Guide
How long do Australian vets have to keep x-rays?
Short answer: imaging is part of the clinical record, it belongs to the practice, and boards expect it kept safely, in original quality, for years - with 7 years the common recommendation. The details vary by state, so here is the plain-English version.
General information for veterinary practices, not legal advice. Your state vet board's current guidelines win over anything written here.
The rules every state shares
However your state words it, four obligations show up everywhere:
Images are clinical records
Radiographs, ultrasounds and other diagnostic images form part of the animal's clinical record. They are the property of the practice, not the client, and the vet is legally obliged to retain them and produce them under subpoena or board request.
Retention is measured in years
Periods vary by state (see below), and the Australian Small Animal Veterinarians' hospital standards recommend 7 years. Whatever your state's minimum, deleting studies because the modality's disk filled up is not a defence.
Original quality matters
WA's vet board states it directly: images should be stored in DICOM format, at original quality, and originals provided to the Board on request. A compressed screenshot or a photo of the screen is not the record.
Sharing is controlled
Copies go to clients at their request (and expense), and to third parties like another vet only with the client's authority. The practice controls every share - and needs to be able to prove what was shared.
State by state, the short version
South Australia
The Veterinary Surgeons Board of SA requires records kept in safe custody for at least 2 years after treatment, and references the 7-year ASAV recommendation. X-ray apparatus itself is licensed separately through the EPA (licence to possess, plus a radiation management plan). VSBSA Record Keeping Guidelines (PDF)
Western Australia
The clearest imaging-specific guideline in the country: retain imaging records in DICOM format, preserve original quality, keep them retrievable for clinical, legal and regulatory purposes, and provide original files to the Board on request. VPBWA imaging records guideline (PDF)
Victoria
The vet board's medical records guideline covers images and imaging reports as part of the record. Related obligations (medication records) carry a 7-year retention requirement. VPBV Guideline 7
Queensland
The Veterinary Surgeons Board of Queensland requires records retained and accessible, with a 3-year statutory period on practice closure. Queensland case law also confirms clients have no common-law right of access to records - sharing stays at the vet's discretion. VSBQ veterinary records guideline
New South Wales and elsewhere
NSW regulates the radiation side through EPA Radiation Standard 6 (veterinary science); record obligations sit with the vet board's professional standards. The pattern holds nationally: images are records, records are kept for years, originals win.
Where clinics usually fall over
Not on knowledge - on plumbing. The study stays on the x-ray machine. The machine's disk fills. Someone deletes the oldest studies. Or the practice burns CDs that nobody can read five years later, or emails a photo of a screen to a specialist and calls it a referral.
Each of those quietly breaks the obligations above: the record is not in safe custody, not in original quality, not retrievable, and the share is not controlled.
The easy way to be compliant
An archive that keeps itself.
Pacsify moves every study off the modality automatically, stores it in original DICOM quality, and keeps it retrievable and shareable on your terms - for as long as your board expects. Set up for you, at zero install cost.