Australian optometrists and ophthalmologists have been unable to escape a registration fee hike for 2024/25, but the regulator says it has factored in cost of living pressures to keep costs down.
Optometrists face a $14 fee increase. Ophthalmologists and other medical professionals will pay $32 more, which is considerable when added to a significant $135 fee rise imposed last year.
It means the registration fee for optometrists will increase in line with indexation by 4.1% to $361 from 18 September 2024, while for medical practitioners the $1,027 fee is a 3.2% increase below indexation, effective from 24 July 2024.
These fees, which exclude practitioners in New South Wales where a different body handles complaints, will cover the registration period from 1 December 2024 to 30 November 2025.
In 2024/25, all National Boards have limited fee increases to below or in line with indexation. Four Boards have frozen their fees and another two have kept their fee increases to under $10.
This wasn’t the case for optometry, but Optometry Board of Australia (OBA) chair Mr Stuart Aamodt acknowledged practitioners were not immune to the current economic challenges.
“The board recognise this and have worked to keep fees as low possible while ensuring we can perform our vital role to keep the public safe,” he said.
The $361 isn’t the highest fee optometrist have had to pay. Up until 2019, Australian optometrists enjoyed a consistent fee of $300, which was first imposed in 2016-17 and frozen for two years. Prior to that, the sector saw consecutive fee drops from a high of $415 in 2012-13.
Ophthalmologists have faced a significant rise in fees in recent years. In 2022/23, they paid $860, but this rose 14% to $995 in 2023/24, which was “necessary to meet growth in costs and regulatory demand”. Now they will pay $1,027, which is $167 more than two years ago.
Echoing Aamodt, Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (Ahpra) CEO Mr Martin Fletcher said Ahpra and the National Boards were “acutely aware that registered health practitioners, like many Australians, face cost-of-living pressures”, which was a key consideration when setting fees.
“We have worked hard to find a balance between keeping fees as low as possible and managing increasing regulatory costs, to continue our vital work to keep the public safe,” he said.
“Overall, we have been able to keep the annual average fee increase to just over $17, with four boards able to freeze their fees at 2023/24 levels.
“While nobody likes fees increases, they are necessary to ensure we can continue our work and meet our regulatory obligations.”
Registration fees fund the work of the National Boards and Ahpra to keep the public safe by managing applications for registration, including for some boards managing complex applications from internationally qualified practitioners.
The fees also cover developing professional standards, investigating and managing concerns about registered health practitioners, including taking immediate action and referring matters to tribunals, and criminal prosecutions for breaches in advertising and use of title.
The body uses the funding to accredit or approve studies that lead to registration and endorsement, and contribute to the work of the Health Ombudsman in Queensland and funding the National Health Practitioner Ombudsman.
“The National Scheme is self-funded with each board responsible for meeting the full costs of regulating their profession. The fees for each National Board also reflect the risk and complexity of the individual professions, as well as the resources needed to address them,” a press release said.
“Ahpra does not receive ongoing government funding, however in 2024/25, Ahpra and National Boards are pleased to be receiving funds from governments to implement reforms arising from the ‘Independent review of Australia’s regulatory settings relating to overseas health practitioners’, led by Ms Robyn Kruk AO.
In NSW, complaints about registered health practitioners are managed by the NSW Health Care Complaints Commission and the NSW Health Professional Councils and not by Ahpra. The registration fee for health practitioners whose principal place of practice is NSW reflects this difference.
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