Optical Dispensers Licensing Board

Press Release

On 11 April 2009, the Regulatory Reform Minister Joe Tripodi announced the New South Wales Government’s decision to remove the requirement for licensing for Optical Dispensers in NSW. This decision was based on recommendations of the NSW Better Regulation Office at the conclusion of its review into the licensing of a number of occupations including optical dispensing.

The NSW Government intends to repeal the Optical Dispensers Act 1963 on 1 July 2010. Once the Act is repealed, persons undertaking optical dispensing in NSW will no longer need to be licensed.

The Occupational Licensing Legislation Amendment (Regulatory Reform) Bill introduced into Parliament on 4 June 2009 implements the recommendations of the Better Regulation Office and will pave the way for:

• the removal of the licensing requirement for optical dispensers

• the classification of optical dispensers as unregistered health practitioners. Optical dispensers will be required to meet minimum standards set out in the Code of Conduct for Unregistered Health Professionals. The Code of Conduct for Unregistered Health Professionals is enforced by the Health Care Complaints Commission.

• the amendment of the Health Care Complaints Act 1993 to enable the Health Care Complaints Commission to continue to deal with complaints about optical dispensers.

The Better Regulation Office based their recommendations on their finding that there was no net benefit in licensing optical dispensers. In particular the Better Regulation Office found that:

• optical dispensing poses minimal risks to the consumer with most issues being resolved by the consumer.

• no other state in Australia requires licensing to manage health and safety risks and there is no evidence that consumers outside of NSW have been physically harmed by the absence of licensing

• consumers can be adequately protected without licensing

The NSW Optical Dispensers Licensing Board advises that until the Optical Dispensers Act 1963 is repealed, persons undertaking optical dispensing duties in NSW will continue to require either a valid License or Approval to Practice issued by the Board. The Board’s inspectors will continue to conduct random inspections of optical dispensing outlets to ensure compliance with its legislation. The Board advises that whilst the Optical Dispensers Act 1963 remains in force, action will continue to be taken against persons practising in breach of the Act.

July 2009