meet their expectations you have to pay an… Read more

additional $80 for 'the graders time'. Some mark downs are for valid reasons like missing out info-other mark downs are because you wrote the age of a dog and 1 instead of '1 year old'

I was only given 8 months to complete a year long course-Whenever I spoke to people on the phone I was given the impression that I would have the full year I paid for. When it turned out this was not the case and I tried to sort something out with the ACVN I was made to feel like an idiot for misunderstanding the situation (I had already admitted I was partially at fault for this as I had not understood them but everyone I spoke to just heaped blame onto me even when I was near tears on the phone).

I was told I was given notice of this change and should have done my work accordingly-previous phone calls and emails gave me the impression I still had my 12months-despite this I still asked for some of my content early as I was eager to finish my course quickly-I was told they would not give me my additional course material. As such I only received my final four courses about two months before the courses new expiry date (I would never have been able to finish on their time frame) When I asked why they has allowed me to book in a placement which began in january 2023 and ended in feb 2023 when they knew I would be cut off from my content before the beginning date of this placement I was brushed off.

When I told them of my disappointment with the whole situation-that I felt as though I wasted both my time and money, and asked it anything could be done-if I could escalate this issue- I was told to "spend my energy elsewhere".

Please learn from my mistakes- If you really want to work with animals study through TAFE or a different online school.

✅ ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅ – I can not thank all of the ACVN staff enough, for such a positive experience studying with ACVN. The hard work and dedication to student success is explicitly prominent. The delivery of the course was brilliant, with access to online resources as well as a printed learners guide folder and an easy to use app and website. The live chat is such a… Read more

great feature, making it easier to get a quick reply, along with phone calls and emails to student assist. It also came with an extra benefit of mental well-being coaching, helping students with personalised ways to get through the stresses of studies.

Customer service and administration officers always went above and beyond, a lot of the time behind the scenes, to assist, organise and respond, all with great speed.

The knowledge and feedback from educators was very helpful and insightful, they provided such a high quality level of education and assessment feedback, helping students become the best possible veterinary nurses they can be.

I thoroughly loved every aspect of studying with ACVN. Thank you all so much for the hard work, time and effort you put in to making this such a pleasant experience.

Please do not enrol with ACVN! – Educators and staff are rude and very unsupportive and not considerate at all. Was literally on the phone with a staff member in tears as the college neglected to tell me I had another subject to finish and she COULDN'T CARE LESS... had a very 'sounds like a you problem' attitude and was very rude to me and had 0 solutions for me and had no… Read more

inclination to help me. The marking timeframe is ridiculous (minimum of 6 weeks) and the marking is so critical and picky so majority of the time you have to resubmit and wait another 6 weeks again. They are money hungry and charge ridiculous fees for extensions and resubmission. Do not enrol with this college!

STAY AWAY – I completed a Bachelor previously but could not compete this Cert 3 course due to ridiculous expectations, continuous unneeded resubmissions, nil support and their greed for constant money. Stay away!

Look elsewhere – My advice to anyone looking to study Veterinary Nursing would be to look elsewhere. My reason for this is that the support is minimal, currently feedback/grades take on average 2-3 months to receive, and if you decide to leave the course you are given zero refund of any kind. Be careful, even if you sign up for a 2 year course and decide to leave… Read more

one month in, you will still be out of pocket for the whole course. Also so many things (like resubmissions and extentions cost yet more money). There are a lot of hidden fees. ACVN may have been good at one stage but I feel like they have taken on waaaaay more than they can handle...

Would NOT recommend – Cost me so much money because of the resubmissions, made me feel very stupid and incompetent (when really it's because of their marking system and crazy expectations), unhelpful and unfriendly staff (for the most part), they take a month to mark your work but they expect resubmissions submitted within 7 days, they don't help you with finding… Read more

placement and the assessment during placement is difficult to do in a busy clinic, when you want help with assessment questions they will say refer to your textbook instead of actually help you. Who knew a Cert 3 could cause so much stress and completely put me off a career in vet nursing. Never will I study with this college again.

A joke – Long marking times, disrespectful staff, no care for students learning, costs 7 grand (don't buy into that they are the best like I did), no support available, ridiculous amount of work, picky marking,.

Terrible! – I currently study at ECU and love it... Unlike my poor partner who has forked out over 4K to be ignored, patronised and charged extra money for resubmissions that take months to receive feedback on, feedback that is varied, non specific and ultimately useless. After 2nd attempts it's $80 a pop, even if it's the very poor tutillage that gets it to… Read more

the third attempt in the first place. What a complete demoralising waste of money. Shame on you ACVN.

Do not study through this College – No concern for students. Work marked late, emails sent with questions asking for help, reply just says things like: if you want this or that, fill in this form. And redos and extensions cost extra money. There do not seem to be any personal contact or assistance to students. Communication is as good as non-existent. Mother of a very distressed student.

Do yourself a favour and don't – - Assessments take a month to be marked - Assessments aren't marked consistently - All you get is "Refer to your learners guide or textbook" when you ask for help - Too expensive for what you get (initial course price, then re-submissions, extensions etc.) - Feels like the school doesn't care for their students (Kicking them out after a certain… Read more

amount of inactivity then expecting an assessment within a week. No care for what might be happening in your life.)