Equip yourself with the clinical and cultural tools needed to better support your LGBTQIA+ patients when you attend the Australian College of Optometry’s (ACO) first-ever gender-inclusive eye care symposium. The interactive one-day event will take place on Sunday 15 June 2025, coinciding with Pride Month.
Open to optometrists, dispensers, practice managers, and others working within eye care, the symposium will spotlight the intersection of gender, sexuality and eye health. Attendees will engage with a diverse panel of speakers, including a general practitioner, nurse practitioner, and respected leaders in optometry and ophthalmology, as they share vital insights into culturally safe, patient-centred care.
Organisers of the course are encouraging the optometry community to turn intention into action and equip themselves to make positive changes in their practice
The need for inclusive eye care is significant. According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, 4.5% of Australians aged 16 years and over identify as LGBTQIA+, with that number rising to 9.5% among 16 to 24-year-olds and 7.5% for 25 to 34-year-olds. Yet many individuals in these communities still face barriers to accessing culturally competent health care.
Organisers of the course are encouraging the optometry community to turn intention into action and equip themselves to make positive changes in their practice.
“Understanding how to communicate respectfully and provide affirming care isn’t just good practice – it’s essential care,” shared an ACO team member.
Packed Half-Day Programme
In this half-day course, participants will explore:
- The foundations of respectful, inclusive care for trans and gender diverse patients,
- Small changes in clinic culture and communication to improve inclusivity,
- Advocacy strategies and how optometrists can support LGBTQIA+ patients and colleagues,
- Idiopathic intracranial hypertension as an atypical presentation in gender-diverse community,
- A review of current research, highlighting emerging findings in LGBTQIA+ eye health, and
- An introduction to gender affirming speech therapy.
The course will include six presentations, followed by an interactive forum session led by Alice McLennan, ACO Manager Clinical Governance and Training and Chair of the ACO’s Rainbow Working Group. Here, participants will gain confidence in asking sensitive personal questions and applying inclusive language in real-world scenarios.
An overview of lectures is available online.
Registrations are open now, with pricing ranging from $100-120. Learn more and secure your place at the Gender-Inclusive Eye Care Symposium.
CPD hours are pending. This event is sponsored by Good Optical.
