Optometrist Skills Assessment

• Are you a qualified optometrist?
• Under the age of 45?
• Fluent in English?
• In good health?

Then living and working in Australia could be an option for you! Continue reading to find out:

• How to emigrate to Australia as an optometrist.
• The requirements to meet.
• The immigration process to follow.

Introducing ANZSCO

ANZSCO is the Australia and New Zealand Standard Classification of Occupations. It’s a skills-based classification system used to classify all occupations and jobs in the Australian and New Zealand labour market.

Here’s why ANZSCO is critical to your immigration – ANZSCO publish the Medium and Long-term Strategic Skills List (MLTSSL).

What is the MLTSSL?

The MLTSSL is the list of occupations where there is a shortage of professionals in Australia to fill all the gaps in the job market. Seeing as these occupations are important for Australia’s to do well as a country, the government has approved hiring talent from overseas.

In other words – if your occupation appears on the MLTSSL, you are in a good position to immigrate to Australia.

Here’s the good news

Optometrists are on the MLTSSL! Don’t start to celebrate just yet though.

Appearing on the MLTSSL is only the first step as each occupation has a code assigned to it, a skill level and also an assessing authority. You have to meet all the requirements associated with these different parts of the process to qualify for skilled immigration.

ANZSCO Code

The ANZSCO code assigned to optometrists is 25141. This code gives us more details as to the criteria optometrists have to meet in order to qualify to emigrate to Australia.

The first thing we look at is the group that optometrists fall under:

Major Group: 2 – Professionals | Sub-Major Group: 25 – Health Professionals | Minor Group: 251 – Health Diagnostic and Promotion Professionals | Unit Group: 2514 – Optometrists and Orthoptists

As you can see there are four groups showing how the code is made up – we are mostly interested in the code (232212) which is specific to surveyors.

Description of Role

This part of the ANZSCO criteria lays out a broad description of what an optometrist is supposed to be able to do:

Performs eye examinations and vision tests to determine the presence of visual, ocular and other abnormalities, ocular diseases and systemic diseases with ocular manifestations, and prescribes lenses, other optical aids, therapy and medication to correct and manage vision problems and eye diseases. Registration or licensing is required.

Required Level

Suveyors are an occupation at Skill Level 1, which means a level of skill equal to a bachelor degree or higher qualification. At least five years of relevant experience may substitute for the formal qualification. In some instances relevant experience and/or on-the-job training may be required in addition to the formal qualification.

Tasks

When applying for emigration as a surveyor, you must be able to demonstrate or prove that you can perform the majority of the tasks below:

• Examining patients’ eyes and setting tests to determine the nature and extent of vision problems and abnormalities
• Assessing ocular health and visual function by measuring visual acuity and refractive error, and testing the function of visual pathways, visual fields, eye movements, freedom of vision and intraocular pressure, and performing other tests using special eye test equipment
• Detecting, diagnosing and managing eye disease, referring patients to, and receiving referrals from other health providers, and prescribing medications for the treatment of eye disease
• Diagnosing eye movement disorders and defects of binocular function
• Prescribing lenses, contact lenses and low vision aids, and checking suitability and comfort
• Prescribing exercises to coordinate movement and focusing of eyes
• Managing programs for eye movement disorders, and instructing and counselling patients in the use of corrective techniques and eye exercises
• Advising on visual health matters such as contact lens care, vision care for the elderly, optics, visual ergonomics, and occupational and industrial eye safety
• Conducting preventative screening programs
• Conducting rehabilitation programs for the visually impaired

Important to Note

Your first course of action should always be an immigration assessment to see if you have the necessary skills, qualifications and experience to live and work in Australia.

Why do we say this? It’s simple – if you don’t meet the requirements, you won’t be able to apply for skilled migration.

When you proceed with an application without knowing your eligibility or thinking you qualify if you don’t, you’re setting yourself up for failure.

Job First?

Many people mistakenly think that finding a job is the first step when immigrating.

In fact, the first step should always be an immigration assessment to see if you’re eligible for a work visa.

Our reasoning is two-fold. Firstly, as you may be able to guess, you won’t be able to immigrate without qualifying for a visa. Secondly, it enables you to job hunt with confidence if you are eligible for a work visa. Employers are much more likely to extend job offers if they know that you can work in Australia.

The golden rule? Do an assessment, then find a job.