In a historical moment, Optometry Australia (OA) members have agreed to unify under a new single national organisation. Following a member vote, which achieved resounding support from members across every State Division, Optometry Australia CEO Mark Nevin said the path had been cleared to build a stronger peak body for the future.

Additionally, the new entity has been registered with the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (ACNC) as a Health Promotion Charity (HPC), which will bring opportunities to apply for grants and funding to support advocacy and community awareness of eye health issues.

BENEFITS RECOGNISED

Mr Nevin said up to one third of members participated in the vote in early May, with 40% voting in Tasmania, demonstrating very high interest in the benefits of unification communicated in the lead-up to the vote.

Those benefits include savings in time and money that will enable OA to invest more in workforce planning, advocacy, and consumer awareness of eye health.

While the federated structure worked in the past, he said in a world that is more comfortable with the provision of both physical and virtual services, the unified model makes more sense.

He cited the cost of running six separate entities as “very significant”, along with “running six different boards, company secretary functions, audit accounts, and budgets that all had to get prepared and worked through every single year”.

Additionally, there was often a duplication of efforts when providing member services and advice.

SAVINGS TO BE PASSED ON

Mr Nevin said savings would immediately be passed on to members, with annual fees reduced by approximately 30% from 1 July 2026.

“A full-time member who practises 16 hours per week or more would pay a fee of AU$1,450. For a part-time optometrist who practises optometry between four and 16 hours per week, the fee will be $1,250. For concessional members – which includes minimal practice below four hours, as well as academics and recent graduates –they’ll

pay $900 per annum and those on a career break will pay $400 per annum.”

Mr Nevin said with the vote behind them, OA had committed to “a seamless transition for our members so that the services they value continue completely unaffected”.

“We’re going to progress work now to unify the operations and the teams across the country into one unified national structure,” he said. OA will engage with members at a jurisdictional level via State Leads along with State Advisory Bodies, comprising current board members.

A new board will be elected and committees and structures refreshed, giving members an opportunity to get involved. “We’re going to ask for expressions of interest and welcome new talent”.

WORKFORCE A PRIORITY

As the structural reform rolls out, Mr Nevin said OA’s main focus will be on high priority items. And he said with a current surplus of optometrists in metropolitan areas of Australia, “the highest priority item for the new entity will be workforce”.

“We’re working on a whole package of measures around how to increase demand for optometrists to deliver services, because we’ve had a 45% increase in the numbers of registered optometrists between 2015 and 2025,” he said. “There’s a lot of value that optometrists can add across the healthcare system, particularly working in roles in public hospitals or delivering more care out in the community and ensuring that regional communities are very well served.”

“We also have an issue with enduring gaps for First Nations peoples… around uncorrected refractive error, diabetes, undiagnosed glaucoma, and cataract.”

He said the strategy involves “reimagining healthcare models and ensuring that optometrists can play the roles that they’re trained to play in the healthcare system”.

Within its new unified national organisation, he said Optometry Australia will be better equipped to spend “a lot of time on advocacy around promoting the role and value of optometrists across the Australian health system”.