In NSW any premises where a procedure is undertaken which according to current standards requires the administration of a general or spinal anaesthetic must be licensed by the Board. This does not apply in an emergency, if it is impractical to move the animal because of its size or type, or if it is dangerous to the health of the animal to move it to a hospital.

The Board issues licences for small animal veterinary hospitals, large animal veterinary hospitals, and small and large or mixed animal veterinary hospitals.  As at 30 June 2015 there were 607 small animal hospitals, 45 mixed animal veterinary hospitals and 14 large animal veterinary hospitals in NSW.

The Board’s policy on veterinary hospital licence types is available from its website under Resources and Policies.

Premises must not be represented as a veterinary hospital unless they are licensed by the Board.  Words such as veterinary practice, animal hospital, animal doctor, veterinary clinic and veterinary surgery or similar combinations are considered by the Board to be a representation of a veterinary hospital. The Board’s policy on names for veterinary hospitals is available from its website under Resources and Policies.