Ethics and professionalism CPD for optometrists

Few registered professions combine clinical diagnosis, medicines and a shop floor as closely as optometry. A patient who books for new reading glasses may have early glaucoma, a retinal tear or diabetic retinopathy. An endorsed optometrist may start a topical steroid in the same appointment in which a premium lens package is offered. Many optometrists work in corporate or franchise practices with conversion metrics and appointment structures they did not design.

Optometrists are registered by the Optometry Board of Australia under the National Law, with Ahpra administering registration and notifications. In New South Wales, complaints are managed by the Health Care Complaints Commission with the Optometry Council of NSW, and in Queensland the Office of the Health Ombudsman receives complaints first. Wherever you practise, public protection is the paramount consideration in regulatory decisions.

The profession is relatively small and notifications are uncommon. The Board's 2024/25 annual summary reported about 7,340 registered optometrists, with notifications involving roughly 1% of the profession. When concerns arose, clinical care was the largest category, followed by communication and medication. That pattern is the backbone of the learning on this page.

Therapeutic prescribing has transformed optometry, and a large proportion of optometrists now hold the endorsement for scheduled medicines. Authority to prescribe rests on three things working together: the endorsement must appear on your registration, the medicine must be on the Board-approved list in the scheduled medicines guidelines (currently topical schedule 2, 3 and 4 medicines), and the drugs and poisons law of your state or territory must authorise it. Restrictions imposed by a medicines regulator must be notified to the Board within seven days.

The Board consulted in late 2025 on extending the endorsement to oral medicines on an approved list. Until a change has been approved, has taken effect and is permitted by state or territory law, the current topical list is the limit. An endorsed optometrist faced with severe herpes zoster ophthalmicus, for example, needs urgent medical referral rather than an oral antiviral.

Most concerns about optometric prescribing involve follow-up rather than the first choice of medicine. A topical steroid for anterior uveitis needs a confident diagnosis, explicit instructions on tapering and stopping, and a fixed review with pressure measurement, not 'come back if it doesn't settle'. Glaucoma care needs active recall, adherence checks and a written co-management plan so that neither practitioner assumes the other is watching. Our prescribing standards course and telehealth and online prescribing course extend this for optometrists who prescribe or review remotely.

Ethics and Professionalism for Optometrists in Australia is an estimated three hours of self-paced learning, with optometry case illustrations from independent practices, corporate and franchise settings, outreach services, aged care visits and shared glaucoma care. It ends with a written reflective account and a 20-question scenario assessment (pass mark 16 out of 20). Topics include:

• matching the depth of assessment to the presentation and risk profile, and referring with the right urgency
• using OCT, widefield imaging and AI tools while keeping responsibility for interpretation
• children and myopia management, including honest discussion of evidence, multi-year costs and low-dose atropine within your authority
• fitness to drive under Assessing Fitness to Drive, and the reporting rules where you practise
• prescribing within the endorsement, glaucoma shared care, steroids and off-label use
• issuing optical appliance prescriptions and respecting patient choice of supplier
• sales targets, disclosure, Medicare billing and advertising
• consent for dilation, cultural safety, records, infection prevention, CPD, self-reporting and mandatory notifications

Optometrists in retail settings often add probity and financial integrity and informed and financial consent. Those who visit remote communities or aged care benefit from cultural safety in practice.

Under the CPD registration standard in force from 1 December 2020, optometrists without the scheduled medicines endorsement complete at least 20 hours of CPD each registration year. Endorsed optometrists complete at least 30 hours, including 10 hours related to the endorsement. Non-clinical activities are capped at five hours a year. CPD activities do not need formal accreditation under the standard, but they should improve patient outcomes, draw on the best available evidence, build competence and keep you up to date, and the Board may audit your records. Check the current standard before you plan, including any new requirements linked to expanded prescribing.

Ethics learning in optometry is largely clinical and professional in focus, because it deals with assessment, referral, prescribing and consent. You decide how to categorise it in your own plan. Start with a learning plan based on your scope and patients, feedback, audit results and complaints, then reflect on what changed. The CPD Portfolio keeps your plan, hours, certificates and reflections ready for audit, and the free reflective statement template helps structure what you learned.

Remember the seven-day self-reporting duties too: certain criminal charges and convictions, insurance lapsing, Medicare billing privileges being restricted, and restrictions from a medicines regulator must all be notified to the Board.