Grants and Scholarships
New Zealand Veterinary Trust
The New Zealand Veterinary Trust (NZVT) incorporates specific funds managed by the New Zealand Veterinary Association Te Pae Kīrehe (NZVA). NZVT Trustees are appointed to manage the funds and ensure their specific purposes and objectives are met.
Grants are available through these funds to NZVA members on an annual basis. You can learn more about each grant below.
Funding principles:
- No person or entity will be treated in an advantageous way or given any different opportunity to secure funding compared to any other applicant.
- Trustees should abide by the principles of the NZVA Conflict of Interest Policy.
- All members will be advised that funding is available and the conditions under which funds will be allocated.
- When making funding allocations, Trustees will ensure that the objects/rules of each fund are honoured.
Applications for the 2026 financial year are now open and close on Monday 6th October.
Successful applicants will be announced in VetNews.
To apply for a grant, please email your completed application form to executive@vets.org.nz.
The General Fund of the New Zealand Veterinary Trust is made up of money that the Foundation for Veterinary Continuing Education (VetLearn) had when the company merged with the NZVA. The funds were not transferred to the NZVA as they did not meet the same constitutional requirements of the Foundation.
Objective
The objective of the NZVT General Fund is to advance education and provide a benefit to the community by:
- supporting the continuation of education and research in veterinary science in New Zealand
- promoting and expanding knowledge about animals of all types in New Zealand
- promoting and supporting the value of animal life, human life and the environment
- promoting and expanding public knowledge about companion animal welfare, breeding, nutrition, management, health, diseases and performance.
Eligibility
Applicants must:
- work within the New Zealand veterinary industry
- be current members of the New Zealand Veterinary Association Te Pae Kīrehe (NZVA).
Conditions
- The value of the grant will be determined by the Trustees.
- The grant must benefit people or animals in New Zealand.
The NZVA established the Barbara Smith Trust Fund to award scholarships to veterinarians to commemorate Barbara Smith's service to veterinary science and its promotion in Industry.
Barbara Smith had an exceptional career. She was the NZVA's first woman President and became Vice-President of the World Veterinary Association (WVA). Barbara spent most of her career with Tasman Vaccine Laboratory (later ICI Tasman). She was a major force in establishing the credibility of veterinarians in Industry.
Objectives
The objectives of the scholarship are to:
- promote and encourage research into animal remedies for use in New Zealand
- encourage veterinarians to share knowledge and experience to benefit veterinary science
- promote, assist and encourage veterinarians to undertake research in veterinary clinical pharmacology
- publish and disseminate veterinary pharmaceutical research findings, and any other literature the Trustees' think fit to educate the public about developments in animal remedies.
Eligibility
Applicants must be:
- New Zealand registered veterinarians
- current members of the New Zealand Veterinary Association Te Pae Kīrehe (NZVA).
Conditions
- The value of each scholarship will be determined by the Trustees, up to a value of $5,000.
- The scholarship will be a single payment.
- The term of the scholarship will be determined by the Trustees, but will normally be one to two years.
- The recipient will be expected to write up the project within three months of completion, preferably for publication in the New Zealand Veterinary Journal or Vetscript.
Don McLaren was the founder and owner of the New Zealand veterinary pharmaceutical company Bomac Laboratories, which he set up in 1958 and sold to Bayer New Zealand Ltd in 2011. In 2002, Mr McLaren was inducted into the National Business Review (NBR) New Zealand Business Hall of Fame. He is a past Chairman and Life Member of the Auckland Racing Club, the Patron of the New Zealand Racing Hall of Fame, and in 2012 became the first non-veterinarian elected as an Honorary Life Member of the Equine Veterinarians Branch of the NZVA. He was named a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit in the 2014 New Year Honours List. He has been a longtime supporter of the equine industry.
Objective
The objective of the Don McLaren Fund is to promote continuing education and research in veterinary science.
Eligibility
Applicants must be:
- New Zealand registered veterinarians
- current members of the New Zealand Veterinary Association Te Pae Kīrehe (NZVA), unless determined otherwise by the fund managers.
Conditions
- The value of the grant will be determined by the fund managers appointed by the Don McLaren Trust.
