orthoptics.org.au

Orthoptics Australia (OA) is the national peak body representing Australian orthoptists, with members also in New Zealand, the United Kingdom, Singapore, Malaysia, and Hong Kong. If you are deciding whether to join, the practical answer is that OA membership gives you access to professional development, workplace resources, research grants, awards, and a member portal — but the category you qualify for depends on your registration and career stage. The official membership categories and criteria are set out on the OA website, and you should check those pages directly before applying, because eligibility rules are specific to each category.

What OA Membership Offers

Based on the OA site, membership benefits span career support, education, and professional recognition:

• Professional development — access to OA CPD events, the event calendar, OA Online Education (OAOE), and member webinars.
• Career resources — workplace resources, job vacancy listings, and a directory of orthoptists.
• Research and recognition — eligibility for OA research grants, OA awards, and the Australian Orthoptic Journal (AOJ).
• Member portal — a "My OA" profile where you can track CPD, manage groups, and access member-only content.
• Groups and networks — Clinical Advisory Groups (CAGs) and Special Interest Groups (SIGs).
• Advocacy — OA represents the profession through advocacy, media, and position statements.

The site also lists practical supports such as information on professional indemnity insurance and government funding, legislation, and programs.

Membership Categories and Criteria

OA states that it has "Membership Categories and Criteria," but the specific category names and eligibility rules are not detailed in the available page evidence. What is clear from the site structure is that:

• There is a Fellow Members category, listed alongside OA Awards and Grants.
• Membership is open to orthoptists in Australia and internationally (New Zealand, UK, Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong are named).
• There is a separate Professional Registration section, which is distinct from membership.

Because the exact criteria are not reproduced here, treat the OA "Membership Categories and Criteria" page as the authoritative source. If your situation is unusual — for example, you trained overseas, you are returning to practice, or you are a student — check that page or contact OA directly rather than assuming you fit a standard category.

Professional Registration and the OA Code of Conduct

Two things are often confused:

1. Professional registration — a separate matter from OA membership.
2. OA Code of Conduct — a standard members are expected to follow.

The OA site lists "Professional Registration" and "OA Code of Conduct" as distinct sections. If your goal is to practise, confirm the registration requirements for your jurisdiction separately from joining the association. If your goal is to be part of the professional body and access its benefits, that is the membership pathway.

How to Join and Access the Member Portal

The site provides a "Join OA" entry point and a "member login." The general steps are:

1. Go to the OA website and open the Join OA section.
2. Review the Membership Categories and Criteria to identify the category that matches your registration and career stage.
3. Complete the application for that category.
4. Once your membership is active, log in to the member portal ("My OA") to manage your profile, CPD tracker, and groups.

Verification: after joining, confirm you can access member-only areas such as OA Online Education, the CPD tracker, and member webinars. If you cannot, your membership may not yet be active or you may have selected a category without those entitlements.

Common Sticking Points

• Assuming membership equals registration. They are separate; check both.
• Assuming all categories get the same benefits. The site distinguishes categories and criteria, so confirm what your category includes.
• Overlooking international eligibility. OA explicitly represents members outside Australia, so overseas orthoptists may still be eligible.
• Missing the portal. Benefits like the CPD tracker and online education are accessed through the member login, not the public site.

Contact

For questions about categories, criteria, or joining, OA lists its contact as 03 9586 6080 or [email protected].

Orthoptics Australia (OA) is the national peak body representing Australian orthoptists. It is a membership organisation that promotes and advances the discipline of orthoptics in public hospitals and ophthalmology practices, and it works to seek and implement career and work benefits and opportunities for its members. If you are an orthoptist, a student considering the field, or an eye health organisation looking for a professional body to engage with, OA is the relevant national organisation in Australia.

Who OA represents

OA describes itself as a national organisation representing members in all states of Australia, as well as members from other countries, including:

• New Zealand
• United Kingdom
• Singapore
• Malaysia
• Hong Kong

So while its focus is Australian orthoptics, its membership is not limited to Australia.

What OA does

According to the organisation's own description, its core purposes are to:

• Promote and advance the discipline of orthoptics in public hospitals and ophthalmology practices
• Actively seek and implement career and work benefits and opportunities for its members

Its stated mission is "striving for excellence in eye and health care."

What OA offers members and the profession

The site's navigation shows the scope of the organisation's activity. Key areas include:

There is also an OA Online Shop and a member portal for managing your profile and CPD tracking.

