Mr Anthony Albanese’s comprehensive 2025 election victory has paved the way for changes to optometry employment conditions, among other measures promised in the Federal Budget, as Optometry Australia (OA) congratulated the prime minister on his re-election.
The Labor leader won the 3 May 2025 election – ahead by almost 50 seats at the time of writing – meaning new investments promised for public hospitals and cheaper government-subsidised medicines will come to fruition, affecting the eye health sector.
It may also signal the end of non-compete clauses that are standard in many optometry employment contracts, and restrict practitioners from working for nearby competing practices for periods of time.
Prior to the election, Albanese said he would abolish these clauses for workers earning less than the high income threshold in the Fair Work Act (currently $175,000), which covers most optometrists.
The change would make it easier for workers to switch to a better job while lifting the wages of affected workers by up to 4%, or about $2,500 per year for a worker on median wages, according to the government.
In congratulating the Albanese Government on its re-election, OA said as the peak professional body for optometrists, it would remain committed to “working constructively with all parliamentarians to advocate for meaningful change”.
“[This includes] ensuring timely access to eyecare services, and that Medicare funding reflects the true cost of providing care,” the body said.
“We are stronger together. Later this month, we’ll be inviting all our members to help shape our federal and state advocacy priorities through the launch of our first advocacy survey.”
Other promises from the 2025/26 Federal Budget would also positively impact small businesses, encompassing independent optical practices.
This includes extending energy bill relief for six months to the end of 2025, making available rebates up to $150.
An estimated 1.5 million sole traders will benefit from the government’s income tax reductions.
The government will also invest to strengthen the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission’s enforcement of the Franchising Code.
Other major announcements included reducing the maximum price for a Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) script from $31.60 to $25, in a move that will be of interest to patients accessing eye drops, intravitreal injections and other ophthalmic pharmaceuticals via the program.
Pensioners and concession cardholders will still pay $7.70 a script.
Public hospitals, where cataract extraction accounts for 11% of all procedures with more than 83,000 surgeries annually, also received a boost.
The Federal Government has vowed to “fairly fund” the public hospital system, including an uplift for the Northern Territory, with an additional $1.8 billion to help states and territories to cut waiting lists, manage ramping, and reduce emergency department waiting times.
Eye surgery patients will hope this reduces the time they wait for surgery, with these patients facing the second-longest wait times on average, second only to ENT surgery, according to the latest Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) data.
The total Commonwealth contribution to state-run public hospitals will increase by 12% to reach a record $33.9 billion in 2025-26.
More reading
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