The Optometry Board of Australia has reminded optometrists to renew their registration by 30 November or risk not being able to practice.
“The quickest and easiest way to renew registration is online, with 88 per cent of optometrists using this secure service last year,” said Board Chair Colin Waldron.
Mr. Waldron said optometrists who do not want to renew their registration can simply ignore the reminders from AHPRA or go online to ‘opt out’ of renewing.
Under the National Law, practitioners who do not renew registration within one month of their registration expiry date must be removed from the National Register of Practitioners. Their registration will lapse and they will not be able to practice optometry in Australia until a new application for registration is approved.
Neither the Board nor AHPRA have any discretion about this so our advice is clear: renew online and on time
“Neither the Board nor AHPRA have any discretion about this so our advice is clear: renew online and on time,” Mr. Waldron said.
He advised optometrists that when renewing their registration for the 2012-13 period, they may be randomly selected to take part in the second phase of a larger Practitioner Audit Pilot. Chiropractic and pharmacy are the other two professions taking part.
The selected practitioners will be audited for compliance against their Board’s registration standards for criminal history, professional indemnity insurance, recency of practice and continuing professional development.
‘This second phase will run for about three months from October and the board is working with AHPRA and key stakeholders to ensure that participants will be able to gather the necessary evidence to provide to the audit team,’ Mr. Waldron said.
To update your contact details held by AHPRA, or for further information, visit www.ahpra.gov.au.