- The grant must benefit people or animals in New Zealand.
NZVA was named a beneficiary in Ian Duncan’s will in 1992.
Objectives
The objective of the Ian Duncan Memorial Fund is to support research in infertility in bloodstock mares.
Eligibility
Applicants must be:
- New Zealand registered veterinarians
- Current members of the New Zealand Veterinary Association Te Pae Kīrehe (NZVA), unless determined otherwise by the NZVT Trustees.
Conditions
- The funds must be used for New Zealand based projects lasting 1-5 years.
- Only projects presented with a properly outlined protocol will be considered.
- Where suitable, the results of the research will be published in the New Zealand Veterinary Journal.
Special Interest Branches Awards, Grants and Scholarships
The Founders Legacy Award
The Founders Legacy Award for deer veterinarians is awarded and presented at the annual Sheep, Beef Cattle and Deer Veterinarians Dinner at the NZVA and NZVNA Conference. This prize is awarded to current or past members of the NZVA who have shown leadership, contributed to knowledge and education, or provided significant contribution to the deer veterinary profession or industry in Aotearoa New Zealand.
This award celebrates the legacy of the founding members of the Deer Veterinarians of the NZVA.
If you know someone who could be a deserving recipient of this award, please complete the nomination form below and email it to deer@vets.org.nz.
Gary Walker Scholarship
Established in 2017 by the Deer Veterinarians of the NZVA, the Gary Walker Scholarship provides funding for individual clinical practitioners to undertake district-level investigatory or research work on deer farms. The award was established in 2017.
Examples of the type of projects that could be funded include detailed work-up of animal health issues on individual deer farms, and small on-farm productivity/clinical studies. Most projects awarded the scholarship would ordinarily be difficult to fund because:
- in the case of individual farm issues, the immediate economic return to the client may not warrant investment in a full investigation
- funding for small field studies can be difficult to obtain.
Continuing Education Fund
The group welcomes applications from equine veterinarians wishing to upskill through equine veterinary experience, training or other CPD. You could use the funds to attend the NZVA Conference, take a short course, gain experience at a specialist equine clinic, or learn skills from other sources such as veterinary diagnostic labs.
If you have any questions or would like to apply for funds, please email the EVP editor (evp.editor@gmail.com) or the EVP Editorial Group Convenor (rabecca@tevs.co.nz).
If you have any questions about our grants, please email wildlife@vets.org.nz.
The Marion Cunningham Memorial Fund Grant
The Marion Cunningham Memorial Fund Grant is awarded to students engaging in research that is practicable and relevant to current wildlife concerns. The research should enhance veterinary contributions to the welfare and management of New Zealand's wildlife and promote communication among both veterinarians and non-veterinarians with expertise in wildlife management and research. It should also encourage conservation, especially by veterinary contributions, to the management of threatened species.
Wildlife Society Grant
The Wildlife Society Grant (formerly the Practitioners Grant) was established in 2013 to provide support to veterinarians who have a strong interest in further developing their veterinary skills for working with native New Zealand wildlife species. The grant may be used for funding continuing education in this field, either through online courses, practical placements at wildlife veterinary centres, or practice-based wildlife disease investigation and/or diagnostics. Our purpose for this grant is to increase the skills and knowledge of veterinarians in wildlife medicine and surgery and to promote the benefits of treating wildlife in practice.
Dechra and CAV present: 'A Week With…'
These grants support two CAV members to spend a week alongside a specialist or special interest practitioner, selecting from a wide range of veterinary medicine disciplines.
Applications are currently closed.
Educating the Educators Scholarship
The Companion Animal Veterinarians Educating the Educators Scholarship helps advanced veterinary practitioners attend continuing education events in exchange for articles, reports and presentations on their area of interest. Successful applicants are usually specialists in their field, but we also support those who have developed advanced skills in an area of special interest.
Through this partnership, we recognise the importance of supporting our leading veterinarians’ participation in international conferences to ensure they remain up to date and able to disseminate knowledge to the wider CAV membership.
The scholarship is open to both CAV members and non-members.
Applications are currently closed.
