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In October, the Optometry Board of Australia hosted its annual meeting of the Optometry Regulatory Reference Group in Melbourne, with stakeholders in the optometry profession. In September, the Board conducted a webinar on professional obligations aimed at final-year optometry students graduating from Board-approved courses. The webinar, called Ready to work: your obligations as an optometrist, aimed to help graduates understand what is required of them in their professional role as they prepare to start work. It focused on Board requirements such as the Code of conduct, registration standards and guidelines. Representatives of the Board attended the Indigenous Allied Health Australia National Conference in November and the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Eye Health Conference in May, gaining further culturally safe eye-care understanding that will inform future policies.
The Chair attended the Optometrists and Dispensing Opticians Board of New Zealand’s meeting in Wellington, New Zealand, in September. This was a great opportunity to strengthen Trans-Tasman relationships.
The Board, along with other National Boards, developed new resources to support the shared Code of conduct. These included a self-reflective tool to support optometrists in managing health records, a one-page summary of guidance about health record management, and Easy English information about the shared Code of conduct for the public. The Board also consulted on the English language skills registration standards, along with other National Boards and Ahpra.
In May, the Board approved the Optometry Council of Australia and New Zealand’s (OCANZ) revised standards for the accreditation of Board-approved programs of study in ocular therapeutics. These standards will come into effect in 2024 and include greater emphasis on the integration of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultural safety into ocular therapeutics programs.
Along with Ahpra and the other National Boards, the Board also consulted on a scheduled review of National Scheme accreditation arrangements.
The Board bade farewell to Associate Professor Ann Webber, the practitioner member for Queensland, in December. In March, we farewelled the previous Chair and practitioner member for New South Wales, Mrs Judith Hannan (Irvine).
The health ministers appointed Professor Sharon Bentley in March as the new practitioner member for Queensland. Mrs Judith Hannan was Presiding Member of the Board until December, when she was appointed as Chair. On her departure, Mr Stuart Aamodt became Presiding Member, a position that will be in place until the health ministers appoint a new Chair.
Mr Stuart Aamodt, Presiding Member