Who should look at OA

• Practising orthoptists in Australia — for registration, CPD, workplace resources and professional representation.
• Orthoptists outside Australia — membership extends to several other countries, so it may still be relevant.
• Students and career changers — the site has a "Career in Orthoptics" section and a "What is Orthoptics?" explainer.
• Employers and eye health organisations — OA offers job advertising and sponsorship/advertising options.

Events and contact

OA runs professional development events, including its "Clinical Conversations" series. One listed example is Clinical Conversations #6: Strabismus Surgery 101, dated 21 October 2026, described as an interactive talk with live questions.

For direct enquiries, OA lists its contact details as 03 9586 6080 or [email protected]. Membership and event registration are handled through the site, and the presence of Stripe indicates online payment is used for some transactions.

Orthoptics Australia (OA) runs a continuing professional development (CPD) program that combines live events, online education and an annual conference, alongside career resources for orthoptists. Most of these sit behind the OA member portal, so the practical answer depends on whether you are an OA member or just browsing. The sections below cover what each offering is, who it is for, and what you need to access it.

Live CPD events

OA maintains a CPD Event Overview page and an Event Calendar that list upcoming professional development activities. The homepage's "Coming Events" section is the public-facing window into this calendar.

One recurring format is the Clinical Conversations series, described as talks delivered by speakers from across the country on health and delivery topics, with live audience questions. A listed example is Clinical Conversations #6: Strabismus Surgery 101, dated 21 October 2026.

To use these:

1. Open the Event Calendar (linked from the Events & Professional Development menu).
2. Check the date, format and topic of the session you want.
3. Register through the event listing — note that member login is available from the site, and some events may be member-only or member-priced.
4. After attending, log the activity in My OA CPD Tracker so it counts toward your CPD record.

Common sticking point: the calendar and event pages are the authoritative source for dates and registration status. If a session isn't listed there, treat it as not open for registration yet.

Online education and webinars

For members, OA provides:

• OA Online Education (OAOE) — the organisation's online learning platform.
• OA Member Webinars — recorded or scheduled webinar content for members.
• My OA CPD Tracker — a tool inside the member portal for recording CPD activity.
• My OA Groups — spaces tied to CAGs (Clinical Advisory Groups) and SIGs (Special Interest Groups).

Access to these runs through the Member Portal and My OA Profile, so you need an OA membership and a login. If you are not a member, the public site will show you that these exist but not the content itself.

Annual conference

OA's annual conference is the largest single CPD event in its calendar. The site's conference section covers:

If you want to present rather than just attend, the abstract submission route is the one to follow — watch the conference page for the submission window, since it closes ahead of the event itself.

Research and publication

For those whose professional development includes research output, OA supports:

• OA Research Grant — funding for orthoptic research.
• Australian Orthoptic Journal (AOJ) — the organisation's journal, with past editors listed.
• OA Awards and Grants, including Fellow Members recognition.

These are relevant if you are building an academic or research profile alongside clinical CPD.

Career and job resources

OA also treats career development as part of professional development:

• Career in Orthoptics — an overview of the profession as a career path.
• Job Vacancies and Advertise a Job — a listing service for positions and for employers.
• Volunteering with OA — ways to contribute to the organisation itself.
• Directory of Orthoptists — a public-facing way to find a practitioner.
• Orthoptics Professional Indemnity Insurance — workplace resource information.

For a job seeker, the vacancies listing plus the membership categories page (which sets out eligibility) are the two pages to read together.

What you need before you start

• To attend events or use OAOE: an OA membership and member portal login. Membership categories and criteria are set out on the OA Membership pages, and benefits are listed separately.
• To register for the conference: the conference registration page; payment is handled via Stripe.
• To submit an abstract: the conference abstract submission page, within its stated window.
• To contact OA directly: 03 9586 6080 or [email protected].

If your goal is simply to find an orthoptist rather than to develop your own career, the Directory of Orthoptists is the relevant resource instead of the CPD program.

Orthoptics Australia (OA) provides two direct routes for the public: a Directory of Orthoptists on its website for finding a practitioner, and a contact line at 03 9586 6080 or [email protected] for general enquiries. The directory is the right starting point if you need to locate an orthoptist; the phone and email are for questions about the organisation, membership, events, or advertising. Note that some parts of the site, including the member portal, are restricted to logged-in members.

Finding an Orthoptist

OA lists a Directory of Orthoptists under its Workplace Resources section. This is the site's own tool for locating practitioners, and it sits alongside related professional resources such as information on professional indemnity insurance and government funding, legislation and programs.

To use it:

1. Go to the OA website (orthoptics.org.au).
2. Navigate to the Workplace Resources area.
3. Open the Directory of Orthoptists.

