Access to timely treatment can make all the difference when it comes to eye health. For Tasmanian optometrist Lisa Kingshott, providing comprehensive eye care doesn’t just come down to clinical skill – it’s also about having the right tools at hand.
Legislative changes in Montana and West Virginia will bring the total number of US states granting optometrists laser privileges to fourteen. This significant shift underscores a widening gap in scope of practice between US and Australian optometrists.
As a 2025 LOOK International Scholarship recipient, Lisa Lombardi had the opporunity to travel overseas to investigate optometric scope of practice not yet available in Australia. She took the chance to explore low vision and rehabilitation service provision in Texas, USA.
From 1 July 2025, Optometry Australia (OA) members who meet specific eligibility criteria will receive $20m public liability insurance (PLI) as part of their membership – at no additional cost. This new benefit will be provided in partnership with Avant, OA’s professional indemnity insurance (PII) provider and Australia’s largest medico-legal insurer.
We’re excited to announce a new clinical benefit for all Optometry Australia members. You now have free access to eMIMS – Australia’s most trusted and comprehensive medicines information resource.
Optometry Australia congratulates Dr Marianne Coleman, Research Fellow and Orthoptist at the National Centre for Healthy Ageing, on being awarded the prestigious $400,000 Dementia Australia Henry Brodaty Mid-Career Research Fellowship. Dr Coleman is working to co-design a dementia-friendly eye care pathway aimed at ensuring people with dementia in residential aged care can “see well, to live well.”
To improve and streamline referrals to public ophthalmology departments, most states and territories have now produced guidelines or criteria on what conditions should and shouldn’t be referred, as well as what is mandatory or highly desirable to include in referrals. To assist members, Optometry Australia has developed a concise summary on the Victorian State-Wide Referral Criteria for glaucoma.
Following extensive consultation with Optometry Australia and other key eye care stakeholders in South Australia, new Ophthalmology Clinical Prioritisation Criteria (CPC) for frequently referred ophthalmology conditions have now been published on the SA Health website.
Primary Health Networks (PHNs) have released a National Allied Health Practice Engagement Toolkit to support allied health professionals, including optometrists, to engage more actively with Australia’s primary healthcare system.
The Victorian Government has expanded its Victorian Virtual Specialist Consults (VVSC) service to include ophthalmology. The service is now up and running and available for optometrists to book appointments on Monday afternoons.
In the spirit of reconciliation Optometry Australia acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respects to their Elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.
