Optometry Victoria South Australia (OV/SA) members have voted in favour of an operational integration with Optometry Australia (OA).
OV/SA CEO Ilsa Hampton and president Ms Elise Pocknee-Clem announced at a General Meeting held on 18 July that 86% of members voted in favour of the proposed integration.
More than 88% of members also voted in favour of the proposed modifications to OV/SA’s constitution.
Pocknee-Clem said the change will deliver a multitude of benefits to members, brought about by increased efficiencies and alignment.
“The new model means that members will still have an OV/SA board made up of local members, however, our team and resources will move across to OA so that they can fully integrate member services into their day-to-day work, including state leads for Victoria and South Australia,” she said.
“OA will continue to provide all members nationally with access to its full range of member services. These arrangements will be carefully monitored via a Services Agreement that we will have with OA.”
The vote follows an announcement last year that the boards of OV/SA and Optometry Tasmania had commenced discussions about a possible integration with Optometry Australia.
Optometry Tasmania members are expected to vote on the model in August.
“The model under development will see each state board remaining as the respective representatives for Victorian, South Australian and Tasmanian members, with all services delivered by OA and monitored by the respective state board for its jurisdiction,” OA said last year.
The organisation said the new model will see OA continuing to provide members nationally with access to its full range of member services.
“The new, integrated structure will also deliver local member engagement, face-to-face CPD, advocacy and stakeholder engagement in Victoria, South Australia and Tasmania,” OA explained.
“No major assets of any organisation will be transferred initially, and services will be integrated and evolved over time to continue to maximise value for members. OA will have the resources and staff of both divisions in order to be able to deliver on the local services.”
Should Optometry Tasmania members also vote yes, implementation is due to be completed by 1 November 2023.
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