The Optometry Board of Australia (OBA) has this month advertised vacancies for its nine-person board, including the position of board chair.
The regulator has announced six practitioner member vacancies for New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Victoria and Western Australia, and requires a representative from either the Australian Capital Territory, Northern Territory or Tasmania.
The role of board chair, occupied by optometrist Mr Ian Bluntish, has also been listed. He first joined the board as the South Australian practitioner member in 2009 and has been board chair since 2015.
In addition, the OBA is seeking three community member appointees who can come from any state or territory.
An OBA spokesperson said the vacancies are as a result of members terms expiring later this year. The applications period opened on 16 January and they will close on Sunday 21 February.
“There is nothing unusual in advertising all of the member positions for a National Board in the same recruitment round. Current members who are not on their third term are able to seek reappointment to the board, and this does not necessarily mean that the entire board will be replaced during this recruitment round,” the spokesperson said.
“[We] encourage all currently registered optometrists and members of the community who are interested in the work of the National Registration and Accreditation Scheme to apply for these vacancies.”
All appointments are made by the Ministerial Council for up to three years, under the Health Practitioner Regulation National Law. The OBA is encouraging applications from people with a disability, who identify as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander, LGBTQI and people from culturally diverse backgrounds.
A live Q&A webinar called: ‘National Board appointments: hear from our National Board members’, will be held on 3 February.
More information about the roles, eligibility requirements and the application process can be found within the online application form via the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency’s Board member recruitment page.
The current OBA Board:
Mr Ian Bluntish (chair) – South Australia
Mr Stuart Aamodt – Western Australia
Dr Carla Abbott – Victoria
Associate Professor Daryl Guest – Tasmania
Mrs Judith Hannan – New South Wales
Associate Professor Ann Webber – Queensland
Associate Professor Rosemary Knight – Community member
Ms Adrienne Farago – Community member
Mr Anthony Evans – Community member
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