Australia appears to have a shortage of orthoptists, but as Orthoptics Australia president A/Prof AMANDA FRENCH and executive officer Ms JANE COWAN point out, there’s also a shortage of good data to better understand the issue.
There is high demand for orthoptists in Australia and abroad, with professionals highly sought after for their specialised skillset across clinical eyecare, public and private health, ophthalmic and pharmaceutical industries, and rehabilitation and disability.
Anecdotally, there is a worldwide shortage of orthoptists, from which Australia is not exempt.
Orthoptics Australia regularly hears from employers in both public and private sectors that they are challenged to find orthoptists to fill critical roles.
The demand for orthoptists in Australia is projected to continue growing, in part due to the nation’s ageing population and the rising prevalence of chronic health conditions.
NSW Health estimates an annual increase in the NSW Health orthoptic workforce of 2.4% (in a low-demand scenario) to 3.4% (in a high-demand scenario) per year would be required to meet demand by 2040.
This is not unique to orthoptics, with workforce shortages and retention challenges prevalent across most allied health professions in Australia.
This has sparked work to develop a National Allied Health Workforce Strategy led by the newly appointed Australian government chief alied health officer, Ms Anita Hobson-Powell.
Orthoptics Australia has been engaging in consultation related to the strategy and is hopeful it will support training and retention of allied health professionals within the workforce.
However, despite the Jobs and Skills Australia (JSA) 2024 Occupational Shortage List identifying workforce shortages in NSW, WA, and regional Victoria, there were no shortages reported in metropolitan VIC, QLD, SA, TAS, NT or the ACT.
This is perplexing, given the higher concentration of orthoptists in NSW and VIC, where the two training programs are delivered, at the University of Technology Sydney (UTS) and LaTrobe University.
This highlights issues around accurately quantifying the orthoptic workforce through available national data and determining job demand in the context of chronic shortages.
In 2021, the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) reported there were 1,055 orthoptists across the country, closely parallelling the number of ophthalmologists in Australia.
This marked a significant increase from 830 orthoptists working in Australia in 2016.The increase of 225 professionals over five years demonstrates an average increase of 45 orthoptists per year.
While this indicates substantial workforce growth, it is less than expected based on estimated graduate numbers of approximately 100 per year across the two programs.
The UTS Master of Orthoptics course alone has graduated over 400 orthoptists between 2016 and 2023.
The gap in workforce data of approximately 55 orthoptists per year may be accounted for by orthoptists moving into management and other healthcare roles or general workforce attrition.
One challenge in data availability is that orthoptists are not included in the National Registration and Accreditation Scheme (NRAS) administered by the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA).
Systematic data collection for NRAS-registered professions provides key workforce trend information that is unavailable for self-regulated allied health professions.
The orthoptic profession is self-regulated by the Australian Orthoptic Board (AOB), an independent body which oversees professional standards and maintains a public register, mirroring AHPRA boards.
Orthoptics Australia, as the peak body for the profession, advocates for orthoptists, advances education, and supports the profession in adapting to the increasing demand.
With the NRAS Complexity Review under way, there is consideration of models that will provide more uniform registration of allied health professionals and likely improve workforce data availability.
In the interim, Orthoptics Australia is working to create a better understanding of workforce challenges and enable workforce planning by undertaking a comprehensive workforce survey.
This is crucial to inform professional advocacy and ensure the profession continues delivering essential eye health services.
In November 2024, JSA opened its 2025 Occupation Shortage List Stakeholder survey. The information collected through the survey captures occupations that may be in shortage and informs Australia’s Skilled Occupation List, with any implications for skilled migrant visas.
Orthoptics Australia is encouraging participation from all sectors employing orthoptists and is committed to working with stakeholders to improve data collection and ensure future workforce capacity.
About the Authors:
Associate Professor Amanda French is the president of Orthoptics Australia and head of orthoptics at the University of Technology Sydney. Jane Cowan is Orthoptics Australia’s executive officer. She has extensive experience in public policy with a passion for contributing to initiatives that deliver positive social impact.
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