With recent workforce surveys showing dissatisfaction among Australian optometrists, one of the country’s fast-growing networks is setting new standards when it comes to career fulfilment and progression.
One of the second-order effects of the George & Matilda Eyecare (G&M) model is the wealth of clinical expertise embedded within the network, ripe for leverage. But until now, much of that expertise has largely remained confined to the individual practitioner’s local area, or sometimes within the four walls of their consulting room.
Independents who have built their practices on special interests in advanced contact lens fitting, myopia management, dry eye or advanced technology. These are the everyday practitioners who can impart wisdom across the group – even if they’re located as far west as Kalgoorlie, in regional Victoria’s Daylesford, or Burnie, on the northern Tasmanian coastline.
G&M will enter its 10th year in 2026, and in that time it’s gone from a start-up to one of the main players in the Australian optometry scene with 120-plus practices.
A recent part of that transformation has been the promotion of optometrist Mr Anthony Sargeant to the position of national professional services manager. Appointed in early 2025, he’s charged with bringing to life a network-wide professional services framework with some big aims: to elevate clinical excellence across G&M’s 180-strong optometry workforce, drive greater optometry engagement, and execute an aligned national professional services strategy.
“We’re 10 years old next year, and as an optometrist at G&M you can now feel that there’s real clarity around our ambition and the patient-first direction we’re heading,” Sargeant says.
“G&M brings together some of the most experienced and community-focused independent practitioners in the country. By working together and sharing what we each do best, we’re building something much greater than the sum of its parts.”
What he’s referring to is an inherent part of the G&M model. From the outset, founder and CEO Mr Chris Beer has been clear the network will only partner with well-oiled independents woven into the fabric of their communities.
G&M has also vowed that its support office team won’t interfere with the practice’s clinical autonomy. This promise means some of the country’s best and brightest optometrists have joined its ranks.
Now, Sargeant wants to tap into that knowledge to a greater degree.
“While CPD-accredited webinars are one small part of the offering, G&M’s national professional services program is far more expansive,” he says.
“It blends structured education events, clinical workshops, in-practice coaching, and partnerships with leaders in ophthalmology, contact lenses, and therapeutics. Weekly case discussions circulate across the network, individual skill development is actively supported, and a formal graduate onboarding pathway links mentors and mentees for long-term success. This is all grounded in a grassroots understanding of modern clinical practice.”
The professional services team is now six-strong, led by Sargeant, who is a member of the leadership team. Each remains active in clinical practice, ensuring their guidance is grounded in real-world experience and carries the credibility of current, hands-on expertise.
While professional services managers continue to deliver many educational sessions, a key part of the strategy now involves identifying and empowering talented G&M clinicians to lead educational events, ensuring the depth of expertise within the business is recognised and shared.
“We’ve got some of the finest independent practitioners in the country.
“Leveraging that talent for the benefit of our optometrists and their patients is how you can start having a real impact; the bigger picture stuff.”
There’s another bigger picture at play too.
Sargeant hints at a much-discussed 2025 Flinders University optometry workplace survey, commissioned by Optometry Australia, revealing dissatisfaction among the national optometry workforce.
“We have a real opportunity to impact the workforce. It’s a hot topic, right? It starts with creating meaningful connection and time to focus on patient care. That’s exactly what we’re building at G&M. By attracting the right talent, supporting early-career optometrists, and building long-term partnerships rooted in clinical autonomy, we’re making G&M a great place to work, and keeping independent optometry thriving,” he says.
“You’ve got these practices that can be four to five hours’ drive to the nearest fellow independent clinician, but despite the burden of distance, we’re offering opportunities to engage with each other, lift clinical standards, provide professional fulfilment and create real momentum.”
Scaling clinical specialties
Optometrist Mr Tom Ford, from George & Matilda Eyecare for Albert Ravanello Optometrists in Griffith, New South Wales, will deliver one of the first sessions under the new professional services framework.
A popular speaker at Optometry Australia events, he will discuss clinical pearls and pitfalls of prescribing corticosteroids for ocular disease. It’s an example of the type of content that will be aimed at clinical excellence, setting the foundation for a successful practice.
“We’re focused on three core priorities: engaging our optometrists, developing clinical expertise, and strengthening commercial capability,” Sargeant says.
“In some practices, the original business leaders are still at the helm, but in others, those roles have transitioned. So part of our job is to support the next generation of leaders like Tom, not just to think clinically, but to think commercially. That means refining patient interactions, making full use of eyecare technology, and building a personal brand as a trusted health professional in the community.”
As for the future of G&M optometrists, Sargeant sees opportunities around growth, innovation and connection.
“There’s enormous potential in scaling clinical specialties. Paediatric eyecare is a key focus, while myopia management is now the standard of care. Both are powerful ways to stay deeply connected to our local communities” he says. “There’s growing patient demand in areas like dry eye and telehealth. But the bigger opportunity lies in deeper integration with the broader healthcare system through collaborative care and multidisciplinary teams.”
The recent partnership with Eyescan in Toorak, Melbourne, is a case in point. Established by ophthalmologist Dr Harry Unger, it combines ophthalmology, optometry and optical dispensing, all under one roof. There’s no other practice like it in the G&M business.
“It’s an exciting time for that sort of growth and innovation in the business,” he says. “Leveraging technology is a key focus too, and by the end of the year all G&M practices will have the latest generation OCT units available for their patients.”
There’s a lot to do, but Sargeant is excited about this heightened purpose and clarity behind G&M’s optometry direction.
“A lot has changed since G&M arrived in 2016, and I feel we’re going to be on the right side of history with the way in which we are supporting independent clinical excellence, ensuring our business and optometrists thrive,” he says.
“It’s an important step and reflects where we are in our journey as a growing network of independent practices, bringing national alignment and structure to the way we support our optometry team while remaining deeply committed to that local and connected community feel that made our practices so special in the first place.”
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Chris Beer unplugged on the future of George & Matilda optometry network