Expected result: a listing of orthoptists you can use to identify a practitioner to contact. The site does not state whether the directory is searchable by state or suburb, so treat it as a starting list rather than a filtered search tool.

If you are unsure whether orthoptics is the right service for your situation, OA's About Orthoptics section includes "What is Orthoptics?" and "Career in Orthoptics" pages that explain the discipline before you make contact.

Contacting Orthoptics Australia

The site lists a single contact point in its footer:

OA describes itself as the national peak body representing Australian orthoptists, with members also in New Zealand, the United Kingdom, Singapore, Malaysia and Hong Kong. It promotes and advances orthoptics in public hospitals and ophthalmology practices. That scope tells you what the office handles: organisational and membership matters, not clinical appointments.

Use the office contact for: membership questions, event registration, sponsorship and advertising, job advertising, and general organisational enquiries.

Do not use it for: booking a clinical appointment. For that, go through the Directory of Orthoptists or contact a practice directly.

Member Portal and Login Access

OA operates a Member Portal ("My OA Profile") that includes tools such as the My OA CPD Tracker and My OA Groups. Access requires a member login, and the site presents this as a members-only area.

What this means in practice:

• If you are an OA member, log in to manage your profile, track CPD, and access group areas.
• If you are not a member, the portal is not available to you. Membership categories and criteria, benefits, and a join page are listed under the Membership section if you want to check eligibility.
• The public-facing parts of the site — the directory, event calendar, news, and contact details — do not require login.

Other Reasons You Might Be on the Site

The OA site covers several areas beyond practitioner lookup, and knowing which section you need saves time:

• Events and professional development: an event calendar, the OA Online Education (OAOE) platform, member webinars, and an annual conference with registration, program, and abstract submissions.
• Research: the Australian Orthoptic Journal (AOJ), research grants, and eye health research listings.
• Advocacy and media: position statements, advocacy news, Orthoptics Awareness Week, and World Orthoptic Day.
• Eye health partners: organisations including Glaucoma Australia, Macular Disease Foundation Australia, Centre for Eye Research Australia (CERA), Guide Dogs Victoria, and Cataract Kids Australia.
• Careers: job vacancies and the option to advertise a job.

If your goal is simply to reach a person, the phone number and email above are the fastest route. If your goal is to find an orthoptist near you, start with the Directory of Orthoptists and follow up with the practice directly.

Orthoptics is an eye health discipline focused on diagnosing and managing disorders of eye movement, alignment, and visual function — commonly things like strabismus (turned eye), amblyopia (lazy eye), double vision, and convergence problems. An orthoptist is the allied health professional who delivers that care, working in public hospitals and ophthalmology practices. Orthoptics Australia (OA) describes itself as the national peak body representing Australian orthoptists, and it promotes and advances the discipline in exactly those settings.

What orthoptics covers

Orthoptics sits within eye and vision care but is distinct from ophthalmology (medical/surgical eye care by a doctor) and optometry (primary vision testing and glasses/contact lens prescribing). The orthoptic focus is on how the eyes work together and how vision develops and functions — particularly binocular vision and eye coordination.

Typical areas an orthoptist works with include:

• Strabismus — eyes that point in different directions
• Amblyopia — reduced vision in one eye that isn't correctable by glasses alone
• Double vision (diplopia) and its causes
• Convergence and focusing disorders, including eye strain from near work
• Paediatric vision assessment, since many alignment and development issues appear in childhood
• Vision assessment in neurological and post-surgical contexts, where eye movement and alignment need monitoring

What an orthoptist does day to day

An orthoptist carries out the diagnostic and non-surgical management side of eye care. In practice that means assessing how the eyes align and move, measuring visual function, and then either managing the condition directly (for example with exercises, patching, or prism correction) or feeding precise measurements back to an ophthalmologist to guide surgery or medical treatment.

OA's own description places orthoptists in public hospitals and ophthalmology practices, so the role often runs alongside an ophthalmologist rather than as a standalone first point of contact. That collaborative position is central to how the profession is organised in Australia.

Where orthoptics fits in the wider eye care team

The three overlap in patient care, but the orthoptic contribution is specifically the assessment and management of how the eyes coordinate and function together.

Learning more through Orthoptics Australia

If you want the profession's own definition and scope, OA's site has a dedicated About Orthoptics section, including a "What is Orthoptics?" page. The same site also covers careers in orthoptics, job vacancies, professional registration, and membership categories, which makes it the natural starting point whether you're a patient trying to understand the role, a student considering the field, or a practitioner looking for professional resources.

One practical detail worth noting: OA lists a contact line on 03 9586 6080 and an email at [email protected] for direct enquiries.