The optical dispensing industry plays a crucial role in Australia's healthcare sector, significantly impacting public health by delivering essential eyecare services.

Our review of HLT47815 Certificate IV in Optical Dispensing will ensure the sector remains vibrant, relevant and well-equipped to contribute effectively to Australia’s healthcare and economic needs.

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July 2024

The Optical Dispensing industry is integral to visual health and contributes to fashion and technology due to its incorporation of innovative designs and smart technologies. The market is expected to continue its growth trajectory driven by trends in digital device usage and the growing demand for functional yet fashionable eyewear. This highlights the need for training that keeps pace with these advancements.

Several core and elective units in the qualification have become outdated since the last update in 2015. This comprehensive review will align them with evolving technological advancements and changing industry standards.

Our review will focus on updating qualifications to reflect current industry practices, improve career pathways, and enhance the safety and quality of training to meet today's industry requirements and anticipate future challenges.

A project Technical Committee is being established to provide expert advice. Its members will be selected for their individual expertise relevant to the diverse aspects of the project.

Project fact sheet

View the Terms of Reference and Technical Committee members

August 2024

We will undertake numerous information gathering activities to prepare drafts of units of competency, qualifications and skill sets for national stakeholder consultations.

These include:

  • a Technical Committee meeting to source stakeholders to consult on qualifications content, for insight on communication and consultation strategies, and to provide technical knowledge on the skills required to meet desired vocational outcomes
  • 16 one-on-one interviews to determine the skills required in organisations, the career pathways for workers and the foreseeable changes in the sector. Interviews will be conducted with small, medium and large employers
  • a virtual functional analysis workshop for industry stakeholders around Australian jurisdictions to determine skill commonalities and differences, which will assist in determining core and elective components of the draft qualifications
  • desktop research to gather publicly available information on industry standards, working conditions and employer recruitment selection criteria.
November 2024

Targeted interviews and public workshops are being conducted to provide valuable perspectives on our project's purpose.

Please register to join us at one of the following workshops.

View our Consultation Strategy.

The draft training product documentation for this project is available to download.

Draft Training Product Documentation

You can provide feedback about this project and the workshops via this survey.

Survey

  • Alice Springs, Friday, 8 November – 10 am - 1 pm
    Coolibah Room, Mercure Alice Springs, 34 Stott Terrace, Alice Springs, NT 0870

    Alice Springs
  • Darwin, Monday 11 November – 9 am – 12 pm
    Carpentaria Room, Darwin Innovation Hub, Level 1, Paspalis Centrepoint, 48-50 Smith Street Mall, Darwin, NT 0800

    Darwin
  • Cairns, Wednesday 13 November – 10 am - 1 pm
    Aria 3 Room, Crystlebrook Bailey, 163 Abbott Street, Cairns, QLD 4870

    Cairns
  • Brisbane, Thursday 14 November – 9 am – 12 pm
    Cliftons Events, Level 24, 288 Edward Street, Brisbane City, QLD 4000

    Brisbane
  • Online, Tuesday, 19 November 2024 – 1 pm – 4 pm
    Microsoft Teams

    Online
  • Newcastle, Monday 25 November – 2 pm - 5 pm
    Newton Boardroom, Novotel Newcastle Beach, 5 King Street, Newcastle, NSW 2300

    Newcastle
  • Sydney, Tuesday 26 November – 10 am – 1 pm
    Metro Function Room, Metro Hotel Marlow Sydney Central, 431-439 Pitt Street, Sydney, NSW 2000

    Sydney
  • Albury, Thursday 28 November – 9 am - 12 pm
    Barnet Room, Atura Albury, 648 Dean Street, Albury, NSW 2640

    Albury
  • Melbourne, Monday 2 December – 9 am – 12 pm
    Room 1954, Pullman Melbourne City Centre, 265 Little Bourke Street, Melbourne, VIC 3000

    Melbourne
  • Canberra, Wednesday 4 December – 9 am – 12 pm
    Arthur Boyd Conference Room, Mantra on Northbourne, 84 Northbourne Avenue, Canberra, ACT 2612

    Canberra
  • Hobart, Tuesday 10 December – 9 am – 12 pm
    The Stables, RACV Club Hobart, 154-156 Collins Street, Hobart, TAS 7000

    Hobart
  • Online, Friday 13 December – 9 am – 12 pm
    Microsoft Teams

    Online
  • Online, Tuesday 17 December - 9 am – 12 pm
    Microsoft Teams

    Online
February 2025

Please check back later for further information. 

June 2025

Please check back later for further information. 

How to get involved

Complete this form to receive project updates and alerts.

Project updates

Contact details

Training Product Project Manager, Evan Cooper

Project Coordinator, Alyssa Warland

To contact the project team, please email [email protected].

Project timeline

  • Project Overview

    Establish a Technical Committee to provide expert advice for the project.

  • Development

    Functional analysis undertaken via 16 employer interviews and a virtual functional analysis workshop.

    Develop draft qualifications, skill sets and units of competency.

     
  • Consultation

    Delivery of 8 face-to-face and 3 virtual workshops.

    Workshops will be held in all states and territories.

     

     
  • Finalisation and Submission

    Final draft materials will be submitted to Skills Senior Responsible Officers and any feedback will be addressed prior to submission to the Skills Ministers for endorsement. 

     

     
  • Endorsement and Implementation

    Endorsed qualifications, skill sets and units of competency will be uploaded onto the VET National Training Register. Companion volume updated to reflect changes to the Training Package, identified pathways information and mapping information.  

    Delivery of 3 virtual professional development workshops to highlight the features of the new qualifications, skill sets and units of competency.