21/08/2026
An Important Change to Our After-Hours Service 🐾
At Maraboon Animal Health, we are 100% committed to ALWAYS being there for you and your pets when a serious or urgent emergency occurs. That is not changing.
We are also committed to looking after the vets who make providing a 24/7 emergency service possible.
Over time, the number of non-urgent calls our on-call vets receive throughout the night has increased significantly. Many of these calls are understandably from worried owners simply asking, “Is this an emergency, or can this safely wait until morning?”
These are very reasonable questions — but the sheer volume of calls means our vets are frequently unable to properly switch off or rest when they are on call, even when no emergency ultimately needs to be seen.
So, from Monday 24 August, we are changing the way these calls are handled.
☎️ If your pet has a serious or urgent emergency, or is in significant pain or distress:
Please call our usual number and follow the prompts for an emergency. Our on-call veterinary team will continue to be there for you.
🐾 If you are unsure whether your pet needs emergency attention:
You will now have access to our veterinary triage partner, VetChat, where you can speak directly with an Australian-registered veterinarian.
The VetChat consultation fee is $59, payable directly to VetChat at the time of the consultation. This covers your veterinary triage consultation and advice.
The VetChat veterinarian may determine that your pet needs to attend our clinic for an after-hours examination. If this occurs, our normal after-hours consultation and treatment fees will apply in addition to the VetChat fee.
We genuinely understand how stressful it can be when something isn’t right with your pet after hours. We don’t want worried owners left with no one to ask. This system means you can still speak with a veterinarian and receive professional advice, while allowing our own vets to rest when they are not required for an emergency.
The reality is that with the sheer volume of non-emergency calls now coming through overnight, continuing our existing system is no longer sustainable. The alternative would eventually be to stop providing an after-hours service altogether — and we absolutely do not want to do that.
We want to continue being there when our patients genuinely need us, while also looking after the people who make that possible.
We really appreciate your understanding and support as we make this change. ❤️
Coming next week: We will also provide details about an affordable annual VetChat membership which includes unlimited after-hours triage consultations, meaning members won’t need to pay the $59 consultation fee each time they need advice.
📞 Our number isn’t changing: 07 4987 6800
