Optometric practice in Australian Standard Geographical Classification--Remoteness Areas in Australia, 2010

This paper assesses the distribution of the optometric workforce and population per equivalent full-time optometrist (EFTO) across the five Australian Standard Geographical Classification-Remoteness Areas (ASGC-RA) categories in the states and territories of Australia.

Data from the database of Optometrists Association Australia on the addresses of primary, secondary and visiting practices and the number of hours worked by optometrists were used to determine the number of EFTOs in each ASGC-RA category in the states and territories. Population to EFTO ratios were calculated for each ASGC-RA by using population data for 2009 and 2010 from the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

In the major cities (RA1), the proportion of optometric practitioners was greater than the corresponding proportion of the Australian population. The numbers of optometrists in the inner and outer regional areas (RA2 and RA3, respectively) were calculated as sufficient to provide an initial consultation to the corresponding populations every four to five years, while in the remote and very remote regions (RA4 and RA5, respectively), the numbers of optometrists were calculated as sufficient to provide an initial consultation once every nine or more years.

The number of optometrists in practice in Australia is sufficient to meet the needs of the Australian population overall. The issue of the provision of optometric care in remote and very remote regions of Australia is unlikely to be addressed by increasing the number of optometrists as the sparse populations and the large areas over which these populations are spread are unlikely to be able to sustain optometric practices. This means that new service-delivery models could be necessary for the provision of optometric services in these regions.