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An Act to protect the health and safety of the public by providing for the registration of optometrists and optometry students; to regulate the provision of optometry treatment for the purpose of maintaining high standards of competence and conduct by those who provide it; and for other purposes.

Part 1—Preliminary

1.   Short title

      This Act may be cited as the Optometry Practice Act 2007.

3.   Interpretation

(1)    In this Act, unless the contrary intention appears—

appropriate registermeans—

(a)    the register of optometrists; or

(b)    the optometry student register,

as the case may require;

beneficiaryincludes an object of a discretionary trust;

Boardmeans the Optometry Board of South Australia;

corporate or trustee optometry services provider—see subsection (5);

cosmetic contact lensesmeans contact lenses that are not designed to correct, remedy or relieve a defect of vision of the wearer;

directorof a body corporate means a member of the board or committee of management of the body corporate, whether validly appointed or not;

District Courtmeans the Administrative and Disciplinary Division of the District Court;

drugmeans a poison within the meaning of the Controlled Substances Act 1984;

equipmentincludes appliances, instruments, dressings or substances used for the purposes of optometry;

exempt providermeans—

(a)    an incorporated hospital or private hospital under the Health Care Act 2008; or

(b)    any other person declared by the regulations to be an exempt provider for the purposes of this Act;

inspectormeans a person authorised by the Board to exercise the powers of an inspector under this Act;

legal practitionermeans a person admitted and enrolled as a practitioner of the Supreme Court of South Australia;

medical practitionermeans a person who is registered as a medical practitioner under the law of this State;

nominated contact address of a registered person means an address nominated by the person for the purpose of service of notices and documents under this Act;

ophthalmologistmeans a person who is registered on the specialist register under the Medical Practice Act 2004 as a specialist in ophthalmology;

optical appliance means—

(a)    an appliance that is designed to correct, remedy or relieve a defect of vision; or

(b)    cosmetic contact lenses;

optometristmeans a person who is registered on the register of optometrists under this Act;

optometry services providermeans a person (not being an optometrist) who provides optometry treatment through the instrumentality of an optometrist but does not include an exempt provider;

optometry studentmeans a person who is registered on the optometry student register;

optometry student register—see Part 3 Division 1;

optometry treatment or optometry means—

(a)    the prescription of optical appliances; and

(b)    the prescription, supply or administration of drugs—

(i)      for the purpose of diagnosing or treating abnormalities or disorders of the eye; or

(ii)     in connection with the prescription of optical appliances; and

(c)     all diagnostic, therapeutic, health or other services or advice not referred to in a preceding paragraph provided in the course of practice by an optometrist or a person who holds himself or herself out, or is held out by another, as an optometrist;

provide, in relation to optometry treatment, means provide treatment personally or through the instrumentality of another, and includes offer to provide;

psychologistmeans a person who is registered as a psychologist under the law of this State;

record means—

(a)    a documentary record; or

(b)    a record made by an electronic, electromagnetic, photographic or optical process; or

(c)     any other kind of record;

registermeans a register kept under this Act;

register of optometrists—see Part 3 Division 1;

registered personmeans a person who is registered on a register kept under this Act;

Registrarmeans the person holding or acting in the office of Registrar of the Board;

repealed Actmeans the Optometrists Act 1920;

representative bodymeans a body that is declared by the regulations to be a representative body for the purposes of this Act;

therapeutic drugs authorisation means an authorisation under section 33;

unprofessional conductincludes—

(a)    improper or unethical conduct in relation to professional practice; and

(b)    incompetence or negligence in relation to the provision of optometry treatment; and

(c)     a contravention of or failure to comply with—

(i)      a provision of this Act; or

(ii)     a code of conduct or professional standard prepared or endorsed by the Board under this Act; and

(d)    conduct that constitutes an offence punishable by imprisonment for 1 year or more under some other Act or law.

(2)    A reference in this Act to unprofessional conduct extends to—

(a)    unprofessional conduct committed before the commencement of this Act; and

(b)    unprofessional conduct committed within or outside South Australia or the Commonwealth.

(3)    A reference in this Act to engaging in conduct includes a reference to failing or refusing to engage in conduct.

(4)    Without limiting the generality of the expression, a person who is not an optometrist will be taken to provide optometry treatment through the instrumentality of an optometrist if that person, in the course of carrying on a business, provides services to the optometrist for which the person is entitled to receive a share in the profits or income of the optometrist's practice of optometry.

(5)    For the purposes of this Act—

(a)    a corporate optometry services provider is an optometry services provider that is a body corporate and a person occupies a position of authority in such a provider if the person—

(i)      is a director of the body corporate; or

(ii)     exercises, or is in a position to exercise, control or substantial influence over the body corporate in the conduct of its affairs; or

(iii)    manages, or is to manage, the business of the body corporate that consists of the provision of optometry treatment; or

(iv)    where the body corporate is a proprietary company—is a shareholder in the body corporate; and

(b)    a trustee optometry services provider is a person acting as an optometry services provider in the capacity of trustee of a trust and a person occupies a position of authority in such a provider if the person is a trustee or beneficiary of the trust.

(6)    For the purposes of this Act, a person occupies a position of authority in a body corporate other than a corporate optometry services provider if the person—

(a)    is a director of the body corporate; or

(b)    exercises, or is in a position to exercise, control or substantial influence over the body corporate in the conduct of its affairs; or

(c)     where the body corporate is a proprietary company—is a shareholder in the body corporate.

(7)    However—

(a)    a minor who is a shareholder in a proprietary company, or a beneficiary under a trust, is not, for that reason, to be regarded as a person occupying a position of authority; and

(b)    a charitable organisation that is a beneficiary of a trust is not, for that reason, to be regarded as occupying a position of authority.

(8)    For the purposes of this Act, a person who holds more than 10 per cent of the issued share capital of a public company will be regarded as a person occupying a position of authority in that company.

4.   Medical fitness to provide optometry treatment

A person or body must, in making a determination under this Act as to a person's medical fitness to provide optometry treatment, have regard to the question of whether the person is able to provide optometry treatment personally to a patient without endangering the patient's health or safety.

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